by S. D. Sykes
This new boldness amongst the lower orders led to concerns at the highest levels in society. The villeins and tenants no longer appeared to accept their place in the world. It should be said here that the medieval mindset split people into three distinct groups – those who fought, those who prayed and those who worked. But suddenly those who ‘worked’ were no longer happy to do as they were told. They were causing trouble. Some were disobedient, some were agitators. It was soon clear that something had to be done . . .
In the summer of 1349, the King, Edward III, wrote to the Sheriff of Kent. His letter formed the ‘Ordinance of Labourers’, instructing the Sheriff of Kent to ensure that agricultural workers were not to be paid any higher daily rates than they had received before the Plague in 1346.This ruling was endorsed by Parliament in 1351, to form the Statute of Labourers. It will come as no surprise that this law was highly impopular with the peasants of England. They resisted it vigorously, and eventually the Statute proved ineffectual. Despite the best efforts of the nobility, the Statute was difficult to police – the balance of power ultimately lay with the workers.
Not everybody was a winner in these post-Plague years, however. True enough, many survivors inherited property and goods they had never dreamt of possessing. And for those whose status was ‘free’, it was possible to find better paid work outside of your estate of birth. It was also, briefly, a time of opportunity for women, as they were now able to take over tenancies from the dead males of their family, and manage their own affairs in a way that had previously been denied them. On the other hand, those villeins who remained ‘unfree’ were not always able to capitalise on these new opportunities.The harvests of 1350 and 1351 were very poor, due to bad weather conditions, resulting in very high food prices, particularly for grain. For these people, the very poorest in society, the post-Plague years were often difficult and sometimes ruinous.
Glossary
Banalities
All wheat on the estate was required to be ground at the lord’s mill. The banality was the fee, paid to the lord, for use of this mill, and usually took the form of a percentage of the wheat ground.
Braies
The medieval version of underpants for men. A loose undergarment – usually made from a length of linen that was wound about the legs and bottom and then tied at the waist with a belt.
Constable
The constable reported crimes to the bailiff at the Hundreds Court.
Cottar
The poorest class of villein. A person with very little land, usually only the curtilage of their own cottage.
Custumnal/Custumal
A document that outlined the customary agreements and arrangements between a lord and his villeins and tenants. It might include duties that were required about the estate, such as the cutting of hedges; and duties that were required on the lord’s demesne fields, such as number of days labour expected at harvest.
Dais
A raised platform at the end of the dining hall/ great hall. Usually furnished with a table and benches, it was reserved for people of high status within the household.
Demesne
The fields on the manor estate that were reserved for the lord’s personal use and profit. Local villeins would work this land in return for the ability to rent their own plots. Tenants were often expected to work in the demesne, although they received wages for their labour.
Hue and Cry
If a dead body was found under suspicious or unnatural circumstances, every man in the village was required to join a noisy search party to alert the local neighbourhood to the murder, and to flush out the culprit.
Humours
Harking back to the teachings of Galen in antiquity, the human body was said to be ruled by four humours, or bodily fluids, which needed to be kept in balance. Yellow bile, phlegm, black bile, and blood. The balance of your humours ruled both your health and your disposition. So, for example, an excess of black bile caused a person to become melancholic.
Hundreds Court
A court that dealt with serious crime, or cases that could not be tried by the manorial court. This court was presided over by the sheriff, unless the case involved murder – in which instance a royal judge was summoned.
Infirmarer
The infirmarer managed the infirmary at the monastery, where the sick and elderly of the community were cared for. The position was a prestigious post, and the infirmarer was usually trained in basic surgery and medicine.
Indulgences
Taking the form of a letter or receipt, an indulgence was an award for the remission of sin. It was earned by prayer and good deeds, but increasingly in the later Middle Ages through a money donation.
Kirtle
A tunic-like garment, usually made of wool.
Lay Brother/Lay Monk
A monk of lesser status than the ordained members of the monastery. The lay brothers undertook much of the heavy agricultural and domestic work for the community.
Manorial court
This court was overseen by the lord of the manor. It usually dealt only with minor issues restricted to the manor itself, such as disagreements between tenants, or infringements of the lord’s rights.
Pottage
A type of soup often made with dried peas, grains, and sometimes meat or fish.
Purlieu
A deforested area on the edge of hunting forests, still subject to forest law – especially with respect to hunting.
Reeve
An officer of the estate, responsible to the lord for organising and overseeing agricultural work on the demesne fields. A position of status within the community.
Royal Judge
Royal judges, from the court of the king’s bench, were responsible for justice with regards to serious criminal cases. Travelling to each county approximately twice a year, they tried the criminal cases, which had been referred to them by the sheriff.
Scullion
A servant employed to perform the most menial tasks, such as cleaning the spits or building the fires.
Sherijf
The position held the ultimate responsibility to the king for law and order in a shire. Literally the ‘shire reeve’, he had the power to arrest, imprison, hold trials, and organise juries, but not the power to try and sentence a suspect for a murder.
Solar
A room set apart from the rest of the household for use of the lord’s family. This room usually had a large window, giving rise to the idea that it was named after the sun. However, the word may also have derived from the French word ‘seul’, which means to be alone.
Surcoat
A tunic or outer coat.
Tenant
A person who rented farmland from a lord, but who received payment for working on the demesne. The status of the tenant was as a free man, meaning he and his family could leave the estate without the permission of the lord.
Villein
Villeins worked the lord’s lands, but were not usually waged. Typically they worked for three days a week, with extra services required at certain times of the year such as at harvest. In return for their labour they were able to rent land from the lord. Their status was unfree, meaning the lord had a great deal of control over their lives.
Virgate
A unit of land, roughly thirty acres in size.
Yeoman
A richer tenant farmer, who had the means to rent larger areas of land, and could afford to employ both servants and farmhands. They often acted as officers for the manor, such as the reeve or constable, giving their family greater status. Often more prosperous than the lord himself, in the wake of the Black Death they were known to take over the management of whole estates in return for paying fixed rent.
Acknowledgements
This novel has been the stereotypical ‘difficult’ second book – so I would like to thank the following people for helping me to navigate through to the finish.
Firstly my wonderful editor Nick Sayers, for his wisdom, patience and i
nsight.To my assistant editor Laura Macdougall, for her boundless energy, support and guidance. Of course my agent Gordon Wise, for his enduring belief in my writing, and to my friends at Curtis Brown Creative. If I hadn’t attended their novelwriting course in 2012, then I wouldn’t now have two published novels.
My biggest debt of gratitude, however, goes to my family and in particular my husband Paul. At the book launch of my first novel Plague Land, I described him as the patron saint of writers’ partners. He continues to prove himself worthy of this accolade. He is endlessly supportive, he is my first trusted reader and he is amazingly tolerant of my strange work patterns. Thank you Paul.
THE BUTCHER BIRD
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Copyright © 2015 by S. D. Sykes
First Pegasus Books hardcover edition February 2015
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