The Abbot's Agreement

“Respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.”

1 Thessalonians 5:12–13

In the summer of 1990 my wife Susan and I discovered a lovely B&B in the village of Mavesyn Ridware. The proprietors, Tony and Lis Page, became friends. We visited them again in 2001, after they had moved to Bampton. I saw then that the village would be an ideal setting for the tales I wished to write. Tony and Lis have been a wonderful resource for the history of Bampton. I owe them much.

When Dan Runyon, Professor of English at Spring Arbor University, learned that I had written
The Unquiet Bones
, he invited me to speak to a fiction-writing class about the trials of a rookie writer. Dan sent some chapters to his friend Tony Collins. Thanks, Dan.

And many thanks to Tony Collins and the fine people at Lion Hudson for their willingness to publish an untried author. Thanks especially to my editor, Jan Greenough, who excels at asking questions like, “Do you really want to say it that way?” and “Wouldn’t Master Hugh do it this way?”

Ms. Malgorzata Deron, of Poznan, Poland, has offered to maintain my website. She has done a wonderful job. To see the results of her work visit www.melstarr.net

Abbot:
the leader of an abbey, generally elected by monks of his abbey with the approval of the bishop of the diocese.

Angelus Bell:
rung three times each day; dawn, noon, and dusk. Announced the time for the Angelus devotional.

Ascension Day:
forty days after Easter. In 1368, May 26.

Balloc broth:
a spiced broth, used most often to prepare eels or pike.

Banns:
a formal announcement, made in the parish church for three consecutive Sundays, of intent to marry.

Beadle:
a manor official in charge of fences, hedges, enclosures, and curfew. Also called a hayward.

Calefactory:
the warming room in a monastery. Benedictines allowed the fire to be lit on November 1. The more rigorous Cistercians had no calefactory.

Candlemas:
February 2. Marked the purification of Mary. Women traditionally paraded to the church carrying lighted candles. Tillage of fields resumed this day.

Castile (soap)
: a mild soap imported from Spain.

Chapter:
the monks of an abbey met each morning. During the meeting a chapter of the Rule of St. Benedict was read. Therefore the place of meeting was the chapter house, and the assembled monks were the “chapter.”

Chauces:
tight-fitting trousers, often of different colors for each leg.

Choir:
the east end of the abbey church where monks’ stalls were located. Here they gathered to celebrate the canonical hours and daily mass.

Compline:
the seventh and last of the daytime canonical hours, observed at sunset.

Coney:
rabbit.

Corpus Christi:
the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. In 1369, June 15.

Cotehardie:
the primary medieval outer garment. Women’s were floor-length, men’s ranged from thigh-length to ankle-length.

Cotter:
a poor villager, usually holding five acres or less. He often had to work for wealthy villagers to make ends meet.

Cresset:
a bowl of oil with a floating wick used for lighting.

Daub:
a clay and plaster mix, reinforced with straw and/or horse hair.

Demesne:
land directly exploited by a lord, and worked by his villeins, as opposed to land a lord might rent to tenants.

Dexter:
a war horse, larger than pack horses and palfreys. Also, the right-hand direction.

Dower:
the groom’s financial contribution to marriage, designated for the bride’s support during marriage and possible widowhood.

Dowry:
a gift from the bride’s family to the groom, intended for her support during marriage and widowhood, should her husband predecease her.

Explorator:
a monastic official whose duty was to ensure that an abbey or priory was secure for the night. Also called an a roundsman.

Farthing:
one fourth of a penny. The smallest silver coin.

Franklin:
a medieval English landowner of free but not noble birth.

Gloucester College:
the main Benedictine house in medieval Oxford University, now Worcester College.

Groom:
a lower-rank servant to a lord, ranked between page and valet.

Guest-master:
the monastic official in charge of providing for abbey guests.

Habit:
a monk’s robe and cowl.

Hallmote:
the manorial court. Royal courts judged free tenants accused of felonies; otherwise manorial courts had jurisdiction over legal matters concerning villagers. Villeins accused of homicide might also be tried in a manorial court.

Hayward:
also called a beadle, he served under the reeve. Usually a half-yardlander or a mid-level villager.

Horn dancers:
men wearing deer antlers who danced in the town marketplace at Michaelmas. Probably derived from an ancient pagan hunting custom.

Infirmarer:
the monastic official in charge of the abbey infirmary and the health of the monks.

King’s Eyre:
a royal circuit court, presided over by a traveling judge.

Kirtle:
the basic medieval undershirt.

Kitchener:
the monastic official who was in charge of preparing abbey meals.

Lammastide:
August 1, when thanks was given for a successful wheat harvest. From Old English “Loaf Mass.”

Lauds:
the first canonical service of the day, celebrated at dawn.

Lay brother:
not a monk, yet he had taken vows and was considered a member of the community. Chiefly responsible for agricultural and industrial work to ensure the self-sufficiency of the house.

Liripipe:
a fashionably long tail attached to a man’s cap.

Madder:
a plant the roots of which were used to make a red dye.

Martinmas:
November 11; the traditional date to slaughter animals for winter food.

Maslin:
bread made with a mixture of grains, commonly wheat and rye or barley.

Michaelmas:
September 29. This feast signaled the end of the harvest. The last rents and tithes for the year were then due.

Midsummer’s Eve:
June 23/24.

Misericord:
the Rule of St. Benedict prohibited eating flesh, except for monks who were ill. In 1336 Pope Benedict XII permitted Benedictines to eat meat four days each week so long as it was not served in the refectory or during a fast season. A special place called the misericord was the site of these carnivorous meals.

Muntelate:
lamb stewed with onions, egg yolks, lemon juice, and spices.

Nones:
the fifth canonical office, celebrated at the ninth hour of the day (about 3 p.m.).

Obedience:
a monastic office. The Precentor, the sacrist, the almoner, the infirmarer, and the kitchener were among the obedientiaries holding an obedience.

Page:
a young male servant, often one learning the arts of chivalry before becoming a squire.

Palfrey:
a gentle horse with a comfortable gait.

Pannaging:
allowing pigs to forage in a forest upon payment of a fee to the lord.

Parapet:
the upper level of a castle wall.

Pottage:
anything cooked in one pot, from soups and stews to simple porridge.

Precentor:
the monastic official who directed the church services.

Prime:
the second office of a monk’s day, an hour or so after lauds.

Prior:
the second in authority in an abbey; the leader of a priory.

Reeve:
the most important manorial official, although he did not outrank the bailiff. Elected by tenants from among themselves, often the best husbandman. He had responsibility for fields, buildings, and enforcing labor service.

Refectory:
the monastery dining hall.

Reivers:
Scottish raiders who often pillaged the northern counties of England.

Reredorter:
the monastery toilets.

Retrochoir:
the area immediately behind the monks’ choir, occupied by the sick and infirm, and also often by novices.

Sackbut:
an early form of trombone used in Renaissance music.

Sacrist:
the monastic official responsible for the upkeep of the church and the vestments, and also time-keeping.

St. Catherine’s Day:
November 25. St. Catherine was the most popular female saint of medieval Europe. Processions were held on her feast day.

St. John’s Day:
June 24.

St. Stephen’s Day:
December 26.

Salver:
a tray for serving food or beverages.

Scriptorium:
the copying room in a monastery.

Sext:
the fourth of the canonical hours, celebrated at midday.

Shilling:
twelve pence. Twenty shillings made one pound, but there was no one-pound coin in the fourteenth century.

Tenant:
a free peasant who rented land from his lord. He could pay his rent in labor service or, more likely by the fourteenth century, in cash.

Terce:
the third canonical office of the day, celebrated about 9 a.m.

Toft:
the land surrounding a house, often used for growing vegetables.

Trebuchet:
a medieval military machine which could hurl rocks with great force.

Twelfth Night:
the evening of January 5, preceding Epiphany.

Venial sin:
a sin which is relatively slight or committed without full reflection and so does not deprive the soul of saving grace.

Vespers:
the sixth canonical office, celebrated at the approach of dusk.

Vigils:
the night office, celebrated at midnight. When it was completed, Benedictines went back to bed, but Cistercians and Carthusians stayed up to begin the new day.

Villein:
a non-free peasant. He could not leave his land or service to his lord, or sell animals without permission. But if he could escape his manor for a year and a day he would be free.

Whitsuntide:
“White Sunday.” Pentecost, seven weeks after Easter Sunday.

Yardland:
thirty acres. Also called a virgate or, in northern England, an oxgang.