By the third day they had started to climb the hills that separated Haran from the plains that led to Tabae. Even here they travelled through acres of fallow and overgrown farmland; the result of bad seasons, insufficient money and non-existent labor over the last decades. After crossing through the pass that marked the border of his domain, they travelled through more fallow fields and hamlets of run down cottages, before reaching the keep itself.
As they arrived, the residents gathered to watch them pass. Undernourished and poorly dressed, they looked in need of lots of things. Some stood with their oxen working fallow fields that overlooked poor fields of winter wheat that stood waiting for eventual harvest, while others stood on their doorsteps.
The layout of the Burh was familiar to Tabae – a symbolic keep with the main cottage and several buildings within a defensive barrier of earth ramparts and wooden palisades – all in various stages of disrepair; but in better repair than Tabae. Outside the walls, cottages lay scattered in a semi ordered pattern. Inside, the main longhouse was about eight by thirty yards and it was a single level building that provided the sleeping, eating and meeting rooms for the Thane and his family – had he one. Alongside, other smaller cottages were available for the keep staff and wiga, and were surrounded by stables and granaries. Everything was muddy, rancid, old, tired and keeping itself together with memory alone.
The Ceorl lived in larger Cruck style houses, built around a wooden frame, with thatch roofs, and wattle and daub walls. All the buildings had extensive gardens planted with vegetables as well as pens for chickens and pigs. This was well tended, as it guaranteed the survival of its owners. Inside the cottages there was sufficient room for the family to sleep and for a draught ox and a milk cow during winter nights.
The difference between the Thane and the Ceorl was that he didn’t have to share his home with animals, and as they didn’t own livestock at all, the Tilia lived in even smaller huts, a single room of about six by four yards; lines of huts built closely together, and with even smaller gardens around them. Between the dwellings were, albeit empty, granaries and workshops for the part-time craeftiga in the village.
Whilst it was once home to almost three hundred families, today there was less than fifty – and only a twentieth of the original 150 Ceorl remained. The rest were tilia, keep staff and a few old wiga. With over five hundred new arrivals, however, the population more than trebled; and would double every six months for some time.
Annisa greeted them on arrival; she had departed a week earlier to prepare for their arrival, and she directed the new residents to buildings that would be their temporary homes. She then guided Conn to his new home, and whilst a lot of work had been done tidying and cleaning before he arrived, Conn felt her embarrassment as they looked into the run down building; with its fire blazing on the floor at the center of the room, and the resultant veil of smoke that greeted them. Annisa had learnt from her experiences in the Inn in Tabae, but she had little time to make improvements.
Conn tried not to cough, but failed. He hated smoke.
She apologized. ‘Thane, we did what we could – I know it is not what you are used to.’
‘It is fine, Annisa. It is warm and dry. That is all we need for today – though we do need to build a fireplace – very quickly.’
Later that night, the residents, old and new, were gathered together in the bailey. Conn addressed them.
After an introduction and general chit chat, he went to the matters at hand. ‘I know that times have been tough. I know that you have been short of food, short of seed, short of animals and short of hands. That has changed today – we have everything we need to once again be a very productive domain – no longer will we be short of anything.’
Cheers erupted. Conn continued.
‘We have many Silekians amongst us today; those that have lost their homes to the Rakians, and they will stay with us until they are able to go home, however long that takes. I know that you will welcome them, as you have done in the past.’
Conn paused. ‘You will also have noticed that I am not from around here.’ he paused again, having stated the obvious, ‘My home is called Taransay, and we do some things very differently, so I will be asking you to do some things very different from how you have done them in the past. Please remember, these are better ways – despite what you may first think. They have been tested over hundreds of years. Once we were just like you, but we found ways to make life easier and more prosperous.’
He knew that only time would convince them. The best short term solution was bribery, and Conn pointed to the food and drink that had been prepared. ‘I have brought food, mead and ale from Tabae for this feast tonight, so drink wisely, eat well and enjoy.’ There were now even greater cheers.
With the food and wine all consumed, Conn’s new subjects retired for the night; but not before personally greeting and thanking him. Finally alone – except for his keep staff, one was never really alone, Conn found his way back to his new abode. Annisa had candles and lanterns – new inventions from Tabae – situated in the room to provide him some light; with a bathtub was being filled with hot water. Plumbing was going to be one of his first ‘inventions’.
Conn had a dozen ‘domestics’ – all females – who served in roles such as cooks, cleaners and maids. Those that were bedda would sleep outside of the main house, while the younger ones would be sleeping here in the house with the master and his family. If there was theow, they would sleep here as well; and their duties could also include providing sexual services should the master desire. They all had straw bunks and rudimentary blankets to keep them warm, and a bunk had been set up for Conn at the other end of the room. As Thane, his privacy was created with handing drapes. Modesty not an issue in the dark room full of curious eyes, Conn disrobed, and climbed into his bath. Five days of road dirt removed, he went to bed. It had been a long day; and the following were not going to get shorter.
At first light, the workers, old and new, gathered back in the bailey and prepared for work. Those without appropriate clothing were provided replacement items brought from Lykiak. Annisa had created teams, and appointed locals as leaders. Whilst the locals knew the layout of the estate, it was the Silekians that joined their crews that knew what was expected to be done, and how to do it – having spent the last few weeks in Tabae training. So whether it was repairing, building, or ploughing the fields, they commenced work with gusto. Conn travelled from crew to crew assisting, directing and correcting.
It helped that everyone knew that they were being paid Ryals for the work they did – everyone in the village was now effectively an employee; and the barter economy had been supplanted overnight by a monetary one. The only exception was the Ceorl – those that by custom paid rent for the right to farm strips of lands scattered around the domain. Of the original one hundred and fifty, only thirty remained – so three quarters of the five thousand acres of tillable land in Haran was ‘ownerless’, which suited Conn’s plans perfectly.
When Conn met with the Ceorl, he gave them an offer that they couldn’t refuse — they could swap their current rights of thirty acres of land in strips – a virgate – for a new five hundred acre ‘farm’ – enclosed behind fences, a new cottage, free labor and free seed for the first year, and he would change their title from Ceorl to Laird; to indicate their change of status from leasing land to owning land. It was generous enough to be unrefusable, and after two years Conn had forty five Lairds in Tabae and Veii; not only becoming very wealthy in the process but allowing Conn the ability to be an absentee landlord. Their prosperity only enhanced his.
The Meshechians employed a three field system of agriculture; a third fallow; a third ploughed for the winter wheat, and a third for the spring oats and barley. Conn changed that. With the Lairds on side, the ploughmen ploughed everything; the ox teams started ploughing and didn’t stop until the last spring grain had been harvested and the winter crop planted. What wasn’t planted in oats, barley, rye or whea
t for summer was planted in vetch, pea or clover. These legumes were then either fed to cattle or ploughed back into the ground to fertilize the fields for the winter wheat. With the available technology and resources at hand, over three thousand acres of land was ploughed and planted over the season.
There were other changes too; significant ones. Instead of just teams of six oxen pulling the heavy wheeled ploughs, the fields soon saw teams of horses – with the “new” horse collar – pulling a “new” metal tipped light plough. These teams were more productive and manoeuvrable than the oxen teams. Before planting, the teams of horses pulled the “new” metal tipped harrows, and at planting time, instead of the current broadcasting method, the domain saw the first ever horse drawn seed drill, a “Jethro”, being put to work.
When it came time to harvest, the tilia used the “new” scythe with its shoulder snath, instead of the regular sickle; with the harvested grain going through a watermill powered threshing machine – a “Meikle” – and later a wind powered gristmill. All existing and would be Craeftiga in Haran – both Lykian and Silekian – were redirected from farming tasks to specialize on the manufacture of these – and many other – “new” implements. Conn’s own version of the industrial revolution was taking place at the same time as the agricultural revolution.
From Haran, field teams moved to Veii to prepare for the winter crop. It would take a few years to get the whole fifteen thousand acres of tillable land under the plough – and over ten of those belonged to the new Lairds.
Any excess labor was directed at building a hard road between Haran and Hama; a base of broken rock, crushed by newly built windmills, was covered by a layer of finer ground stone that was rolled in by horse teams, and protected by drainage ditches dug on either side. With bridges constructed over the gullies and streams, the newly constructed or improved two wheeled horse and ox carts would make the daily trips with ease. At a mile a week, his three domains would be connected by winter. The road to Tabae – and then Lykiak – would commence next spring.
Conn also made major improvements to his keep and longhouse; it was now drained and paved; the palisades had been repaired and reinforced; sentry boxes installed, and a raised walkway created that would allow bowmen to prevent any attack on the keep. All buildings inside were repaired and expanded, and in his own longhouse, he put in a paved floor, walls, doors, more hammocks, fireplaces at each end and even inserted a second level loft in the middle of the dwelling as his personal sleeping quarters, with shoji dividers.
A bathhouse with running water and a latrine was constructed inside the palisades, with an effluent treatment system based on reeds and lagoons constructed to deal with the waste. Windows, rugs and carpets, a paved floor, extensive candle lanterns and things were starting to come together.
It was midyear when Annisa waited to speak to him after the morning meetings with the Lairds and foremen. Conn was preparing to leave, but she called him back.
‘Thane...’ she refused to call him Conn, as the custom was always to call people by their position or occupation. ‘Before you go – I need to speak with you – we have a problem...’.
‘We do? What can I do to help?’
‘The problem is, well, with your behavior...’
‘My behavior – I don’t understand... what have I done?’
‘It is not what you have done – it’s what you haven’t done. Nobody understands why you have not taken liberty with any of the women yet... there are many here who are more than willing to provide you with … comfort.’
‘Hasn’t seemed appropriate...’
‘And there are some girls coming of age soon....’
Conn shook his head. ‘They are a bit too young for my liking ...’ While he was in Tabae, Thanes had tried to offer their daughters or sisters to Conn as bedda, and he had declined then as well.
‘Your theow – Shona – said that she offered herself but you refused. You have a right to her body as well as the others…’
‘’Not a Taransay custom to have theow – let alone make them concubines…’
Annisa was perplexed. ‘My bedda had theow, but they are all gone. But it is important that you take a bedda – some have suggested that you have more specific tastes – but the boys have also not been approached ... some are even willing. It is very disconcerting for everyone in the Burh...’
Annisa was still a very attractive woman, Conn was sure her neckline had gotten lower over the weeks, or maybe her breasts had gotten bigger because of her improved diet, and couldn’t fit into her old clothes. He wasn’t sure – it could have been his imagination as his trysts with the now very pregnant Elva were infrequent – and secret. He didn’t get to spend much time in Hama and visit Halani.
‘I have no desires of that kind.’ Conn paused to pretend to consider the matter. ‘But I can see your concerns. There might just be a solution to the problem…’
She brightened, inadvertently leaning forward to hear the answer. ‘There is?’
‘Yes – you.’
‘Me?’ Despite everything she seemed genuinely surprised. ‘But I am old...’
‘Not so much...and so am I. If nothing else then to allay the concerns of our villagers…would it be inappropriate for you to share my bed at times?’
She shook her head; a flush coming over her face. ‘No – not at all – my bedda is dead – no one has any claim on anything I do. And I suppose it would allay any concerns...’
‘So you are in agreement?’
She brought her arms together, hugging herself in contemplation, causing her breasts to almost escape their bindings. She was very flushed now. After a moment of consideration, she agreed.
‘Good – so what are you doing for the next half hour? I have a brand new bed in my loft.’ Conn’s workshops had completed their first production of futons and pillows.
She was startled by the suggestion. ‘Now? Breakfast has just finished – it is daylight...’
‘Daylight has never stopped me before.’ He stood up and offered her his hand, and receiving it, led her to the bedroom up the stairs. ‘Besides, we can do it all again tonight – in the dark.’
‘Again? Twice today? Oh my...’
CHAPTER 06
Silekian arrived almost daily at Haran; and they came from every cotlif in Lykia. With the promise of a warm welcome, accommodation and paid work, nearly every refugee made the trek; especially as their hosts were also more than happy to be rid of them. With extra personnel available, it was possible for Conn to start to move people between his three domains, and of all of them, it was Hama where the most work needed to be done as it had been deserted for nearly fifty years.
Given a blank slate, Conn had decided not to divvy Hama up into farms, but keep it as a single domain for himself; for his personal projects. One was to replicate the work of Bakewell and Coke in selectively breeding livestock to increase outputs of fleece, milk, and meat. His horse breeding program was already underway; and almost three hundred foals from his four stallions would start to arrive soon – in three years he would have the first crop of the best warhorses in Meshech. A quarter of these would be mules, and in ten years they would be the mainstay of his farming activities, as they ploughed twice as much land, twice as fast, as oxen. Mules were even better than horses because of their more docile temperament, longer lives, and lack of fertility. Other horses were being bred to pull carts and carriages.
His project required as many paddocks as possible, and while it would take many seasons to be finished, Hama would be the first fully enclosed domain in Lykiak – with over fifteen thousand acres behind hedge or drywall. As well as animals, different were trial plots for ‘new world’ crops such as – rice, corn, sunflower, soya beans and potatoes – amongst many others – and it would take some years before sufficient seed was available to propagate these crops in his other domains.
Hama was also to be home to his sericulture and viticulture projects, with extensive plantations of grapes and tree
s being planted. Luckily there was an abundant supply of mulberry in the hills above Hama that allowed the project to develop until the plantations matured. The vineyards commenced with an acre of plantings with over a thousand grape cuttings collected from around Lykia. Like the other fields, these were irrigated by an advanced system powered by canals, bamboo pipes and water-mills.
For his other ‘industrial’ projects he needed a dozen large barns, and he was finding the skill level of his craeftiga limiting progress. Conn decided to request help from Halani, as their woodworkers were as highly skilled as he had seen. So with Hengist, Wilgar and the two girls, Allowena and Octa’s daughter Naomh, in tow, he went to the edge of the great forest and fired his arrow into the tallest tree. He then waited.
Naomh had taken to her new freedom in a big way, and enjoyed travelling with Conn and Allowena. She had at first imagined that Conn was planning to take her as bedda, but when she learnt that he was not going to, she developed a affection for Wilgar – thought they ignored each other when they were together – especially when her brother was around. Annisa told him that Octa would never approve of the match because of Wilgar’s current status – neither land nor money to pay a dowry.
They had arrived along the west of Hama in the morning and had spent the day inspecting some of the newly operating mines along the border with Halani. Amongst the refugees were a number of experienced miners, and they had been tasked with scouring the mountainside for old mines and new deposits. When he could, Conn joined them – he had some expertise in the area. It wasn’t long before they had a several reopened mines, and there were now over a hundred people working the hills for lead, silver, cooper, and iron – quantity was only limited by manpower. They also had a good quality coal mine operational.
The Aebeling Page 9
