A man's whole household may have been swept
off--young and old, babe and suckling, sister and brother, and aged
mother, and wife, and children, and servant, and friend--every soul
of them involved in one hideous, horrible calamity. The steward of
the manor was not concerned with any but the head of the house--the
tenant of the manor. Was he missing? Then, who was his heir? Any
sons? Dead of the plague! Brothers? Dead of the plague! Wife? Dead of
the plague! Children? Kinsfolk? All gone! Their blackening carcases
huddled in sweltering masses of putrefaction in the wretched hovels,
while the pitiless July sun blazed overhead, "Calmer than clock-work,
and not caring!"
The steward made his entry of one fact only. Thus:--
"The Jurors do present that Simon Must died seized of a Messuage and
4 acres of land in Stradset, and that he has no heir. Therefore it is
fitting that the aforesaid land be taken into the hands of the lord."
Also that Matilda Stile... was she married or single, widow or mother
or maid? What cared the precise man of business on that 24th of July,
1349, as his pen moved over the parchment?...--"Matilda Stile died
seized of one acre and one rood of land held in Villenage. Therefore
it is fitting that the aforesaid land be taken into the hands of the
lord until such time as the heir may appear in court.
Pages:
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191