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Authors: Bertrice Small
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are my lord.”
“The first thing we should all do,” replied Aldwine Athelsbeorn, “is enter the hall and have our dinner.” He chuckled at his two companions. “Well, I am hungry, my friends! As for you, my good Dagda, we will find much for a man of your many talents to do here at Aelfleah . As Mairin is welcome, so, too, I bid you welcome home.” He smiled at the big Irishman. “Now, let us eat!”
Chapter 3
A lthough Aldwine Athelsbeorn was not a man of any importance, his manor was a large one. Its lands had been collected by several generations of shrewd thegns who understood the value of owning more than less. Although the estate was somewhat isolated it was nonetheless prosperous.
Set in an almost hidden valley it was located between the Wye and the Severn rivers. Its affluence stemmed from a well-treated, contented peasantry, and from its very location which kept it safe when the nearby wild Welsh came raiding. A small river called Aldford made its way through the manor, a shallow crossing giving access to the estate from the narrow track that wound down across the hills from Watling Street.
There was a large common and pastureland for the manor’s livestock on the far side of the Aldford past which the road moved on over the water through fine meadows and up to the manor house with its demesne lands. The road then branched off, the right track running on about half a mile to the village. The left track led to the manor church, and past the church the road branched again leading through fields of wheat, oats, flax, and barley as well as several arable but fallow fields. At the end of this road on the little river which had ribboned itself about the fields was a mill, and Weorth, the miller’s cottage.
Behind the manor house and its fields to the left of the village was the woodland that Aldwine Athelsbeorn had called The Forest. It was treed with soaring English oaks, graceful beech, and sturdy pines. A tributary stream of the Aldford meandered through the forest which was peopled with deer, rabbits, fox, and other wildlife. The serfs and the peasants belonging to the manor were allowed to take one rabbit per family in each of the winter months, a generous accommodation on the part of Aelfleah’s lord. A dearth of rabbits would have endangered the domestic fowl belonging to the estate, encouraging predators from The Forest into the barnyard. The serfs and peasants understood this, and considered themselves fortunate to have such a kind master. Most land owners did not allow their people the freedom of their woods, and poaching brought severe retribution.
Just past the manor house on the other side of the village was an apple orchard that in the springtime was a sea of pale pink blossoms. Now the trees were heavy with the ripening fruit which in a short time would be harvested. Adjacent to the orchard was a small building where part of each year’s crop was pressed for its cider. The rest of the fruit was stored in the root cellar belonging to the manor lord, to be doled out as he saw fit.
Aelfleah was self-contained like all English manors of its time. It grew its own grain, vegetables, and fruits. It kept cattle, pigs, horses, and sheep. It had an orchard, a bakehouse, a brewhouse, a church, and a mill. Cloth was woven from the raw materials produced upon the estate. Leather was tanned. Horses were shod. Farm implements and weapons were forged in the village smithy which was presided over by Osweald, the smith, a tall lean man with a thick neck and well-muscled arms. The spiritual welfare of Aelfleah was the duty of Father Albert, the manor priest.
Although the men of Aldwine Athelsbeorn’s time knew nothing of fertilizing the soil, English thegns had a three-field system in which rotation of crops was practiced. One field was used for winter planting, another for summer, and the last lay fallow. Each family belonging to the estate had a strip of land in each of the different fields to farm. The
“The first thing we should all do,” replied Aldwine Athelsbeorn, “is enter the hall and have our dinner.” He chuckled at his two companions. “Well, I am hungry, my friends! As for you, my good Dagda, we will find much for a man of your many talents to do here at Aelfleah . As Mairin is welcome, so, too, I bid you welcome home.” He smiled at the big Irishman. “Now, let us eat!”
Chapter 3
A lthough Aldwine Athelsbeorn was not a man of any importance, his manor was a large one. Its lands had been collected by several generations of shrewd thegns who understood the value of owning more than less. Although the estate was somewhat isolated it was nonetheless prosperous.
Set in an almost hidden valley it was located between the Wye and the Severn rivers. Its affluence stemmed from a well-treated, contented peasantry, and from its very location which kept it safe when the nearby wild Welsh came raiding. A small river called Aldford made its way through the manor, a shallow crossing giving access to the estate from the narrow track that wound down across the hills from Watling Street.
There was a large common and pastureland for the manor’s livestock on the far side of the Aldford past which the road moved on over the water through fine meadows and up to the manor house with its demesne lands. The road then branched off, the right track running on about half a mile to the village. The left track led to the manor church, and past the church the road branched again leading through fields of wheat, oats, flax, and barley as well as several arable but fallow fields. At the end of this road on the little river which had ribboned itself about the fields was a mill, and Weorth, the miller’s cottage.
Behind the manor house and its fields to the left of the village was the woodland that Aldwine Athelsbeorn had called The Forest. It was treed with soaring English oaks, graceful beech, and sturdy pines. A tributary stream of the Aldford meandered through the forest which was peopled with deer, rabbits, fox, and other wildlife. The serfs and the peasants belonging to the manor were allowed to take one rabbit per family in each of the winter months, a generous accommodation on the part of Aelfleah’s lord. A dearth of rabbits would have endangered the domestic fowl belonging to the estate, encouraging predators from The Forest into the barnyard. The serfs and peasants understood this, and considered themselves fortunate to have such a kind master. Most land owners did not allow their people the freedom of their woods, and poaching brought severe retribution.
Just past the manor house on the other side of the village was an apple orchard that in the springtime was a sea of pale pink blossoms. Now the trees were heavy with the ripening fruit which in a short time would be harvested. Adjacent to the orchard was a small building where part of each year’s crop was pressed for its cider. The rest of the fruit was stored in the root cellar belonging to the manor lord, to be doled out as he saw fit.
Aelfleah was self-contained like all English manors of its time. It grew its own grain, vegetables, and fruits. It kept cattle, pigs, horses, and sheep. It had an orchard, a bakehouse, a brewhouse, a church, and a mill. Cloth was woven from the raw materials produced upon the estate. Leather was tanned. Horses were shod. Farm implements and weapons were forged in the village smithy which was presided over by Osweald, the smith, a tall lean man with a thick neck and well-muscled arms. The spiritual welfare of Aelfleah was the duty of Father Albert, the manor priest.
Although the men of Aldwine Athelsbeorn’s time knew nothing of fertilizing the soil, English thegns had a three-field system in which rotation of crops was practiced. One field was used for winter planting, another for summer, and the last lay fallow. Each family belonging to the estate had a strip of land in each of the different fields to farm. The
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