The best grass fed ox 16s. 0d. The best cow (fat) 12s. 0d. The best short-horn sheep 1s. 2d. The best goose 0s. 3d. The best hen 0s. 1½d. The best chickens, per couple 0s. 1½d. Eggs, twenty for 0s. 1d. In 1338 no domestic or husbandry servant residing in the Hundred of Amounderness was allowed to pass beyond the boundaries of the Wapentake on profession of going to dwell or serve elsewhere, or of setting out on a pilgrimage, without bearing with him a letter patent stating the reason of his departure and the date of his return. This law, which applied to all Hundreds alike, was intended to prevent the threatened decay of agriculture from a dearth of labourers, who heretofore had been in the habit of deserting their employment and wandering away into other divisions of the country, where they supported an idle and frequently vicious existence by soliciting alms and by petty thefts. It will scarcely surprise the reader to learn that superstition was rife amongst the populace during the periods so far noticed, and that nothing was too absurd to be accepted as an omen, either of good or evil, by our credulous forefathers. A timid hare encountered in their walks abroad announced the approach of some unforeseen calamity, as also did a blind or lame man, a woman with dishevelled hair, or even a monk; whilst the visions of a wolf crossing the path, St. Martin’s birds flying from left to right, a humpbacked man, or the sound of distant thunder, were welcomed as heralds of prosperity. All amusements were of an athletic kind, and consisted of archery, casting heavy stones, spear darting, wrestling, running, leaping, and sword and buckler playing. On festivals, and occasionally at other seasons, the barbarous and cruel sports of bull and bear-baiting were indulged in,[47] but cock-fighting was considered, until a later epoch, an entertainment only suitable for children, and on Shrove Tuesday each boy took his pet bird to the school-house, which was for that day converted into a cock-pit, superintended by the master. In 1444, the wages received by different classes of agricultural servants were:— A bailiff £1 3s. 4d. per year, and 5s. for clothing, with board. A chief hind ⎫ ” carter ⎬ £1 0s. 0d. ” and 4s. for clothing, ” ” shepherd ⎭ A woman servant £0 10s. 0d. ” and 4s. for clothing, ” A boy under 14 £0 6s. 0d. ” and 3s. for clothing, ” A common husbandman £0 15s. 0d. ” and 40d. for clothing, ” At harvest time, when special labour was required, the scale of remuneration was:—