[23] The economic historian must always be prepared to acquiesce in a certain vagueness in the matter of dates. He is not dealing with definite events, such as battles and the enactment of special laws, but rather with social tendencies, each constituted by a large number of small events; such as, for instance, the replacement of hand labour by machinery, the appearance of limited liability companies in the place of the single employer, or the determination of middle-class girls to earn their own living instead of remaining dependent on father or brothers. Tendencies such as these appear at different times in different industries and in different parts of the country, and only a misleading precision can be gained by any mention of definite dates. [24] Summarised from Seebohm, "Village Community," pp. 156-157. [25] Gasquet, "English Monastic Life," p. 197. [26] "Economic History," vol. i. [27] Surtees Society, Boldon Book, p. 28. [28] "English Monastic Life," p. 198. [29] The English were famed in the Middle Ages for their preference for good bread. They would eat no bread "That beans in come, But of cocket[30] or clerematyn[30] or else of clean wheat." --_Piers Plowman_, A. vii. 292. [30] Better kinds of bread, but not the best (wastel). [31] Walter of Henley, p. 29. [32] Apparently, it is only within the last hundred years that the cow has ceased to be a normal possession of the agricultural labourer. See Slater, "English Peasantry and Common Fields," pp. 122-128. [33] Eddy, "English House," p. 133. [34] England at that time possessed her own vineyards, _e.g._ near Gloucester, and produced white wine. [35] Rules of S. Robert as given in "Walter of Henley," p. 145. [36] Broth in which the meat had been boiled. [37] Pepper. [38] Stiff. [39] "Meals and Manners of the Olden Time," p. 164. [40] Kind of sauce. [41] Pork, eggs, cloves, currants, dates, sugar boiled in a bladder, cut into strips and served with hot rich sauce. [42] A soteltie was an elaborate confection of pastry painted or adorned with paper to represent a saint or a figure of spring, summer, &c. [43] Spiced wine. [44] Panter and pantry, from pain. [45] Butler = bottler. [46] Rules of S. Robert in "Walter of Henley," pp. 138-140, _passim._ [47] Webb, "Essay on Gloucester Abbey," p. 13. [48] "Meals and Manners," p. 74. [49] _Libes Niges Domus_, p. 65. [50] Gasquet, "English Monastic Life," p. 211.