On Medieval Inns

…Travelers had to depend on inns. The quality of accommodation and services varied greatly. As a profession, hoteliers had a bad reputation, and just like today there were upmarket and downmarket establishments. Many had names like The Crown or Lion or Black Horse or Three Kings and were situated wherever there was a constant stream of travelers and traders on the road. Accommodation was usually in dormitory-like rooms, often with a number of people in each bed. Everyone slept naked. Bed linen was not changed regularly, so these lodgings were often filthy, uncomfortable, and dangerous. Skin diseases and fevers spread rapidly, and body odors were omnipresent, although many would not have noticed them because they had smelled them since birth. Latrines were basic, with no sewerage, and…baths were few and far between. Available food was restricted to bread, cheese, and, perhaps, some soup.

— The Birth of the West, Chapter 1