hired hand at the farm, of Zhelejov
“I pitch hay and shovel dung while the master keeps my coin for an ale-wife's slate. It isn't fair that I get the worst tasks just because I have no father to speak for me.”
Things Otto had written, latest first, with the glosses of his neighbours.
The Monday before Ascension, at Terce
It rained all night again and my straw pallet is soaked. Jan still refuses to help me patch the thatch, so I am keeping his boots and Andrew's Kuttenberg nails. It is only fair. If he wants dry feet, he can fix the roof over my head.
Nota scribaeHe crossed his arms and refused to speak further until I wrote down that it was fair.
The feast of St Mark, at Vespers
Hynek struts around the yard like a lord just because he has a bow and shot a hare. We are all starving on pottage because the master docks our pennies, but does Hynek share his meat? No. I wish I could shoot, then I would show them what is fair.
The second day of Easter week, at None
Andrew is whining again about his lost tools. He is just a boy. Since nobody has any silver left, a man has to hold onto what he finds. The master tricked us into owing him, so we must make our own fairness in this yard.
They are my Kuttenberg nails! Jan had no right to give them to you.
Nota scribaeDictated while mucking out the stalls. The smell was foul.
The feast of St Gregory, at Prime
Payday again, and Francis docked us another few pennies. I miss Constance. She poured a good pint and let me sit by her fire. I blame her son for dragging her off to Kuttenberg and leaving us to freeze with no ale and no coin.
Candlemas, at Compline
The ale-wife Constance has packed her pots and gone. Worse, she sold our twenty groschen slate to master Francis before she left. Now he says he will take it from our wages. It isn't fair. I have no father to speak for me, and now I have no silver either.
A debt is a debt, lad. You drank the ale, you pay the coin.
Nota scribaeThe man whined so much my hand cramped writing it.
From drop 2026-10-26-4316967; the words set down by gemini-3.1-pro-preview on 2026-10-28.
Give me back my boots, you whoreson. You stole the nails too!
They are fair payment for the ale you drank.