History 2158A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Winter Wheat
10 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
The Labours of the Months
What are they?
●Illustrations that died out at the end of the 16th century
●Calendars that listed important religious events of the year
○Included scenes of the most prevalent labours of the month - what people were doing
●Regional variation
January
●Socializing at feasts and stuff because there’s nothing to do
February
●Trimming grape vines
●Leisure time
March
●Planting small gardens
●Trimming grape vines
April
●Shearing sheep
●Socializing
●Planting sowing grains
May
●Hunting
●Training falcons
June
●Lots more working
●Cutting and stacking hay
July
●Harvesting wheat
●Working the most and eating the least
August
●Processing grain, separating wheat from stock
September
●Harvesting grapes to make wine
October
●Fattening pigs
●Ploughing
●Planting winter wheat
November
●Buying and selling pigs
December
●Slaughtering pigs when they’re fat and use natural refrigeration
●Hunting
What does it all mean?
●These books were made for and bought by the upper levels of society (church, nobility)
○This is why it shows wheat - wheat is more expensive
●Importance of cereal crops/wheat
○Bread (formed the basis of the European diet at this time)
●Wine and beer
○Safer than water
