The Chronicle
February 1353
14 February 1353
Adam Brewer took pottage to the Coopers again today. He has done it several days this week, and Stephen and Edith atte Well have carried it over too. He also spent time helping the atte Wells with their threshing. It's a gray, overcast day, and the flails are still going in the barns.
15 February 1353
Overcast today, and threshing carried on in two barns. Adam Brewer was at the atte Wells' barn again, flailing grain alongside them. Henry Cooper went the other way and helped the Brewers with theirs.
16 February 1353
Sowing has started in Ambermead, and it's already a matter of neighbors lending a hand. Adam Brewer spent the day helping the atte Wells with their sowing, and Thomas atte Well went over to help the Millers with theirs. It's an overcast day in mid-February, and the threshing of the past weeks is giving way to work in the fields.
17 February 1353
Sowing is under way in Ambermead. Thomas atte Well spent the day at the Brewers' sowing, and Henry Cooper helped the Millers with theirs. It was an overcast day, and the work is moving from house to house, with neighbors lending a hand where it's needed.
19 February 1353
Sowing is moving along. Adam Brewer and Henry Cooper both spent the day helping the priest's household get their seed into the ground. It was an overcast day, and the work went from one house to the next, as it has all week.
20 February 1353
Sowing is going on in the rain today. Edith atte Well spent the day helping at the priest's household, and Henry Cooper worked at the Brewers' sowing. He has been busy lately, with a day at the Millers' and another at the priest's household this week.
21 February 1353
Rain on 21 February, and the work moved back under cover. Henry Cooper and Peter Miller were both at the Brewers' barn threshing, the same job that kept them busy through most of January.
22 February 1353
Rain today, and the work moved indoors. Henry Cooper and Peter Miller spent it at the Brewers' barn, threshing, as they did yesterday. The flails keep going while the fields are too wet for anything else.
23 February 1353
Rain again today, and the threshing went on indoors at the Brewers' barn. Henry Cooper and Peter Miller were both there to help, as they were yesterday and the day before.
24 February 1353
Rain today, and the threshing went on anyway. Thomas atte Well and Henry Cooper both spent the day at the Brewers' barn, working under cover on the grain. It's St Matthias's Day, and Henry has now helped the Brewers on four days running.
26 February 1353
Rain today, and the threshing at the Brewers' barn went on regardless. Henry Cooper and Peter Miller were both there again, as they have been on most days this week.
27 February 1353
Overcast again today, and the threshing at the Brewers' barn went on. Henry Cooper and Peter Miller were both there, as they have been most days this week. Threshing is the slow work of beating the grain out of the stored sheaves with flails, and it fills the weeks before spring sowing.
28 February 1353
Sowing has begun in Ambermead. Adam Brewer spent the day helping the priest's household get their seed in, and Peter Miller lent a hand with the Brewers' own sowing. It was a cloudy day, and the threshing that kept the barns busy all winter has given way to work out in the fields.