I've managed to arrange some clothing affiliate links with Burgschneider here as so many people were asking about cloaks and hoods. Capes & Cloaks burgschneider.com/en-de/collections/capes?sca_ref=6367457.sWBD8RmUzF&sca_source=7-2-24 Hoods & Headwear: burgschneider.com/en-de/collections/headgear?sca_ref=6367457.sWBD8RmUzF&sca_source=7-2-24 burgschneider.com/modernhistory
First, make sure your money is accepted locally. Secondly, make sure people dont believe you to be a foreign spy (Coloman of Stockerau) or an undercover King (Richard Lionheart).
17:58 One thing to keep in mind is that inns were only used by people who had to pay for hospitality. Upper class people travelling, like a high priestess or nobleman (who also - in both cases - would travel with *huge* retinues), would instead seek hospitality from peers, often arranged a day in advance (by runners carrying messages), or several days or even weeks in advance. Or there’d be long-standing friendships, meaning that a Brandybuck can always stop over at a Took’s home and the other way around.
And if it was the king some would even build entire new wings just for the King, just a little after the medieval period Houghton Tower had a visit from King James 1st and they had a 3/4 Mile long red velvet carpet and built an entire knew wing and the King was a literal short King so he rode his horse all the way up the carpet and then rode the horse into the entrance hall of his private quarters. A story goes that while he was at Houghton Towers King James 1st was presented with a beef loin that tasted so good, he took out his sword and knighted the beef and said arise Sirloin of beef and that's why it's called a Sirloin (in reality it wasn't but it's a fun story)
It's also where the saying 'Getting the cold shoulder' comes from. Guests who were hosted by the local Lord/ling would expect to be fed as well. A well-liked or respected guest could expect a freshly roasted hunk of meat to dine on. Those who were disliked/respected less would still be fed, but often from cold cuts or leftovers.
@@XFlaviousX "I enjoy your families company and all... But I am NOT sending the servants out to fetch the cook tonight just for you! It is leftovers night for us, and so it is leftovers night for you. Now, your unmarried brother who is the same age as my own unwed daughter on the other hand..."
Dude you are single handedly why my players are consistently astounded by how immersive my Dungeons and Dragons campaigns are. I swear I get dozens of ideas from every video you make! I love whenever you quip about how medieval fantasy worlds may be alike or differ from how everything worked historically. I've tried to send a few friends your channels way too. Keep up the amazing work!
Thanks, I try to think of interesting story hooks but in a subtle way. There are so many adventures that could be had in an inn, or at least start there and every day new people turn up!
I can tell you, after travelling all day either on foot or by horse on a chilly day, just being out of the wind is a blessed thing. Add a fire and a pallet? I'll take that!
18:08 It’s amazing how much wind and rain contributes to being cold, and how much removing both those from the equation helps (and changing into dry clothes, or at least dry underclothes).
Like any soldier or outdoorsman would tell you. Being wet and cold saps you of energy extremely quickly. So be prepared. The most basic thing that makes the biggest difference, even on the move, is a pair of dry socks. That also limits the chance of blisters. The wet ones can dry on your shoulders, under a jacket, in about 30min while moving. I'd like to imagine, that they did something similar back then.
I almost spit out my drink when he suddenly said "piss," after using such proper terms up until then 😂. Keep up the good work Jason, this is what the History channel SHOULD have been.
"Piss" never used to be an inappropriate word. It was just what it was called. Then people started to consider Anglo-Saxon terms uncouth, and the next thing you know, speaking unadulterated English is inappropriate.
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On the past, the extinte "History Channel" was like this... But now, is just "Twistory", i called like that, because just show useless crap. I feel sadness for the assassination of that marvellous chanel. I find my love for History, thanks to that channel, and i even learn to speak english. I'm from México City. The History Channel, makes me to love Universal History, and i crying for that sadly lost. Was an unbearable crime to kill that amazing creature, almost like to kill an ancient wise dragon, just to can tearing apart him, for they remains for selling. And, i have to say it, before The History Channel, i hate History, so i mean it. I feel sorry for that departure.
It's called "network creep." Basically, the idea that "Oh, our channel is aimed at X market, you know what else X market likes? Completely different things that have no relation to our channel's theme... So we should show those on our narrowly-themed channel!" You kind of have to understand a little bit of how Los Angeles and Hollywood work, in order to understand why this makes sense to some people.
@@Vinemaple Shows are no longer just made in "Hollywood"...that's a very outdated concept. With the internet, corporations involved in video production or that own studios can be based anywhere, as well as sending film crews anywhere in the world.
Imagine walking down a country road and seeing a man dressed as a medieval traveler galloping on a white horse whilst speaking to a mobile phone on a selfie stick, and then the drugs kick in.
yesterday I saw a few monks here in Austria wearing similar garment (just in all-white). It's a tad bit sad that we accept church people's garments but find this video here to be like "cosplaying". There's only little difference, but the attitude from the audience is vastly different.
Why imagine, we have that every summer in Visby during medieval week :), well not the phone and the selfie stick, they usually try to stay in character, but the white horses and medieval clothing, together with medieval fairs and camps and much more.
I seriously enjoyed listening to a gentleman standing next to a tree. No flashy stuff just someone actually teaching something. This was refreshing. Gonna subscribe and also watch the older videos. 😊
In Tolkien's life there still would have been working establishments much like the ones in the books. Maybe with steam, gas, or electrical additions, but the outline would be the same.
@@MM22966 the answer is there weren't as many historian researching the middle ages then as there is now... so saying Tolkien was an early medieval historian mean he was one of the first (and few) of the time to do so
@@MM22966 the answer is there weren't as many historian researching the middle ages then as there is now... so saying Tolkien was an early medieval historian mean he was one of the first (and few) of the time to do so
My ancestors had an Inn in what is now Poland. Rooms to let, a stable for horses, hay for feed, blacksmith, a bar for drink and food, wagons and goods were safe. They established the Springkrug Inn after the 30 years war and run it until 1946 when the Soviet army deported the Innkeeper to the west.
Deported is very much better than just killed you know, and deported to the West is also essentially better than to the East, so the guy was very lucky indeed.
In the Tudor Monastic Farm series, historian Ruth Goodman describes and demonstrates how most folks in the medieval period kept clean, which was first to simply scrub their skin twice a day, morning and evening, with a linen cloth, which they then laundered, and then (if they could afford it) to swap out the clothes closest to their bodies, often a shift, chemise, undershirt, undergown, or the like. By washing their clothes and their scrubbing cloths, they could actually stay fairly clean and mildly scented without needing frequent (submersion) baths. Hair would be untangled by one's fingers, then by widely spaced teeth on a comb, and then finely spaced teeth would be used to strode dirt and dust out of the hair, and to redistribute natural scalp oils. Ruth said she did it that way for months while working on set, cleaning herself according to the historical records for such things...and she said it was surprisingly effectve as a self-cleaning regimen. However, in an article she wrote about the experience, she did state that someone else didn't bother to change their inner garments, and eventually just...reeked...despite bathing every single day in a modern shower. (No names were ever named.) So her recommendation was to scrub one's skin and frequently change underlinens.
this and bathing (without soap for environmental reasons) in the river are how we usually stay clean at Bicolline, which is a week long fantasy immersion event. Like Ruth said, it works surprisingly well for staying clean
As a fantasy writer I love channels like this because they provide a lot of insight into how to add flavor to your world building and this one is one of my absolute favorites. Thanks for all the great content.
Watching this historic take on inns I was getting distracted for a hot second and when I once again could pay full attention, he suddenly talked about Hippogryphs eating horses. I love it.
You should definitely do something with Max Miller from Tasting History ! He made a video about medieval taverns and what you ate there just a few days ago ! With his humor and knowledge and yours, with his cooking and your costumes, I'm pretty sure it would be amazing !
I have an ongoing story i tell my children every night as they drift off to sleep. The main characters frequent inns as part of their journey. Thanks for covering this as it helps me flesh out the atmosphere of the inns.
As a child of a wonderful story teller who has passed on, please take the time to write those stories down for them. I treasure the stories my mom and dad would make up for us, and I tell them to my children as well. It's such a wonderful legacy of love to give stories to children.
Dear Jason Kingsley, you really take us back in time with each chapter of your educational saga and we are so used to seeing you dressed in medieval clothes, that we can no longer imagine you in 21st century clothes.... ;) I congratulate you for what you do, your videos are very good and I think it is time for them to be recognized worldwide... ;)
10:05 I am a veterinarian and the reason why horses, donkeys etc can sleep upright is that as equines, they have a ligament that lets them stand and relax upright called "Lacertus Fibrosus"Other creatures lack this ligament and cannot sleep/relax/rest upright.
Dolphins take the top 3 on the chart though, sleeping one side of the brain at a time, sometimes I wonder if that would be a cool human ability, it would make life more interesting and seem to last 25% longer after an entire lifetime lol.
@@0292-q3l With so much extra thinking time for humans you would think maybe tons more would wise up and wake up to the situation of so few running all and so many being the sole reason for that few to live a care free life while so many are worried about what's for food tomorrow, just a hope deep down inside that yeah most would wise up to the very bad game we happen to be part of in life as it is deemed for humans in this current culture.
I don't understand why this dude doesn't have a TV show. We have "alien technology" shows on "History" (how the hell does that work?) that no one wants to watch. Meanwhile, this guy is a treasure trove of actual history that people seem to genuinely enjoy listening to. Plus, he has an insanely small budget compared to any other TV show and yet STILL manages to deliver quality content!!
Okay, some context on this channel (which I wholeheartedly love.) "This dude" is Jason Kingsley, co-founder and CEO of an _enormously_ successful game development company, Rebellion. I don't know the guy but my guess is that Modern History is his passion project. I don't know exactly how wealthy he is but he is _very_ wealthy. Where do you think he gets all his horses (and one mule), multuple sets of period accurate armour, the upkeep for all that, and everything else? Not from a mid-level TH-camr income stream, that's for sure. Yeah, he doesn't go in for huge effects and a giant production team. But make no mistake, this isn't some random dude making stuff out of his basement. He has resources behind this channel. And hell, I wish every super rich person out there had a passion project this entertaining, educational and wholesome. The world would be a much better place.
“Alien technology.” My arse. We need more realism in our entertainment. Let’s all strive to bring back the realism with history and not the bollocks that conspiracy theories bring to the telly.
Enjoyed a horse riding trail a few years ago in northern Spain during which we stayed at a different inn every night. One night was spent in a crusader’s Manor House - simply beautiful & oozed aged. No traffic, almost no people, it truly felt like I was a medieval traveller.
Did you get cheated and or robbed? that would make it most authentic you know given the conversion rate a plain nobody of today would be a very wealthy person by the standards of the norm of the past. lol
Hey @ModernKnight, so the reason that Inns had fixed prices was because of information networking. It was extremely lengthy an ordeal to make sure that markets had up-to-date information concerning prices of goods and services. The guilds back then were a method of standardization so that you could "plan your trip" in a sense, much like we do with travel agencies today. This allowed someone to bring the necessary money/bartering goods for their trip and then afterwards have enough to return home. Merchants/Farmers often staying with inns that they were providers for; like our modern restaurant business models today. It was a big deal when these prices were changed, as the whole economy relied on understanding that fixed price oftentimes, and why it was an awful upset to have bandits stealing from merchants' carts and their coinage.
Your point about fantasy mounts being catered to is very inspiring for character creation. It would make a lot of sense for a skilled beastmaster to have worked in such a place to build experience with a wide variety of creatures.
I can see where a prosperous inn located on a well-travelled road would be a news center. Travelers arriving daily from all parts of England would be updating information learned the previous night or the night before. So, the inn keeper would be the most informed person in the area.
I am getting on at 64. Sometimes life can be really rubbish. Sickness, medical bills tax, money etc etc. It was SOOOOO good and relaxing to sit and listen to this. Imagining how simple life was 800 years ago with a modicum of success ( and quite a bit of luck with who your parents were!). I will now binge watch more of your vids. I was thinking of using what money i have to find a building and do it up as “The Bannered Mare”. Would people be interested in visiting such a place for beer, mead and stew? No songs about the Dovakhin!
I've been watching some model creation channels. I can see myself getting into making diaramas. I think I'd need to work myself up to something like Whiterun. BUt I do believe it would be cool to recreate some of the most famous game places as templates for such diaramas.
The vast majority of people in the Middle Ages (85%) were peasant farmers who worked from sun-up to sundown, had no plumbing, heating, or cooling, no refrigeration, no concept of germ theory or advanced medical techniques, were illiterate and superstitious, and on average lived 25 to 35 years. So yes, life was simple, but also brutal and short. If you were "lucky", you could be 5-10% of the population and be clergy, or another 5-7% and be an artisan like a blacksmith, carpenter, or stonemason. The really lucky ones were the 3% who were nobility, but they were just as susceptible to the plague or all the other maladies the common ignorance of the day called "fevers". I'd say, with how stratified and ossified the social structure was in every kingdom then (no democracies, either), there was no such thing as "a modicum of success" and it was 99.9% what family you were born into.
@@rikk319 I agree, a lot of people seem to have a lot of nostalgia for the "good old simple times", with zero appreciation for the modern benefits they have been enjoying their whole life, like for example that much fewer women die in childbirth, much fewer kids die before they're even 5, etc. Like you said, having even the best lifestyle available in those times not only was 99.9% owed to who your parents were, but it was still far below the living standard of a massive chunk of modern people
Big fan of the fact that you are considerate of us Dungeon/Game Masters trying to figure things out because school history lessons never consider that you may need to become a late medieval eatery owner or fish monger for twenty minutes, or slip into the role of an expert fletcher for... longer than you had planned that evening
You would think in the UK and Mainland Europe they would have tourist spot to which the entire town, people, staff, everything is setup to be like it was in history, much like the Colional town in Virgina, if you stay to long you lose track and place of yes yes I am in the modern world, with all around you being a world from centuries ago, except for the freaking sodas and modern tidbits here and there of food and drinks.
I live in Skopje Macedonia that was a big commercial hub in the Ottoman era. There is an old oriental part of the city where the shops and the markets were located. Even today you can see the big robust stone or brick buildings of the inns, or as they called them AN. They all have the structure of a Roman villa with kitchen, rooms for the employees and place for the animals on the ground floor, and rooms for the travelers in the upper floor. All of them have a big courtyard with a fountain in the centre, and nearby are the warehouses, and baths . Today they are used as galleries restaurants but they are not used as inns.
That's something that we in the United States simply don't have; there are no ancient buildings like this. Our indigenous peoples did not typically build hard structures of stone--mostly wood and hide, if they were permanent at all, and our more structured history really only dates back 200-300 years, perhaps 400 in the very oldest areas. Thanks for sharing your experience :)
@@0num4 unfortunately many buildings were lost due to wars, and natural disasters. In 1963 there was an earthquake that destroyed almost 90% of the city
@@clobberelladoesntreadcomme9920 Technically, that's across the river, in Illinois. Was probably amazing once though whatever structures it had were wood and long since gone. All that remains today are the gigantic mounds of earth.
In my hometown of Bolton there is the Ye Olde Man and Scythe the inn was first mentioned as early as 1251. During the English Civil War the Masaccre of Bolton occured after 2 unsuccessful royalist atta cks. A third that took place during a rain storm and at night was finally successful and took the town and then occured a m assacre of up to 1,600 people. After the war The Earl Of Derby who took part in the action, was executed in the town, he spent his last night in Ye Olde Man and Scythe. They have a chair that he reportedly sat on the night before, the chair was then broken by accident by the band The Who. Of course there are ghost stories of the Earl as well. Interestingly the executioners skull is for some reason now on display in a different pub on the outskirts of town called The Pack Horse Pub that was also founded in Medieval times. An old tale goes that the reason the home man cider at Ye Olde Man and Scythe tastes the way it does is because rats swim in it. Also there is another old pub next door called The Swan Hotel which still has the courtyard and doorway for horses and carts.
Wow I always thought Bolton was a dump. But looks from a quick Google search, it has hidden gems! I could be persuaded to give it another go based on this. Many thanks for the information 👍
@@theotherside7538 Bolton has beautiful architecture, some stunning countryside, good comedians and weirdly punches above it's weight in other areas such as inventions.
I know Inns figure a lot into fantasy novels, but I wonder if anybody has written an ongoing series where the Inn is the central feature of the stories - just a lot of disparate characters who come and go, floating in and out of the story, who all meet at one specific location, the crossroads and the Inn, and bringing their adventure with them.
As Australia was settled by the British, inns were established under the title public houses. As you leave Sydney and head west you can still see these pubs approximately every 5 miles.
Food, drink, and a bed which may or may not have critters in it - what's not to love? Well, provided there was a bed available and you didn't have to bunk down on the floor. Frankly, the stables could often be more hospitable and any of my horses a lot better companions as they don't snore... mostly. A good inn would be a welcome sight, especially when the weather or time of year wasn't dry or warm. Here in the US, there were inns and way stations that became infamous as they were involved in robbing and killing those unfortunate enough to stop at them. I'm sure there were such places in medieval times as well.
I think one aspect of life in the past that I find really fascinating is how everything had many uses. I know they used urine in affixing dyes I to cloth too. In modern homes we just think of our bodily wastes as something gross to get rid of and never think of again, but our urine and feces went on to do more after they passed from us. We take so much for granted on how easy it is to do things with modern chemicals, that we’ve lost sight of how ingenious our ancestors were. Fascinating video! I really appreciated the deep dive into inns during the medieval period. Do you have any data on how often women stayed at inns during this time? I know they went on pilgrimages, but how common was it for women to travel far enough distances to require an inn? Thanks for all your hard work in putting together such awesome content!
Apparently, they used to store surgical equipment in urine, so it didn't rust. Apparently, the term 'spending a penny' was in relation to this practice.
Pilgrims of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela still get to experience a similar thing. The accomodations vary widely: from large Church Alburgues with a dining hall, dormitories, and showers to small privately owned bunk houses that may or may not have a kitchen for you to cook in or even a tiny tienda shop. Some cater to bicyclist travelers and have a little locking barn for your bike.
Your content is SO good. I came to / found your channel as a GM to learn more about the fantasy analog to the medieval structure. Stayed for the actual real medieval history. Scratches two itches ! Cheers mate 🍻
I would love to see a video where he shows scenes of inns in movies and TV and discusses how accurate they are. The iconic Prancing Pony and Barlamin Butternur come to mind first but also the small ones in Game of Thrones. The one where Catlin seizes Tyrion comes to mind. Or the inn where The Hound and Arya eat chicken and the place where the kid makes the wolf shaped bread. Then there's the inns in games like Diablo and Skyrim. I have always wondered if those are exaggerated or if that's how it really was.
Always lovely to see another MHTV video. Just talking, speculating around medieval inns with a bit and bob of fantasy. No armor or weapons needed and still enjoyed every moment of the video. Great job as always!
@12:55 My mom grew up on a rural farm in Hungary in the 60s that had been in the family for some generations. It didn't have modern amenities. I asked her how they stored food with no fridge, and she said that their cellar had a sand pit where they would store root vegetables like potatoes, onions, garlic over the winter. I haven't come across references to this "sand pit" besides what my mom told me, so I was wondering if you ever heard about it.
@@walkir2662 it wouldn't work in a garden because the garden is exposed to the outdoor elements. The crucial point is the vegetables are kept in a cold cellar but the sand pit helps keep the moisture inside them. So they neither dry out too quickly nor grow moldy.
“Good evening, little masters! What can I do for you? If you’re looking for accommodations, we’ve got some nice cozy hobbit sized rooms available, always proud to cater to the little folk…”
Similar to trekking villages in the Himalayas today. You can get a pallet and a hot meal of some kind, often in a rustic stone building, but everything is carried in and it’s often simple fare.
🇬🇧 Warwick Castle , England, has many re-enactments of medieval times. A brilliant day out . Waxworks, Princess Tower, sword fighting lessons, jousting, 'medieval ' eating places , etc etc.
I’ve spent a lot of time at The George Inn in Norton St Phillip, and this has answered a lot of questions I’ve had about the place, that I haven’t been able to pin down, beyond the Pitchfork Rebellion! Thank you for today’s daily Learning Gang. (Learning gang is just me learning something at least once every day).
Im enthralled by this!!! I have adhd and this guy kept my attention just standing against a tree talking about inns??? Im genuinely blown away. Great story telling.
As an avid reader of fantasy and dipping my toes into writing a novel myself, your videos are priceless. Thank you so much for your passion and your honest work! Also, I couldn't believe how time flew by. These 18 minutes felt like five! You're a great, natural story teller as well
I was a team member on a project about this topic and economics of how an Inn would (may have) been run. The general consensus was smaller town inns specialized in merchant travel. Much like you said, it would be kind of a fort for asset security and self protection. It was common practice for payments to be made up front for a room or spot in the common room, feed and water for livestock and a bowl of hot chow for dinner and perhaps some grain or old bread for a breakfast tossed in. Ale, Beer, Wine, Cheese, Fruit and most protein were an additional cost. Also, of note most merchants of the time headed out the gate at dawn or first light, to take advantage of the daylight hours. The basic shape was a U shaped building with a gate at the top of the “U”. The Inn had living quarters for the inn keeper’s family. A stable was commonly roofed, yet open aired, part of the wall to make feeding and cleaning easier with some basic farrier tools and tack would be kept for shoeing and small repairs. Wagons could be kept in the central courtyard and covered with oiled hides for water proofing. For lodging, smaller individual rooms for summer use and a large common room for meals, socializing and sleeping in the winter months. The logic was it is cheaper to heat one room as opposed to several smaller rooms especially considering a poorly tended fire could burn your Inn down. Besides all the travelers had bedrolls for periods between inns when they had to sleep on the road. A detached kitchen was kept nearby the community well, that made meals for both the Inn guests and members of the community. The kitchen was separate in case of fire so it would not burn down the Inn. It was also the consensus that the majority of the staff and client services were provided by family and extended family to keep money within the family. Wives and daughters would manage the interior: provide the management, logistics and supply, administration, cooks, cleaning, wash, maintain fires, whatever. Sons would care for the livestock and ensure firewood is stocked, well water runs, menial chores and limited hunting and foraging. Adult men would provide the exterior: muscle, firewood, hunting, farrier, farmers, millers, maintenance.
I don't know why, but I find this stuff fascinating. Whenever I get the idea about how it would be interesting to live during that time period, I can watch a video like this and say "Yeahhhh, no thanks". In fantasy books, everybody gets their own room at an inn. I don't know why they don't make things more realistic.
You have to consider the economy when world-building. In the real world the nobility is really the only rich folk, but in fantasy worlds adventurers are often very rich and in great need of comfort after perhaps sleeping on the ground or on a stone floor for many days. Also if you have magic, depending on the level of access to magic, that will greatly affect the economy just as sure as technology does today. Think about the things we have or do today that in the medieval period only the richest people would have/do. With magic, you have the effect of technology without having to invent technology. So really you have to think organically about why things were a certain way and not try to copy them completely. In most fantasy novels I've seen usually a whole party of adventurers will take a room in an inn. In the Forgotten Realms D&D setting (which Ed Greenwood gives great thought to economics) there are various inns depending on the local economy and some of them that cater mostly to the poor will have a common room with many beds.
@@MannyBrum "Realistic" adventurers would be barely a step up from bandits or beggars and would be treated as such by society. The most of organized and respectable of them might be the equivalent of real world historical mercenary bands, but that's about it.
Another great video. I got a chuckle out of the hippogriff bit. I can imagine an adventurer with an exotic mount like that creating quite a stir if they showed up randomly at a small inn that wasn't used to that sort of thing.
Thank you Mr Kingsley to acknowledge people who are into medieval fantasy and myth, and role playing games, like to listen to real history too. That there is room for both. I know sometimes we may feel history buffs or ventures shun us. Like there is a kind of snobbery.
I love playing block building games. When I'm creating my settlements, they always end up looking like massive medieval inns. Buildings made of connected rooms, stacked higldy pigldy, with tall encircling walls and strong gates! I would love to learn more about medieval bathhouses. I don't think I've ever noticed mention of them in history shows and books I've consumed.
Aside from just loving learning from this channel (I’ve loved everything medieval since I was a tiny kid) it’s also fun to use info from these videos to add a bit of realism to my D&D campaign. A fantasy group showing up in something that looks and functions much more like a real setting adds a level of weight to the world.
I am so glad that you mentioned the various fantasy settings from books, movies and games. I myself play D&D, and I also agree, after your awesome explanation of medieval inns, that it is the reason why so many adventures start there. 😁
Hi Jason, hello everyone! I’m back - as is my custom, I made Lent from TH-cam 😊 Not everyone can be a knight, in a medieval reenactment there is also a place for a pious middle-aged lady. But to the point. Thanks, Jason, for a great video. I imagine it could be very useful especially for gamers - half of the adventures in RPG’s begin in the inn. I especially liked the theme of a fantastic stable for unusual mounts. After all, a wizard traveling on a dragon or a witch on a goat also has to stop somewhere for the night.
Good on ye for resting from TH-cam for Lent. I'm certain it made coming back sweeter. You are a modern day pilgrim. But bypass the inn and stay at the local convent/monastery for a really good rest. At least till Henry VIII comes along. . .
Keep it to yourself mate. "Take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them: otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven" [Matthew 6:1]
@@CubeInspector On the one hand, of course you are right. On the other hand, I had to explain why I wasn't here for six weeks, right? And thirdly, it's Matthew 5:16 😀
I love that you mention cellars and how effective they were, they are so often omitted and people who never seen rural houses think medieval people just risk their lives with spoiled meat when in reality most places had a cellar, if you had a home you had a cellar
Depending on where you are and how common or if the owner has ever seen or thought about providing for a centaur patron.. They could have a large dedicated room on the ground floor of the inn or build a stable like motel or cabana right outside the main inn.. Or more likely just throw a few blankets and a mirror in the VIP’s Horse stall.. 😂
I'd argue most large species, such as centaurs, minotaurs and ogres would have a separate space at the stables for them. Keep in mind that regular humans would often use the stables as well in our history.
In the village that i grew up in right up until the late 90s there were eight pubs! The decline began from the late 80s onwards with a pub closing every few years - there are still three open, but it's a bit of a come down. Its close to the old London to bath road (now the A4) - so shows jus how important inns were and later pubs - all the pubs date back hundreds of years, four for definite have histories dating back to medieval times.
@@christinebutler7630 A walkabout is not only a custom of the natives of Australia, it is indeed well use to be a worldwide custom for mostly young men but many young women also have to "find themselves and purpose beyond the plainness of being a copy of their mother or father as was also the custom worldwide for the most part, and in someways/places still is.
That is an *excellent* point about guilds and their role in setting the accepted standards for transactions. Would you be interested in making a video about guilds more generally? That seems to be a wonderful subject for delving into the lives of more ordinary working folk. Thank you for creating such wonderful videos for us to enjoy!
I've been reading Marion Turner's biography of Chaucer, _Chaucer: A European Life_. Chaucer had several friends who were innkeepers and early copies of some of his poems are associated with inns, other drinking establishments, and brothels. Of course, the Canterbury Tales had the Tabard Inn which was owned at the time by the Abbot of Hyde as a setting. She thinks it likely that patrons were entertained by readings and discussions of books
Truck stops in America maybe Australia are the closest thing to this in modernity, you can shower fuel, park your transport vehicle and if you go to the dinner that are plenty of talkative truckers. These are becoming rarer with the growth of the large commercial stops that lean more towards gas station with parking but before I quit driving these spots were known by all the drivers.
Another great video! Super informative and always entertaining! I would love to go to/throw an event that has a tavern/inn scene. Such a great vibe. At least in my fantasies, lol.
New subscriber. Happy to have been pointed to your content by a fellow TTRPG player. Really interesting to hear about the history of European inns and innkeepers. Thank you! Checking your back catalog of content for more now.
I bought a leather bag in Morrocco many years ago for my girlfriend. It seemed nice quality but when she got it home she called me a few days later saying that it made her entire house stink of urine! I guess that was less of a problem in the hot/dry climate of Morocco!
My father’s forebears were innkeepers at the Swan in Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire in the late 17th and most of the 18th Centuries. They were all blacksmiths by trade and began with their smithy and accommodation for travellers’ horses - along with rough beds for poor travellers in the hay loft - before taking the Inn’s licence. On my last visit to England I had the pleasure of a couple of pints of good ale and a tour of what had been the stables still equiped with hay ricks, hitching rings etc that were likely made by my ancestors.
@ModernKnight Have you thought of making a video on pilgrimages in the medieval times, like what was worn, carried, etc... I'd like to hear your thoughts.
Really like the concept of inns with big courtyards. Somewhere for people to sleep, somehere for animals to be fed and watered, somewhere for people to eat and socialise, somewhere for travellers and locals to interact - you've got some news from far away, I've got some info about the road ahead. There must have been interesting exchanges. Like little hubs of information.
Love this! I always enjoy your videos on these "mundane" topics, but this in particular is great fun AND of great use for me as I gear up to try and run a new tabletop campaign. It's been six or seven years now since I played and I'm feeling quite rusty, but this has given me more energy! Thank you!!
Can you do more about the life of normal medieval peasants, how they go about in their daily life, what kind of food they eat, their houses, their hygiene etc
I do think inns were the place to hear the latest news/gossip and also start broadcasting it. Reasonably safe place to sleep for the night too..oh to be able to go back in time and sit in a corner at observe in one
Just recently discovered this channel and it's already one of my favorite channels on YT! Love the informative yet down to Earth eductaional style, I feel as though I can really imagine the Medieval world.
It's such a shame that this guy knows so much about Medieval life, and he's even the head of a games company.. match made in heaven... and then he produces games like "Sniper Elite". Pew pew.
I would also assume that they were a form of money changers. Most people assume that money of different kingdom was accepted but because of different weights and purity of metals in the coins you have so much complicated things because you need a true weights scale which probably costs money.
It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.
I absolutely love this channel, Jason is a passionate and well-read storyteller, always fun and somehow, extremely relaxing at the same time :) Now i wonder, why Rebellion does not make any historical medieval games?
I've managed to arrange some clothing affiliate links with Burgschneider here as so many people were asking about cloaks and hoods.
Capes & Cloaks
burgschneider.com/en-de/collections/capes?sca_ref=6367457.sWBD8RmUzF&sca_source=7-2-24
Hoods & Headwear:
burgschneider.com/en-de/collections/headgear?sca_ref=6367457.sWBD8RmUzF&sca_source=7-2-24
burgschneider.com/modernhistory
First, make sure your money is accepted locally.
Secondly, make sure people dont believe you to be a foreign spy (Coloman of Stockerau) or an undercover King (Richard Lionheart).
Great!👍 thank you!
fantastic! also, great vids!
Was just about to comment that your oufit looks really sharp.
17:58 One thing to keep in mind is that inns were only used by people who had to pay for hospitality. Upper class people travelling, like a high priestess or nobleman (who also - in both cases - would travel with *huge* retinues), would instead seek hospitality from peers, often arranged a day in advance (by runners carrying messages), or several days or even weeks in advance. Or there’d be long-standing friendships, meaning that a Brandybuck can always stop over at a Took’s home and the other way around.
And if it was the king some would even build entire new wings just for the King, just a little after the medieval period Houghton Tower had a visit from King James 1st and they had a 3/4 Mile long red velvet carpet and built an entire knew wing and the King was a literal short King so he rode his horse all the way up the carpet and then rode the horse into the entrance hall of his private quarters. A story goes that while he was at Houghton Towers King James 1st was presented with a beef loin that tasted so good, he took out his sword and knighted the beef and said arise Sirloin of beef and that's why it's called a Sirloin (in reality it wasn't but it's a fun story)
" a high priestess " is this in the Forgotten Realms lol?
It's also where the saying 'Getting the cold shoulder' comes from. Guests who were hosted by the local Lord/ling would expect to be fed as well. A well-liked or respected guest could expect a freshly roasted hunk of meat to dine on. Those who were disliked/respected less would still be fed, but often from cold cuts or leftovers.
@@papalaz4444244lol
@@XFlaviousX "I enjoy your families company and all... But I am NOT sending the servants out to fetch the cook tonight just for you! It is leftovers night for us, and so it is leftovers night for you. Now, your unmarried brother who is the same age as my own unwed daughter on the other hand..."
Dude you are single handedly why my players are consistently astounded by how immersive my Dungeons and Dragons campaigns are. I swear I get dozens of ideas from every video you make! I love whenever you quip about how medieval fantasy worlds may be alike or differ from how everything worked historically. I've tried to send a few friends your channels way too. Keep up the amazing work!
Thanks, I try to think of interesting story hooks but in a subtle way. There are so many adventures that could be had in an inn, or at least start there and every day new people turn up!
@@ModernKnightDo you play?
Haha, same here :D D&D and Symbaroum - with realism fed direct from Modern history
@@michaelmichael8406 if our ModernKnight doesn’t LARP I will eat my hood
I totally agree. The information he gives inspires so many great ideas! Not only is it educational, but it's fun.
I can tell you, after travelling all day either on foot or by horse on a chilly day, just being out of the wind is a blessed thing. Add a fire and a pallet? I'll take that!
18:08 It’s amazing how much wind and rain contributes to being cold, and how much removing both those from the equation helps (and changing into dry clothes, or at least dry underclothes).
Like any soldier or outdoorsman would tell you. Being wet and cold saps you of energy extremely quickly. So be prepared.
The most basic thing that makes the biggest difference, even on the move, is a pair of dry socks.
That also limits the chance of blisters.
The wet ones can dry on your shoulders, under a jacket, in about 30min while moving.
I'd like to imagine, that they did something similar back then.
Yup. Been right there. Sometimes with a fire, sometimes not. Mother Nature will wear you down to a nub.
And some warm food! It doesn't have to be amazing when you've just spent the day outside, you'll be happy with something simple and filling.
@@Spetulhu some apple cabbage soup and a baked onion for you.
That scene with Aragorn in the inn, smoking his pipe while looking wicked still makes me grin. ☺️
Nice
Where’s our Strider TV series??!
In the corner seat too... with a window! Man has style, class and aesthetics.
I just got to this part of the video and, of course, thought of Aragorn. 🙂
"Hobbits? Four hobbits! What business brings you to Bree?" "We wish to stay at the inn. Our business is our own."
Hahahahahaha
alright young sir I meant no offense- it's my job to ask!
😂😊
Tolkiens worldbuilding was just... legendary. On. Every. Level.
There's strange fowk abowt
I almost spit out my drink when he suddenly said "piss," after using such proper terms up until then 😂. Keep up the good work Jason, this is what the History channel SHOULD have been.
*Skirts around talking about solid human waste*, “now, your PISS”
"Piss" never used to be an inappropriate word. It was just what it was called. Then people started to consider Anglo-Saxon terms uncouth, and the next thing you know, speaking unadulterated English is inappropriate.
On the past, the extinte "History Channel" was like this... But now, is just "Twistory", i called like that, because just show useless crap. I feel sadness for the assassination of that marvellous chanel. I find my love for History, thanks to that channel, and i even learn to speak english. I'm from México City.
The History Channel, makes me to love Universal History, and i crying for that sadly lost. Was an unbearable crime to kill that amazing creature, almost like to kill an ancient wise dragon, just to can tearing apart him, for they remains for selling. And, i have to say it, before The History Channel, i hate History, so i mean it. I feel sorry for that departure.
It's called "network creep." Basically, the idea that "Oh, our channel is aimed at X market, you know what else X market likes? Completely different things that have no relation to our channel's theme... So we should show those on our narrowly-themed channel!"
You kind of have to understand a little bit of how Los Angeles and Hollywood work, in order to understand why this makes sense to some people.
@@Vinemaple Shows are no longer just made in "Hollywood"...that's a very outdated concept. With the internet, corporations involved in video production or that own studios can be based anywhere, as well as sending film crews anywhere in the world.
Imagine walking down a country road and seeing a man dressed as a medieval traveler galloping on a white horse whilst speaking to a mobile phone on a selfie stick, and then the drugs kick in.
😅😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
He tosses you a copy of Sniper Elite 5 as he gallops by. "GOOD MORROW"
They kicked in for me halfway through the video. @_@
yesterday I saw a few monks here in Austria wearing similar garment (just in all-white). It's a tad bit sad that we accept church people's garments but find this video here to be like "cosplaying". There's only little difference, but the attitude from the audience is vastly different.
Why imagine, we have that every summer in Visby during medieval week :), well not the phone and the selfie stick, they usually try to stay in character, but the white horses and medieval clothing, together with medieval fairs and camps and much more.
I seriously enjoyed listening to a gentleman standing next to a tree.
No flashy stuff just someone actually teaching something.
This was refreshing. Gonna subscribe and also watch the older videos. 😊
You are going to subscribe!?
That's the lumpiest tree I've ever seen!!
I just re-read the Bree part of LOTR and it's remarkable how consistent it is to this. I guess Tolkien knew what he was about.
In Tolkien's life there still would have been working establishments much like the ones in the books. Maybe with steam, gas, or electrical additions, but the outline would be the same.
Tolkien was an early medieval historian (by hobby, not trade)
@@trequor How early do you have to be for something that happened 500 years before you were born?!
@@MM22966 the answer is there weren't as many historian researching the middle ages then as there is now... so saying Tolkien was an early medieval historian mean he was one of the first (and few) of the time to do so
@@MM22966 the answer is there weren't as many historian researching the middle ages then as there is now... so saying Tolkien was an early medieval historian mean he was one of the first (and few) of the time to do so
Love how he made a side note of having to consider how fantasy creatures will have to be looked after. Man knows his audience.
My ancestors had an Inn in what is now Poland. Rooms to let, a stable for horses, hay for feed, blacksmith, a bar for drink and food, wagons and goods were safe. They established the Springkrug Inn after the 30 years war and run it until 1946 when the Soviet army deported the Innkeeper to the west.
Sorry to hear about the deportation 😢
Deported is very much better than just killed you know, and deported to the West is also essentially better than to the East, so the guy was very lucky indeed.
In the Tudor Monastic Farm series, historian Ruth Goodman describes and demonstrates how most folks in the medieval period kept clean, which was first to simply scrub their skin twice a day, morning and evening, with a linen cloth, which they then laundered, and then (if they could afford it) to swap out the clothes closest to their bodies, often a shift, chemise, undershirt, undergown, or the like. By washing their clothes and their scrubbing cloths, they could actually stay fairly clean and mildly scented without needing frequent (submersion) baths.
Hair would be untangled by one's fingers, then by widely spaced teeth on a comb, and then finely spaced teeth would be used to strode dirt and dust out of the hair, and to redistribute natural scalp oils. Ruth said she did it that way for months while working on set, cleaning herself according to the historical records for such things...and she said it was surprisingly effectve as a self-cleaning regimen. However, in an article she wrote about the experience, she did state that someone else didn't bother to change their inner garments, and eventually just...reeked...despite bathing every single day in a modern shower. (No names were ever named.) So her recommendation was to scrub one's skin and frequently change underlinens.
5:55 Bath houses were common in early Tudor days.Henry VIII banned them as dens of license and iniquity.
this and bathing (without soap for environmental reasons) in the river are how we usually stay clean at Bicolline, which is a week long fantasy immersion event. Like Ruth said, it works surprisingly well for staying clean
@@ladyofthemasque that was a fantastic series!!!
As a fantasy writer I love channels like this because they provide a lot of insight into how to add flavor to your world building and this one is one of my absolute favorites. Thanks for all the great content.
Great to hear!
I'm agree... This is gold dust. I'm a writer to... From México.
Watching this historic take on inns I was getting distracted for a hot second and when I once again could pay full attention, he suddenly talked about Hippogryphs eating horses.
I love it.
Same!!
You should definitely do something with Max Miller from Tasting History ! He made a video about medieval taverns and what you ate there just a few days ago ! With his humor and knowledge and yours, with his cooking and your costumes, I'm pretty sure it would be amazing !
hell yes
That would be awesome.
Yes, please!!
That’s a collab we need
I'll second this!
Most definitely!
I have an ongoing story i tell my children every night as they drift off to sleep. The main characters frequent inns as part of their journey. Thanks for covering this as it helps me flesh out the atmosphere of the inns.
As a child of a wonderful story teller who has passed on, please take the time to write those stories down for them. I treasure the stories my mom and dad would make up for us, and I tell them to my children as well. It's such a wonderful legacy of love to give stories to children.
Or just record them!
A time traveling JRR Tolkien ghostwrote this comment
@@geekdivaherselfyou mean by writing them down, right? Physical copies are glorious
In Don Quixote, Cervantes gives some vivid (almost contemporary) descriptions of activities in late-mediaeval inns.
I liked Arthur Conan Doyles the White Company description of inns too.
Or even earlier chivalric romances
Dear Jason Kingsley, you really take us back in time with each chapter of your educational saga and we are so used to seeing you dressed in medieval clothes, that we can no longer imagine you in 21st century clothes.... ;)
I congratulate you for what you do, your videos are very good and I think it is time for them to be recognized worldwide... ;)
10:05 I am a veterinarian and the reason why horses, donkeys etc can sleep upright is that as equines, they have a ligament that lets them stand and relax upright called "Lacertus Fibrosus"Other creatures lack this ligament and cannot sleep/relax/rest upright.
Dolphins take the top 3 on the chart though, sleeping one side of the brain at a time, sometimes I wonder if that would be a cool human ability, it would make life more interesting and seem to last 25% longer after an entire lifetime lol.
@@posaiduck1131 cool
@@heliosgnosis2744 they'd just make us work longer hours lol
@@0292-q3l With so much extra thinking time for humans you would think maybe tons more would wise up and wake up to the situation of so few running all and so many being the sole reason for that few to live a care free life while so many are worried about what's for food tomorrow, just a hope deep down inside that yeah most would wise up to the very bad game we happen to be part of in life as it is deemed for humans in this current culture.
@heliosgnosis2744 Birds at the ends of each row on branches sleep with one eye open to protect the others.
I don't understand why this dude doesn't have a TV show.
We have "alien technology" shows on "History" (how the hell does that work?) that no one wants to watch.
Meanwhile, this guy is a treasure trove of actual history that people seem to genuinely enjoy listening to.
Plus, he has an insanely small budget compared to any other TV show and yet STILL manages to deliver quality content!!
@The_Pariah the way a network meddlesome with shows and the bad decisions they frequently make, I'm glad this man is still independent.
Okay, some context on this channel (which I wholeheartedly love.) "This dude" is Jason Kingsley, co-founder and CEO of an _enormously_ successful game development company, Rebellion. I don't know the guy but my guess is that Modern History is his passion project. I don't know exactly how wealthy he is but he is _very_ wealthy. Where do you think he gets all his horses (and one mule), multuple sets of period accurate armour, the upkeep for all that, and everything else? Not from a mid-level TH-camr income stream, that's for sure.
Yeah, he doesn't go in for huge effects and a giant production team. But make no mistake, this isn't some random dude making stuff out of his basement. He has resources behind this channel. And hell, I wish every super rich person out there had a passion project this entertaining, educational and wholesome. The world would be a much better place.
We'd have to pay to watch and learn then and that'd be unfortunate
“Alien technology.” My arse. We need more realism in our entertainment. Let’s all strive to bring back the realism with history and not the bollocks that conspiracy theories bring to the telly.
@@erinmalone2669 Are you disagreeing with what I said so that you can agree with what I said.....?
Boy, I'm really at a loss for words here.
Enjoyed a horse riding trail a few years ago in northern Spain during which we stayed at a different inn every night. One night was spent in a crusader’s Manor House - simply beautiful & oozed aged. No traffic, almost no people, it truly felt like I was a medieval traveller.
Sounds great!
Did you get cheated and or robbed? that would make it most authentic you know given the conversion rate a plain nobody of today would be a very wealthy person by the standards of the norm of the past. lol
Hey @ModernKnight, so the reason that Inns had fixed prices was because of information networking. It was extremely lengthy an ordeal to make sure that markets had up-to-date information concerning prices of goods and services. The guilds back then were a method of standardization so that you could "plan your trip" in a sense, much like we do with travel agencies today. This allowed someone to bring the necessary money/bartering goods for their trip and then afterwards have enough to return home. Merchants/Farmers often staying with inns that they were providers for; like our modern restaurant business models today.
It was a big deal when these prices were changed, as the whole economy relied on understanding that fixed price oftentimes, and why it was an awful upset to have bandits stealing from merchants' carts and their coinage.
Your point about fantasy mounts being catered to is very inspiring for character creation. It would make a lot of sense for a skilled beastmaster to have worked in such a place to build experience with a wide variety of creatures.
Marc Singer and Daniel Goddard's services will be in high demand.
I can see where a prosperous inn located on a well-travelled road would be a news center. Travelers arriving daily from all parts of England would be updating information learned the previous night or the night before. So, the inn keeper would be the most informed person in the area.
I am getting on at 64. Sometimes life can be really rubbish. Sickness, medical bills tax, money etc etc. It was SOOOOO good and relaxing to sit and listen to this. Imagining how simple life was 800 years ago with a modicum of success ( and quite a bit of luck with who your parents were!). I will now binge watch more of your vids. I was thinking of using what money i have to find a building and do it up as “The Bannered Mare”. Would people be interested in visiting such a place for beer, mead and stew? No songs about the Dovakhin!
I've been watching some model creation channels. I can see myself getting into making diaramas. I think I'd need to work myself up to something like Whiterun. BUt I do believe it would be cool to recreate some of the most famous game places as templates for such diaramas.
@@Tigs2 sounds good lol
The vast majority of people in the Middle Ages (85%) were peasant farmers who worked from sun-up to sundown, had no plumbing, heating, or cooling, no refrigeration, no concept of germ theory or advanced medical techniques, were illiterate and superstitious, and on average lived 25 to 35 years. So yes, life was simple, but also brutal and short.
If you were "lucky", you could be 5-10% of the population and be clergy, or another 5-7% and be an artisan like a blacksmith, carpenter, or stonemason. The really lucky ones were the 3% who were nobility, but they were just as susceptible to the plague or all the other maladies the common ignorance of the day called "fevers".
I'd say, with how stratified and ossified the social structure was in every kingdom then (no democracies, either), there was no such thing as "a modicum of success" and it was 99.9% what family you were born into.
@@rikk319 I agree, a lot of people seem to have a lot of nostalgia for the "good old simple times", with zero appreciation for the modern benefits they have been enjoying their whole life, like for example that much fewer women die in childbirth, much fewer kids die before they're even 5, etc. Like you said, having even the best lifestyle available in those times not only was 99.9% owed to who your parents were, but it was still far below the living standard of a massive chunk of modern people
Big fan of the fact that you are considerate of us Dungeon/Game Masters trying to figure things out because school history lessons never consider that you may need to become a late medieval eatery owner or fish monger for twenty minutes, or slip into the role of an expert fletcher for... longer than you had planned that evening
You would think in the UK and Mainland Europe they would have tourist spot to which the entire town, people, staff, everything is setup to be like it was in history, much like the Colional town in Virgina, if you stay to long you lose track and place of yes yes I am in the modern world, with all around you being a world from centuries ago, except for the freaking sodas and modern tidbits here and there of food and drinks.
Thank you so much for those videos! I just love those insights into the daily business of medieval times
Glad you like them!
@@ModernKnight what did you use for the thumbnail of this vidoe. as the place shown is not in your vidoe :( is it AI or a real place?
Your health recovers fully if you stay at an inn
Facts. I've done this
Depends on the Inn!
@@RonCecchetti 😄😄😄
Is that overnight or just for a nap?
Enemies respawn though
I live in Skopje Macedonia that was a big commercial hub in the Ottoman era. There is an old oriental part of the city where the shops and the markets were located. Even today you can see the big robust stone or brick buildings of the inns, or as they called them AN. They all have the structure of a Roman villa with kitchen, rooms for the employees and place for the animals on the ground floor, and rooms for the travelers in the upper floor. All of them have a big courtyard with a fountain in the centre, and nearby are the warehouses, and baths . Today they are used as galleries restaurants but they are not used as inns.
That's something that we in the United States simply don't have; there are no ancient buildings like this. Our indigenous peoples did not typically build hard structures of stone--mostly wood and hide, if they were permanent at all, and our more structured history really only dates back 200-300 years, perhaps 400 in the very oldest areas.
Thanks for sharing your experience :)
@@0num4 unfortunately many buildings were lost due to wars, and natural disasters. In 1963 there was an earthquake that destroyed almost 90% of the city
@@0num4 There's Cahokia in what is now Missouri.
@@clobberelladoesntreadcomme9920 Technically, that's across the river, in Illinois. Was probably amazing once though whatever structures it had were wood and long since gone. All that remains today are the gigantic mounds of earth.
Fantastic video! I can't get enough of hearing insights and descriptions about how normal life was in medieval times. It fascinates me to no end.
In my hometown of Bolton there is the Ye Olde Man and Scythe the inn was first mentioned as early as 1251. During the English Civil War the Masaccre of Bolton occured after 2 unsuccessful royalist atta cks. A third that took place during a rain storm and at night was finally successful and took the town and then occured a m assacre of up to 1,600 people. After the war The Earl Of Derby who took part in the action, was executed in the town, he spent his last night in Ye Olde Man and Scythe. They have a chair that he reportedly sat on the night before, the chair was then broken by accident by the band The Who. Of course there are ghost stories of the Earl as well. Interestingly the executioners skull is for some reason now on display in a different pub on the outskirts of town called The Pack Horse Pub that was also founded in Medieval times. An old tale goes that the reason the home man cider at Ye Olde Man and Scythe tastes the way it does is because rats swim in it. Also there is another old pub next door called The Swan Hotel which still has the courtyard and doorway for horses and carts.
Incredible thanks for sharing!
Wow I always thought Bolton was a dump. But looks from a quick Google search, it has hidden gems! I could be persuaded to give it another go based on this. Many thanks for the information 👍
@@theotherside7538 Bolton has beautiful architecture, some stunning countryside, good comedians and weirdly punches above it's weight in other areas such as inventions.
Very cool.
Time Team taught me that the British Isles are composed of layers of human history, and it's all interesting.
I know Inns figure a lot into fantasy novels, but I wonder if anybody has written an ongoing series where the Inn is the central feature of the stories - just a lot of disparate characters who come and go, floating in and out of the story, who all meet at one specific location, the crossroads and the Inn, and bringing their adventure with them.
Do it!
The Name Of The Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss; starts out that way.
@@teresaharris-travelbybooks5564 and still waiting to be finished
@@karenmakar5848 yes, unfortunately.
_Decameron_ by Boccaccio? Oh, wait, that was a villa.
_Canterbury Tales?_
You're a great storyteller, Jason. 👍
Your video topic goes perfectly with this week's Tasting history with Max Miller video.
As Australia was settled by the British, inns were established under the title public houses. As you leave Sydney and head west you can still see these pubs approximately every 5 miles.
I'm surprised they are that far apart considering in our little towns there were 100's, next door to each other in some cases.
Food, drink, and a bed which may or may not have critters in it - what's not to love? Well, provided there was a bed available and you didn't have to bunk down on the floor. Frankly, the stables could often be more hospitable and any of my horses a lot better companions as they don't snore... mostly.
A good inn would be a welcome sight, especially when the weather or time of year wasn't dry or warm.
Here in the US, there were inns and way stations that became infamous as they were involved in robbing and killing those unfortunate enough to stop at them. I'm sure there were such places in medieval times as well.
I think one aspect of life in the past that I find really fascinating is how everything had many uses. I know they used urine in affixing dyes I to cloth too. In modern homes we just think of our bodily wastes as something gross to get rid of and never think of again, but our urine and feces went on to do more after they passed from us. We take so much for granted on how easy it is to do things with modern chemicals, that we’ve lost sight of how ingenious our ancestors were. Fascinating video! I really appreciated the deep dive into inns during the medieval period. Do you have any data on how often women stayed at inns during this time? I know they went on pilgrimages, but how common was it for women to travel far enough distances to require an inn? Thanks for all your hard work in putting together such awesome content!
Urine became a natural resource in the gunpowder area as it was a source for potassium nitrate.
Germans are still finding creative uses for it on pornhub.😂
plague
Stale urine in the Earth's Children books helped apply a white chalk to get white hides as I recall :D
Apparently, they used to store surgical equipment in urine, so it didn't rust. Apparently, the term 'spending a penny' was in relation to this practice.
I loved your comments on the potential problems stabling animals in a fantasy setting! Reminded me of the sort of thing Terry Pratchett would write.
💙Terry Pratchett💙
@@EggnogTheNog I miss Terry. Him diamond.
Pilgrims of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela still get to experience a similar thing. The accomodations vary widely: from large Church Alburgues with a dining hall, dormitories, and showers to small privately owned bunk houses that may or may not have a kitchen for you to cook in or even a tiny tienda shop. Some cater to bicyclist travelers and have a little locking barn for your bike.
Your content is SO good. I came to / found your channel as a GM to learn more about the fantasy analog to the medieval structure. Stayed for the actual real medieval history. Scratches two itches ! Cheers mate 🍻
Same here. I love the " slice of life" videos.
1:01 Innfrastructure ??
@@koningbolo4700 you beat me to it 🤣
I would love to see a video where he shows scenes of inns in movies and TV and discusses how accurate they are. The iconic Prancing Pony and Barlamin Butternur come to mind first but also the small ones in Game of Thrones. The one where Catlin seizes Tyrion comes to mind. Or the inn where The Hound and Arya eat chicken and the place where the kid makes the wolf shaped bread. Then there's the inns in games like Diablo and Skyrim. I have always wondered if those are exaggerated or if that's how it really was.
Game of Thrones showed that ghetto chicken joints in any historical era can be rough!
Try reading “Jamaica Inn,”by Daphne du Maurier. An English writer. Published in 1936. A movie was made of it, too.
Please don't compare cheap ,
poorly written drivel like Game Of Thrones with Tolkien 's masterpiece..!
I love that your knowledge is useful for fantasy writers
Glad you like them!
Always lovely to see another MHTV video. Just talking, speculating around medieval inns with a bit and bob of fantasy.
No armor or weapons needed and still enjoyed every moment of the video.
Great job as always!
@12:55 My mom grew up on a rural farm in Hungary in the 60s that had been in the family for some generations. It didn't have modern amenities. I asked her how they stored food with no fridge, and she said that their cellar had a sand pit where they would store root vegetables like potatoes, onions, garlic over the winter. I haven't come across references to this "sand pit" besides what my mom told me, so I was wondering if you ever heard about it.
My parents always did that in our garden, her dad ran a farm until I was in elementary school.
@@walkir2662 it wouldn't work in a garden because the garden is exposed to the outdoor elements. The crucial point is the vegetables are kept in a cold cellar but the sand pit helps keep the moisture inside them. So they neither dry out too quickly nor grow moldy.
Old American farmhouses still have root cellars. Some had spring houses where perishables like milk, cream and butter were stored.
“Good evening, little masters! What can I do for you? If you’re looking for accommodations, we’ve got some nice cozy hobbit sized rooms available, always proud to cater to the little folk…”
Underhill
@@blvp2145 point?!
buddy boy!!!
Similar to trekking villages in the Himalayas today. You can get a pallet and a hot meal of some kind, often in a rustic stone building, but everything is carried in and it’s often simple fare.
The fellowship of the ring, chapter 9 "At the sign of the prancing pony" has a good description of an inn.
The more I watch this channel the more amazed I am at your level of expertise and knowledge. Thoroughly enjoyable!
0:59 sophisticated inn-frastructure
@@gbraadnl you just had to get that Inn didn't you?
🇬🇧 Warwick Castle , England, has many re-enactments of medieval times. A brilliant day out . Waxworks, Princess Tower, sword fighting lessons, jousting, 'medieval ' eating places , etc etc.
Got to be one of best kept and greatest castle in the world ,been a couple of times with freinds and family ,got lucky both times was sunny days .
I’ve spent a lot of time at The George Inn in Norton St Phillip, and this has answered a lot of questions I’ve had about the place, that I haven’t been able to pin down, beyond the Pitchfork Rebellion! Thank you for today’s daily Learning Gang. (Learning gang is just me learning something at least once every day).
I have to say - what a great teacher - balanced , convincing , researched and enlightening - thanks .
I'm amazed how well the description of inns from Wheel of Time matches with the historical thing. Robert Jordan did his homework!
I was just thinking about a game of dice against a one-eyed traveler while a boney (but spry) old man juggles and recites in high chant.
Im enthralled by this!!! I have adhd and this guy kept my attention just standing against a tree talking about inns??? Im genuinely blown away. Great story telling.
As an avid reader of fantasy and dipping my toes into writing a novel myself, your videos are priceless. Thank you so much for your passion and your honest work!
Also, I couldn't believe how time flew by. These 18 minutes felt like five! You're a great, natural story teller as well
Thanks!
I was a team member on a project about this topic and economics of how an Inn would (may have) been run. The general consensus was smaller town inns specialized in merchant travel.
Much like you said, it would be kind of a fort for asset security and self protection. It was common practice for payments to be made up front for a room or spot in the common room, feed and water for livestock and a bowl of hot chow for dinner and perhaps some grain or old bread for a breakfast tossed in. Ale, Beer, Wine, Cheese, Fruit and most protein were an additional cost. Also, of note most merchants of the time headed out the gate at dawn or first light, to take advantage of the daylight hours.
The basic shape was a U shaped building with a gate at the top of the “U”. The Inn had living quarters for the inn keeper’s family. A stable was commonly roofed, yet open aired, part of the wall to make feeding and cleaning easier with some basic farrier tools and tack would be kept for shoeing and small repairs. Wagons could be kept in the central courtyard and covered with oiled hides for water proofing. For lodging, smaller individual rooms for summer use and a large common room for meals, socializing and sleeping in the winter months. The logic was it is cheaper to heat one room as opposed to several smaller rooms especially considering a poorly tended fire could burn your Inn down. Besides all the travelers had bedrolls for periods between inns when they had to sleep on the road.
A detached kitchen was kept nearby the community well, that made meals for both the Inn guests and members of the community. The kitchen was separate in case of fire so it would not burn down the Inn.
It was also the consensus that the majority of the staff and client services were provided by family and extended family to keep money within the family.
Wives and daughters would manage the interior: provide the management, logistics and supply, administration, cooks, cleaning, wash, maintain fires, whatever.
Sons would care for the livestock and ensure firewood is stocked, well water runs, menial chores and limited hunting and foraging.
Adult men would provide the exterior: muscle, firewood, hunting, farrier, farmers, millers, maintenance.
I don't know why, but I find this stuff fascinating. Whenever I get the idea about how it would be interesting to live during that time period, I can watch a video like this and say "Yeahhhh, no thanks".
In fantasy books, everybody gets their own room at an inn. I don't know why they don't make things more realistic.
In Sir Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" stories, in "Witches Abroad", the 3 witches shared a room.
You have to consider the economy when world-building. In the real world the nobility is really the only rich folk, but in fantasy worlds adventurers are often very rich and in great need of comfort after perhaps sleeping on the ground or on a stone floor for many days. Also if you have magic, depending on the level of access to magic, that will greatly affect the economy just as sure as technology does today. Think about the things we have or do today that in the medieval period only the richest people would have/do. With magic, you have the effect of technology without having to invent technology.
So really you have to think organically about why things were a certain way and not try to copy them completely. In most fantasy novels I've seen usually a whole party of adventurers will take a room in an inn. In the Forgotten Realms D&D setting (which Ed Greenwood gives great thought to economics) there are various inns depending on the local economy and some of them that cater mostly to the poor will have a common room with many beds.
@@MannyBrum "Realistic" adventurers would be barely a step up from bandits or beggars and would be treated as such by society. The most of organized and respectable of them might be the equivalent of real world historical mercenary bands, but that's about it.
Still the best Medieval history channel on YT. I could watch your videos for hours- best binge watching EVER!!!
Another great video. I got a chuckle out of the hippogriff bit. I can imagine an adventurer with an exotic mount like that creating quite a stir if they showed up randomly at a small inn that wasn't used to that sort of thing.
Thank you Mr Kingsley to acknowledge people who are into medieval fantasy and myth, and role playing games, like to listen to real history too. That there is room for both. I know sometimes we may feel history buffs or ventures shun us. Like there is a kind of snobbery.
I love playing block building games. When I'm creating my settlements, they always end up looking like massive medieval inns. Buildings made of connected rooms, stacked higldy pigldy, with tall encircling walls and strong gates!
I would love to learn more about medieval bathhouses. I don't think I've ever noticed mention of them in history shows and books I've consumed.
I absolutely love how you speak - crystal clear, 100% correct, beautiful English
Just found this channel and quickly found myself binge watching everything. Love how enthusiastic he is.
Aside from just loving learning from this channel (I’ve loved everything medieval since I was a tiny kid) it’s also fun to use info from these videos to add a bit of realism to my D&D campaign. A fantasy group showing up in something that looks and functions much more like a real setting adds a level of weight to the world.
If I'm riding a dragon, I'm not paying a penny. In fact, I'm sleeping wherever I bloody well please!
If you don't mind poison in your ale, be my guest.
It's people like you and yer salamander who give us decent dragon riders a bad reputation.
Your dragon burns the inn down , you're sleeping on the ground.
@@JoeMama-ub4zc At least it'll be warm and I'll have somewhere to cook sausages on a stick.
Dragon = name of the horse... way to kill the fantasy.
I am so glad that you mentioned the various fantasy settings from books, movies and games. I myself play D&D, and I also agree, after your awesome explanation of medieval inns, that it is the reason why so many adventures start there. 😁
Glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Jason, hello everyone! I’m back - as is my custom, I made Lent from TH-cam 😊 Not everyone can be a knight, in a medieval reenactment there is also a place for a pious middle-aged lady. But to the point. Thanks, Jason, for a great video. I imagine it could be very useful especially for gamers - half of the adventures in RPG’s begin in the inn.
I especially liked the theme of a fantastic stable for unusual mounts. After all, a wizard traveling on a dragon or a witch on a goat also has to stop somewhere for the night.
Good on ye for resting from TH-cam for Lent. I'm certain it made coming back sweeter. You are a modern day pilgrim. But bypass the inn and stay at the local convent/monastery for a really good rest. At least till Henry VIII comes along. . .
Good idea. Wish I'd thought of that. Maybe next year.
Keep it to yourself mate.
"Take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them: otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven" [Matthew 6:1]
@@CubeInspector On the one hand, of course you are right. On the other hand, I had to explain why I wasn't here for six weeks, right? And thirdly, it's Matthew 5:16 😀
NERD ALERT!
I love that you mention cellars and how effective they were, they are so often omitted and people who never seen rural houses think medieval people just risk their lives with spoiled meat when in reality most places had a cellar, if you had a home you had a cellar
Meats were commonly salted to help preserve
Very important question- Does a centaur have to stay in the stable, or do they get a bed indoors?
I would say they'll say with the animals unless the centaur puts up a massive fuss over it
lol
Depending on where you are and how common or if the owner has ever seen or thought about providing for a centaur patron.. They could have a large dedicated room on the ground floor of the inn or build a stable like motel or cabana right outside the main inn..
Or more likely just throw a few blankets and a mirror in the VIP’s Horse stall.. 😂
I'd argue most large species, such as centaurs, minotaurs and ogres would have a separate space at the stables for them. Keep in mind that regular humans would often use the stables as well in our history.
If they don't shit on the floor they may stay indoors. 😂 I heard that is the biggest problem. And the drinking habits. Best to provide a small barrel.
In the village that i grew up in right up until the late 90s there were eight pubs! The decline began from the late 80s onwards with a pub closing every few years - there are still three open, but it's a bit of a come down. Its close to the old London to bath road (now the A4) - so shows jus how important inns were and later pubs - all the pubs date back hundreds of years, four for definite have histories dating back to medieval times.
There's 4000 in my village and not one pub. A record apparently. Sucks.
A handsome man in a corner smokes his pipe with his hood on, and you wonder if someday he'll be a king...
Theeen he kicks a helmet, and breaks 2 of his toes...💀 smh 😆
Is this a reference I am not aware off?
@@blarpgan3641 he looks foul but feels fair....
Not all those who wander are lost.
@@christinebutler7630 A walkabout is not only a custom of the natives of Australia, it is indeed well use to be a worldwide custom for mostly young men but many young women also have to "find themselves and purpose beyond the plainness of being a copy of their mother or father as was also the custom worldwide for the most part, and in someways/places still is.
@@danielbazan09 Aragorn of Lord of the Rings
My dragon is generally content to snooze standing when in unfamiliar places, as well.
Inns were also a great place to hear about all the arrow-and-knee related news of the day.
Just don't steal any sweet roll.
That is an *excellent* point about guilds and their role in setting the accepted standards for transactions.
Would you be interested in making a video about guilds more generally? That seems to be a wonderful subject for delving into the lives of more ordinary working folk.
Thank you for creating such wonderful videos for us to enjoy!
I'm researching guilds right now.
@@ModernKnight Oh, that's excellent. I'm looking forward to your future presentation!
Can we all just take a moment to appreciate the smoothness of his voice.
I love that we used to look at our "excretions" as further resources to use. fantastic and really quite clever.
I've been reading Marion Turner's biography of Chaucer, _Chaucer: A European Life_. Chaucer had several friends who were innkeepers and early copies of some of his poems are associated with inns, other drinking establishments, and brothels. Of course, the Canterbury Tales had the Tabard Inn which was owned at the time by the Abbot of Hyde as a setting. She thinks it likely that patrons were entertained by readings and discussions of books
This is better than anything I've ever saw on TV in my entire life
Truck stops in America maybe Australia are the closest thing to this in modernity, you can shower fuel, park your transport vehicle and if you go to the dinner that are plenty of talkative truckers. These are becoming rarer with the growth of the large commercial stops that lean more towards gas station with parking but before I quit driving these spots were known by all the drivers.
Another great video! Super informative and always entertaining! I would love to go to/throw an event that has a tavern/inn scene. Such a great vibe. At least in my fantasies, lol.
That would be cool! You'd make a good Innkeeper
New subscriber. Happy to have been pointed to your content by a fellow TTRPG player. Really interesting to hear about the history of European inns and innkeepers. Thank you! Checking your back catalog of content for more now.
Welcome aboard!
I bought a leather bag in Morrocco many years ago for my girlfriend. It seemed nice quality but when she got it home she called me a few days later saying that it made her entire house stink of urine! I guess that was less of a problem in the hot/dry climate of Morocco!
Might have been horse or another animal
My father’s forebears were innkeepers at the Swan in Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire in the late 17th and most of the 18th Centuries. They were all blacksmiths by trade and began with their smithy and accommodation for travellers’ horses - along with rough beds for poor travellers in the hay loft - before taking the Inn’s licence. On my last visit to England I had the pleasure of a couple of pints of good ale and a tour of what had been the stables still equiped with hay ricks, hitching rings etc that were likely made by my ancestors.
@ModernKnight Have you thought of making a video on pilgrimages in the medieval times, like what was worn, carried, etc...
I'd like to hear your thoughts.
Really like the concept of inns with big courtyards. Somewhere for people to sleep, somehere for animals to be fed and watered, somewhere for people to eat and socialise, somewhere for travellers and locals to interact - you've got some news from far away, I've got some info about the road ahead. There must have been interesting exchanges. Like little hubs of information.
Love the Aragorn reference.
Love this! I always enjoy your videos on these "mundane" topics, but this in particular is great fun AND of great use for me as I gear up to try and run a new tabletop campaign. It's been six or seven years now since I played and I'm feeling quite rusty, but this has given me more energy! Thank you!!
This gives me inspiration to run a d&d campaign where the 'heroes' are just innkeepers/staff when the main party comes to town.
Just discovered the channel. Dude's fun to listen to. I like how he poises the information as opinion and not fact. Very refreshing.
Can you do more about the life of normal medieval peasants, how they go about in their daily life, what kind of food they eat, their houses, their hygiene etc
I think he did do a series comparing the different levels of society. Check the back catalogue.
@@stephaniewilson3955 I know, what I meant is for him to go deeper into the lives of those peasants. I can never find Enough about the peasantry
Just go and spend a week or two in Moss Side🤣
I do think inns were the place to hear the latest news/gossip and also start broadcasting it. Reasonably safe place to sleep for the night too..oh to be able to go back in time and sit in a corner at observe in one
Just recently discovered this channel and it's already one of my favorite channels on YT! Love the informative yet down to Earth eductaional style, I feel as though I can really imagine the Medieval world.
Welcome aboard!
We need a new game that captures this kind of atmosphere. The last I played was Kingdom Come Deliverance (2018).
kingdom come is literally the only game in history thats managed to accurately convey a medieval atmosphere
It's such a shame that this guy knows so much about Medieval life, and he's even the head of a games company.. match made in heaven... and then he produces games like "Sniper Elite". Pew pew.
I’ll come all the way from the United States to have a long journey with you in mediaeval times. 🙏♥️
I would also assume that they were a form of money changers. Most people assume that money of different kingdom was accepted but because of different weights and purity of metals in the coins you have so much complicated things because you need a true weights scale which probably costs money.
@Lostboy811 Just ask Anubis. He's the one with the proper scales. 😂
Wealth of fantastic and engaging content, could listen to your narration of medieval life for hours without getting bored! Much love from Hungary! :)
Glad you enjoy it!
Not all who wander are lost…
It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.
I absolutely love this channel, Jason is a passionate and well-read storyteller, always fun and somehow, extremely relaxing at the same time :) Now i wonder, why Rebellion does not make any historical medieval games?
My latest visit to the Holiday Inn Express, they did not appear to have facilities for my beasts of burden.
You need to go to a Premier Inn for them accommodations.