Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776: June 2011 (Sixth) EditionReilly, S. A.
History
Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776: June 2011 (Sixth) Edition
Reilly, S. A.
Law -- England -- History
Nobles and their retinue moved from manor to manor, as they had for
centuries, to keep watch upon their lands and to consume the produce
thereof; it was easier to bring the household to the estate than to
transport the yield of the estate to the household. Also, at regular
intervals sewage had to be removed from the cellar pits. Often a footman
walked or ran on foot next to his master or mistress when they rode out
on horseback or in a carriage. He was there primarily for prestige.
Jousting tournaments were held for entertainment purposes only and were
followed by banquets of several courses of food served on dishes of
gold, silver, pewter, or wood on a linen cloth covering the table. Hands
were washed before and after the meal. People washed their faces every
morning after getting up. Teeth were cleaned with powders. Fragrant
leaves were chewed for bad breath. Garlic was used for indigestion and
other ailments. Feet were rubbed with salt and vinegar to remove
calluses. Good manners included not slumping against a post, fidgeting,
sticking one's finger into one's nose, putting one's hands into one's
hose to scratch the privy parts, spitting over the table or too far,
licking one's plate, picking one's teeth, breathing stinking breath into
the face of the lord, blowing on one's food, stuffing masses of bread
into one's mouth, scratching one's head, loosening one's girdle to
belch, and probing one's teeth with a knife.
Fishing and hunting were reserved for the nobility rather than just the
King.
As many lords became less wealthy because of the cost of war, some
peasants, villein and free, became prosperous, especially those who also
worked at a craft, e.g. butchers, bakers, smiths, shoemakers, tailors,
carpenters, and cloth workers.
An agricultural slump caused poorer soils to fall back into waste. The
better soils were leased by peasants, who, with their families, were in
a better position to farm it than a great lord, who found it hard to
hire laborers at a reasonable cost. Further, peasants' sheep, hens,
pigs, ducks, goats, cattle, bees, and crop made them almost
self-sufficient in foodstuffs. They lived in a huddle of cottages,
pastured their animals on common land, and used common meadows for
haymaking. They subsisted mainly on boiled bacon, an occasional chicken,
worts and beans grown in the cottage garden, and cereals. They wore fine
wool cloth in all their apparel. Brimless hats were replacing hoods.
They had an abundance of bed coverings in their houses. And they had
more free time. Village entertainment included traveling jesters,
acrobats, musicians, and bear-baiters. Playing games and gambling were
popular pastimes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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