Wirtshäuser auf dem Prüfstand. Zur sozialen Ambivalenz öffentlicher Trinkkulturen in der Frühen Neuzeit

Surveying perceptions and repercussions of early modern public drinking, this essay discusses, first, the general consumption framework c.1400–1800; second, evidence for excess and links to crime; third, economic and cultural services. While problems of sources and perspective complicate assessments, it is suggested that – compared to more recent times – the ambivalent picture includes distinctive factors such as the greater social and fiscal relevance of public houses, the absence of cheap mass retailing (especially of spirits) as well as relatively higher levels of Church and peer control