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| December 2008 |
| Billie Silvey |
| Roots Of Hospitality |
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| Hospitality, like most things, began at home with people welcoming guests to share their food, fire and shelter. In the early church, legends grew up around certain individuals who became associated with various aspects of hospitality. |
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| The young Julian, to atone for a crime, built a refuge and cared for travelers. He became the patron saint of tavern-keepers. |
| Legend has it that St. Christopher carried the Christ child across a river on his shoulders. He became known as the patron saint of travelers. He also is said to have thrust his staff into the ground near his hut, where it blossomed and bore fruit to provide food and shade for travelers. |
| St.George, the British knight said to have slain a dragon, is also supposed to make the path smooth and safe for travelers. |
| In the Middle Ages, the growth of monasteries promoted hospitality. St. Benedict made hospitality one of the rules of his order. The Hospice of St. Bernard was known for protecting travelers in the Alps. And in 1119, the Knights Hospitallers of St. John was founded to care for German pilgrims and escort them safely through Palestine during the Crusades. By the Renaissance, the Hospitallers were keeping guests in Europe as well as Palestine. Martin Luther stayed with the Knights of St. John in 1521 while attending the Diet at Worms. The American Mark Twain wrote in Innocents Abroad of the Convent Fathers: A pilgrim without money, whether he be a Protestant or a Catholic, can travel the length and breadth of Palestine, and in the midst of her desert wastes, find wholesome food and a clean bed every night in these buildings. |
| The efforts of individuals in their homes and monks in their monasteries grew into three distinct branches of the modern hospitality industry: 1) Taverns provided food and drink for the traveler; 2) Inns offered overnight hospitality, and 3) Hospitals cared for the ill and injured, because monks were the only physicians in the Middle Ages and monasteries were open to everyone. |
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| Our busy lives, smaller houses and lack of servants may make it more difficult to practice hospitality today, but it may be that open hearts, homes and hearths are needed now more than ever. Let's make an effort to lay out the welcome mat whenever we can. |
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| Coffee had been brought to England by the British and Dutch East Indian Companies by the 16th century. It became popular because it was thought to stimulate creativity without the bad effects of alcohol. Women were not allowed in the first coffeehouse in England, which was founded in 1650. In 1668, Edward Lloyd's coffeehouse opened in London. Popular with merchants and maritime insurance agents, it became the most famous insurance company in the world, Lloyds of London. |
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| In the 18th and 19th centuries, British nobility entertained in their lavish country houses, where guests could escape the noise and pollution of London and take part in sports and social life. |