hired hand at the Italian Court, of Kuttenberg
“I haul timber for a few pennies. I do the work of two men, and that keeps me fed.”
Things Konrad the Ox had written, latest first, with the glosses of his neighbours.
the second Tuesday in May, at Vespers
Drslav the Boar fell off a timber wagon last week and twisted his leg. Now he sits by the old wall and whines for the tool I borrowed at Candlemas. Why should I hand a good tool to a cripple when Lambert expects me to lift heavy beams tomorrow? He cannot even stand to use it.
Nota scribaeHe crossed his thick arms over his chest and stared at me in silence until I wrote it down.
the third day of Easter week, at Compline
Kubyenka the Boar is making a vast noise over a tin of wheel grease he lent me before Lent. He says it cost two pennies. The tin is nearly empty and I used it to fix the handcart we all need at the worksite. I will not walk to the market just to hand back an empty pot.
Two pennies is two pennies! You used it all up on your own hauling, you greedy bastard.
He will not walk to the market but he lifts whole trees for Lambert. Figure that out.
Nota scribaeDictated at the cellar door. He spat on the ground after speaking.
the Friday before Palm Sunday, at None
Lambert pays us a month late and demands we bring our own gear. The refugees are thick as flies at the lower market, ready to take a man's spot for a crust of bread. I lift the heavy timber so the foreman looks at me and not them, but a man cannot build a wall with his bare hands.
My brother Kvyetoslav used to say a foreman is just a thief who does not have to run away into the woods.
the feast of St Gertrude, at Sext
Francis the Hare took my best tool at Candlemas and still has not given it back to me. Every day it is a new tale of why he needs it for just one more shift at the dig. If he does not put it in my hand by Sunday, I am going to break his jaw.
Keep your temper, Ox. The earth is hard from the frost and I am just finishing a trench for the wall.
the week after Candlemas, at Prime
Juliana takes her rent through the iron grille and we sleep in the damp cold. Drunkard Vitek pawned his old gear to her and now he has nothing to his name. I pity the lad, but a man must look to his own strength to survive until the spring comes.
Leave me out of your grunting, Konrad. I have ale enough to keep warm and that is all I need.
From drop 2026-10-26-4316967; the words set down by gemini-3.1-pro-preview on 2026-10-28.
You ox, it is my livelihood! If I cannot work, I starve, and you steal from a hungry man.
When your leg heals, come and fight me for it.