The Chronicle
July 1353
1 July 1353
Clear weather on the first of July, and Margaret Smith, 8, is still in bed with the flux, so the Smiths' house is still being looked after. Adam Brewer brought them pottage again, and Thomas atte Well called in on them.
2 July 1353
Another quiet, cloudy day in Ambermead. Pottage went to the Smiths' door again, carried by Adam Brewer and by Edith atte Well. The Smiths' house has been well looked after by its neighbors for most of the last week.
3 July 1353
Clear skies over Ambermead on 3 July. Adam Brewer took pottage to the Smiths' door again, and Thomas atte Well stopped in to call on the household. The Smiths have had a steady stream of visitors for days now. Nicholas of Long Marston, a wool dealer's factor, came in from the road and is lodging the night at the inn. He carries a tally stick and has a sharp eye for a fleece.
4 July 1353
Margaret Smith, 8, is up and about again after a bout of the flux, which is a bad stomach illness. Stephen and Adam Brewer both carried pottage to the Smiths' door today, and Adam has now done it day after day this week. It's a clear, bright day for her first time out of bed.
5 July 1353
Thomas and Edith atte Well called on the Millers today, the two of them together. Elena Smith had better luck at the lake: she pulled out a pike close to a yard long. Cloudy skies all day, but a good catch for the Smiths' table.
6 July 1353
Elena Smith pulled another pike from the lake, again close to a yard long. Two big fish in two days is a good run, and with cloud over the village and no meat on Fridays, a pike is welcome at any table.
8 July 1353
Cloudy and mild in Ambermead today. Edith atte Well and Sir John both called on the Millers. Nicholas of Long Marston, a traveling cooper who mends tubs and buckets and sells new staves, came in from the road and is lodging the night at the inn. Anyone with a leaky bucket knows where to find him.
9 July 1353
The manor court sat in the hall on 9 July. Henry Cooper and Peter Miller were chosen as ale-tasters for the year, the pair who check that the village ale is fit to sell. Thomas atte Well was named hayward, the man who looks after hedges and crops. Before the court were the hayward's report on ditches that haven't been scoured, the ale-tasters' reports, and a complaint from Elena Smith against Thomas atte Well over beasts in the corn. The steward has passed all of it to the lord. Edith atte Well and Elena Smith both called on the Millers today. Isabel of Hatherley, a pilgrim bound for Our Lady's shrine at Walsingham, arrived with her staff and scrip and is sleeping in the church porch tonight.
10 July 1353
Cloudy and mild in Ambermead on 10 July. Adam Brewer and Joan of Thornbury both stopped by the Millers' house today, the latest in a run of callers there this week. Richard of Thornbury, a pedlar with a pack of needles, pins, ribbons, laces and little knives, came in off the road and is lodging the night at the inn.
12 July 1353
Alice Warrener landed a pike from the lake today, close to a yard long. That's a good-sized fish for anyone, and a welcome change from salt herring on a fast day. It was a cloudy day, mild for mid-July, with the hay mostly in and the corn still green in the fields.
13 July 1353
Roger Warrener, who keeps the lord's warren, was caught before light this morning with three coneys (rabbits) taken from the lord's own warren. Peter found him there. Roger will have to answer for it at the manor court.
14 July 1353
Two callers at the mill today. Edith atte Well stopped by the Millers' house, and Sir John, the priest, did the same. It was a cloudy day, mild for July, with the hay in and the corn still ripening in the fields.
15 July 1353
Stephen Brewer and Henry Cooper both stopped in at the Millers' house today. It's been a busy week for visitors there: Adam Brewer, Joan of Thornbury, Edith atte Well and Sir John all called in over the last few days. The sky stayed cloudy, and the hay should be mostly in by now.
16 July 1353
Joan of Thornbury called on the Millers today. It's been a busy week at their door, with Edith atte Well, Sir John, Stephen Brewer and Henry Cooper all stopping by since Sunday. A cloudy, mild day in the middle of July, with the hay in and the harvest still a few weeks off.
17 July 1353
Another quiet, cloudy day in the middle of July, and the Millers' door saw more callers. Thomas atte Well and Edith atte Well both stopped by. That makes a steady week of visitors at the mill, with Edith's second visit in four days.
18 July 1353
Henry Cooper stopped by the Millers' house today. It is the latest in a run of neighbors calling there this week, with a clear, bright July day for the walk over.
19 July 1353
Clear skies over Ambermead today, and the Smiths had visitors. Roger and Alice Warrener called at the forge house in the course of the day.
20 July 1353
St Margaret's Day brought the village wake, with games and ale on the green and a good crowd over from Northshire. Roger Warrener won the wrestling. The sky was clear all day. The manor court also sat. Thomas atte Well paid Elena Smith 6d for his cow getting into her wheat. Beatrice Mason was fined 8d for brewing and selling ale against the assize, the rules on measure and price, before the ale-tasters had come round. And anyone who hasn't scoured their ditches was warned to get the work done.
21 July 1353
Adam Brewer has asked Joan of Thornbury to marry him. People around the village have been saying for a while that the two were courting, and now it is out in the open. Joan keeps the priest's house, and Adam is the younger of the Brewers at the inn. Thomas atte Well stopped by the Millers' today. It was a gray, overcast day.
22 July 1353
Thomas and Edith atte Well both called on the Millers today, Thomas for the second day running. It was an overcast day, with the wheat turning and harvest not far off. Simon of Kingsley, an archer home from the French war, came in off the road with his bow on his back and his pay long spent. He slept in the church porch.
23 July 1353
Thomas and Edith atte Well stopped in at the Millers' house again today. That makes three days running that one or both of them have called there. It was an overcast day, and the wheat is still turning toward harvest.
24 July 1353
Maud Miller, 18, is in bed with a fever. Edith atte Well went to see her at the Millers' house today. Thomas and Edith have been calling there most days this week. Stephen Brewer had better luck at the lake and took a pike from it. It was an overcast day, with the wheat turning in the fields.
26 July 1353
Adam Brewer and Joan of Thornbury are betrothed. The banns, the public announcement of a coming marriage, will be read at Mass on the next three Sundays, and the wedding can take place from 12 August. It comes five days after Adam asked her, and after a summer of dancing on the green and leaping the Midsummer fire together. Maud Miller is still unwell with her fever, and Stephen and Adam Brewer both called at the Millers' house today. It was a clear day.
27 July 1353
Stephen and Adam Brewer both stopped by the Millers' house today. Maud Miller has been in bed with a fever since the 24th, and the Millers have had a steady stream of callers since. It's a clear day, and the wheat in the fields is close to ready.
28 July 1353
The banns for Adam Brewer and Joan of Thornbury were read at Mass for the first time today. Two more readings to go, and the wedding can be from 12 August. (Banns are the public notice of a marriage, so anyone with a reason against it can speak up.) Maud Miller is still in bed with her fever. Stephen Brewer took pottage to the Millers' house, and Adam called in on them too. Christina of Fairford, a thatcher looking for roofs to mend, came in from the road and slept in the church porch. With harvest close, it's a clear, dry day for it.
29 July 1353
A clear day in Ambermead, with the wheat turning and harvest close. The Millers had visitors again: Adam Brewer stopped in, and Thomas atte Well did too. Adam's banns were read for the first time on Sunday, so the wedding could come as soon as 12 August.
30 July 1353
The manor court sat in the hall today, with a fuller docket than usual. Peter Miller was brought up for being caught in the lord's wood by night. The ale-tasters gave their reports. Stephen Brewer complained about Thomas atte Well's beasts getting into his corn, and Henry Cooper complained about a pig in his garden that belongs to Stephen Brewer. The steward has passed all of it to the lord, so there are no rulings yet. Stephen Brewer and Thomas atte Well both stopped in at the Millers' house again. Two travelers came through under the clear sky: Richard of Brookfield, a cooper who mends tubs and buckets and sells new staves, lodged at the inn, and Gilbert of Bradwell, home from the king's army in France with a limp and a sack, slept in the church porch.
31 July 1353
Stephen Brewer took pottage to Maud Miller at the Millers' house today, and Adam Brewer stopped by there too. The sky was clear and the wheat is nearly ready for the sickle, so the Millers have plenty of company at a busy time of year.