Historical Setting, 629 C.E. Vosges Mts.
Our donkey is old and not trained to work the fields, but if I walk him, and Will holds the plow steady we can plow this unturned earth much more easily than one man could do it simply by hand. These new fields are a great consternation to all of these new farmers here at the foot of the Waldalenus Castle.
Will is slow in starting his work and all around us others either have finished their first plowing and are already planting, or maybe, like Will, they have just given up. In one day, we are able to plow the strip for the field and turn a tiny little patch behind the house for vegetables. Vegetables will be a luxury here and Layla knows how to do vegetables, so I don’t suppose it will be a waste of the little space they have. Now, Will still has to put the hoe to the ground to break up the newly turned earth to prepare for the seeds.
This third day I’m here we have a gentle rain falling so we will put off the hoeing for tomorrow, and maybe the rain will soften the clods to make that task easier or else it will just be mud to make another day to wait before the planting.
Will and I trek back to the castle storage barns to see if he can receive more seed now. And I hope they will give him oats. Layla knows all the steps in winnowing and preparing oats. Oats can be a crop abundant enough to pay the fee for the land due at harvest, if it is a good year for crops that is. They do have a few fists full of seed-oats for him. I try to coax him to gratitude, just for the sake of civility. I’m not asking him to show Christian love or empathy to this master of the serfs, just a simple, “thanks for the extra seed,” is good enough.
He reduces it to, “Thanks.” But from him, that sounds magnanimous.
The fourth day of my visit here we are both getting tired, hungry and annoyed with one another and I still haven’t emptied the cart of family gifts for him yet. I’m waiting for Will to be in a better mood to receive a gift.
While he hoes his own field, I take the donkey, Jack, to a needy neighbor, so that someone else can have the advantage of a donkey to help with the first plowing.
(Continues tomorrow)
Lazarus Ink 