In this clearly written study of the public house in early modern Europe, the author sets out to illustrate the “infinite versatility of tavern space, which was never predetermined or inherently biased, but always the result of momentary social construction” (p. 191). In doing so, Kümin's balanced study examines the social topography, material culture, communicative functionality, and the construction of social space inherent in pub culture. Based upon his habilitation for the University of Bern, its primary goal is the comparative analysis of tavern culture in the Republic of Bern and the Electorate of Bavaria from the sixteenth to early nineteenth centuries. Kümin's efforts move beyond this initial scope, however, to include forays into medieval culture and the inclusion of comparative secondary material, especially, but not limited to his current home in England. The inclusion of source materials is broad and eclectic, yet thoroughly systematic. Theoretically, the information is contextualized within several issues of continuing historiographic interest, such as the modernity thesis, the Blickle thesis on communalism, and newer research on communications media (in this case, the public house as media is the message) and public space as a social construct.
Physically, the book is broken down into three parts addressing the context of public drinking, the function of the public house, and its role in early modern society. Each part is subdivided into two chapters. Its overall construction is well proportioned, reflecting the standard schemata one expects from academic works in German-speaking lands. The layout is reader friendly, with all the proper ancillary material in the proper place, although the series requires endnotes rather than footnotes, presumably targeting a wider non-academic audience. From this perspective, the topic is conducive and likely to succeed. The title is rather misleading in that regard, however, since drink makes up only a portion of the study, with as much emphasis placed on dining (fine and otherwise), as well as sociability. Foodies will surely savor this book.
Chapter one begins with an outline of the services provided at two types of establishments: inns, providing a full spectrum of services, from meals, banquets, accommodation, and stabling; and, to a lesser degree, “drinking houses” with restricted rights to the sale of beverages and uncooked meals. The demographic/topographic proportion of establishments to inhabitants is established statistically from economic records. Chapter two outlines “agents and interests,” characterizing publicans, patrons, and the regulatory role of the authorities. Part two broaches the functionality of the public house, providing personal profiles of individual publicans, their livelihood, and the nature of services. Up to this point, the consideration is largely limited to material concerns, but, in chapter four, Kümin advances interesting theoretical ramifications of the pub as a hub of communications. By the seventeenth century, publicans availed of contracts for postal stations, moving beyond a purely local role to ensconce themselves on an evolving infrastructure of information exchange at the supra-regional level. Of course, the pub still catered to local communications networks and played a vital role in both stabilizing the community and providing a less controlled space with subversive potential. Here, the author introduces the inn as an important component of the public sphere, granting it pride of place alongside the coffee house, successfully challenging Habermas's periodization by moving the public sphere back into the era of the Reformation. Part IV (chapters five and six) follows this line of thinking and confronts commonly held prejudices against pubs as haunts of drunken masculinity. Ultimately, although Kümin confirms a disproportionate association of public houses with criminality, he correctly points out that elites and women continued to frequent establishments that also catered to essential communal, familial, bureaucratic, and religious events in the daily life of most early modern Europeans.
Overall, this is a very pleasant book indeed. Its strength lies in its systematic and balanced account of material culture, without a prurient need to home in on deviance, suggesting instead that the early modern public house had an integral and integrating effect on daily life, contributing to the advance of civility and sociability. If the author obviously enjoyed the epicurean aspects of shared visits to venerable establishments with his father, this does nothing to detract from the serious nature of his research as solid cultural history. One might debate some theoretical claims; certainly, sermons in churches performed an equally fundamental role in laying out ethical and moral values, and fast food is neither a modern nor early modern invention, as any casual visit to Pompeii illustrates. Nonetheless, Kümin's work is located at the center of historiographic relevance. The author's elegant precision of language reflects his obvious relish with the subject. Drinking Matters, while dealing less with drink than the title suggests, is a welcome addition to any course on early modern sociability, clear, concise, and possessed of broader implications. For nonacademics with even a passing interest in the hospitality trade, it provides an informative and tasteful overview. At the end of the day, what can one say? Guten Appetit!
