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
Later, there was farming and domestication of animals such as horses,
pigs, sheep, goats, chicken, and cattle. Of these, the pig was the most
important meat supply, being killed and salted for winter use. Next in
importance were the cattle. Sheep were kept primarily for their wool.
Flocks and herds were taken to pastures. The male cattle, with wood
yokes, pulled ploughs in the fields of barley and wheat. The female goat
and cow provided milk, butter, and cheese. The chickens provided eggs.
The hoe, spade, and grinding stone were used. Thread was spun with a
hand-held spindle which one hand held while the other hand alternately
formed the thread from a mass and then wound it around the spindle. A
coarse cloth was woven and worn as a tunic which had been cut from the
cloth. Kings wore tunics decorated with sheet gold. Decorated pottery
was made from clay and used to hold liquids and for food preparation and
consumption. During the period of "lent" [from the word "lencten", which
means spring], it was forbidden to eat any meat or fish. This was the
season in which many animals were born and grew to maturity. Wood carts
with four wheels were used to transport produce and manure. Horses were
used for transportation of people or goods. Wood dug-out boats and
paddles were used to fish on rivers or on the seacoast.
Clans had settlements near rivers. Each settlement had a meadow, for
the mowing of hay, and a simple mill, with round timber huts, covered
with branches or thatch or turf supported by a ring of posts. Inside was
a hearth with smoke going up through a hole in the roof, and a cauldron
for cooking food. There was an upright loom in the darkness. The floor
was swept clean. At the door were spears or bags of slingstones ready
for immediate use. The King lived in the largest hut. Gullies outside
carried off excess water. Each hut had a garden for fruit and
vegetables. A goat or cow might be tied out of reach of the garden.
There was a fence or hedge surrounding and protecting the garden area
and dwelling. Buckets and cauldrons which had originated from the
Mediterranean were used. Querns with the top circular stone turned by
hand over the bottom stone were used for grinding grain. There were
ovens to dry and roast grain. Grain was first eaten as a porridge or
cereal. There were square wood granaries on stilts and wood racks on
which to dry hay. Grain was stored in concealed pits in the earth which
were lined with drystone or basket work or clay and made airtight by
sealing with clay or dung. Old pits were converted into waste dumps,
burials, or latrines. Outside the fence were an acre or two of fields of
wheat and barley, and sometimes oats and rye. Wheat and rye were sown in
the fall, and oats and barley in the spring. Sowing was by men or two
oxen drawing a simple scratch plough. The crops were all harvested in
the summer. In this two-field system, land was held by peasants in units
designed to support a single extended family.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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