17th Century Almanac for November – slaughter & remembrance
The 17th Century Almanac for November is an article by author Charles Cordell on Early Modern life, Martinmas slaughter, celebration, protest and remembrance.
November was the month when cattle, pigs and geese that could not be kept over winter were slaughtered. Many of the cattle were driven across Britain in droves to feed towns and cities through the winter. It was also the month of celebration and protest, of gunpowder, good Queen Bess and a Catholic queen. Now, as then, it is the season of:
“sunshine and shadows, tempest loud, and calms.”
17th Century Life & Agriculture in November – threshing & cesspits
The 1st of November is All Saints’ Day. In 17th Century Britain, it was a cross-quarter day celebrated with pork and souse, sprats and sparlings (or smelt). It was the day when grazing on the meadows ended and horses were stabled for the winter after the last October ploughing. Only a few boys remained in the sodden fields to scare birds from the young winter wheat crop.
Men were set to work in the barns threshing barely, or dredge, for malting and brewing. The shafts of their flails or ‘threshels’ were ash. This strong, smooth wood didn’t give splinters. The beater was made of holly, hard and wear-resistant, joined to the shaft by a leather hinge.
But threshing was unpopular work. Thomas Tusser tells us that a good farmer needed to watch over his farm labourers for “slothful yarning” and pilfering of the grain. Even less popular must have been clearing ditches, digging out the jakes (privy house cesspits) and the cleaning of chimneys. All needed to be done before winter use overfilled them.
St Edmund’s Day – the last milk & grazing, store cattle & stover
November the 20th was St Edmund’s Day, when garlic and beans were set, or hung. Wood was gathered in for fires and bracken cut for animal bedding. Milking stopped and cows were put to bull to ensure they calved and produced milk in the spring.
The last grazing of the spring corn stubble ended on 23 November. From then on, the store cattle were kept in barns, fed on barley straw, or ‘stover’. They were let loose in farmyards and crofts only once per day in winter “to rub and to lick them, to drink and to play”. Mice and rats soon follow the cattle indoors to infest the barns and hayricks.
Cattle Droves & Christmas Beef – Aylesbury, Farnham & Smithfield
Those cattle that could not be fed through the winter were driven to market. Droves of up to fifty head of cattle were walked across Britain and Ireland to the major cities. Before rail transport, this was the only way to move meat. It was essential to providing enough protein to get each town and city through the winter months. Sheep did not have the legs to walk the distances needed. The cattle moved on ancient drovers’ ways, many of which can still be traced across Britain today.
Particularly important were the droves of Welsh cattle that fed London. These were fattened in the Vale of Aylesbury before being sold at markets in Wheatley, Thame and Missenden, Blackwater Fair on the 8th of November, Farnham Fair on the 10th and Smithfield in London. This was one key reason for the Battle of Aylesbury in early November 1642. It was an attempt to force parliament to negotiate through control of London’s Christmas beef. Today, we see this as ‘weaponizing’ food.
Martinmas Slaughter – bacon, ham hocks, chitterlings, brawn & trotters
November the 11th was Martinmas, a quarter day in Scotland and Northern England. Everywhere, it was the day of slaughter. All cattle, pigs and geese that could not be kept through winter were killed and butchered. Almost every family kept a pig and even the poorest commoner had a goose.
Now was the moment they must be butchered. Their precious meat was preserved for winter. Cuts of beef, hams and bacons were salted and smoked. Anything that would not keep was eaten, including fresh blood baked as blackpot puddings. A Martinmas goose was the feast of the day.
The Month of Remembrance – Armistice Day & the Thirty Years War
Today, 11 November is Armistice Day. It is the day we remember the end of the slaughter of the First World War, when the guns fell silent at eleven o’clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Across the Commonwealth crowds also gather for Remembrance Sunday, the day of Remembrance for all casualties of war since 1914. It is always marked on the nearest Sunday to 11 November.
Perhaps we should also remember that November marks the beginning and end of the Thirty Years War. The war started with the Battle of White Mountain, outside Prague, on 8 November 1620. It ended thirty years later, on 1 November 1648, with the Battle of Prague. This was almost certainly the most destructive conflict in European History, worse than the Great War of 1914-18. It was a violent symptom of The General Crisis of the 17th Century.
Gunpowder, Treason & Plot – good Queen Bess & Henrietta Maria.
In Britain, Ireland and the new colonies, from 1605 onwards, the 5 November was remembered as Gunpowder Treason Day. It was a day of anti-Catholic sentiment, celebrated by London apprentices. Effigies of Satan and the Pope were paraded around the Tower of London before being burnt at Temple Bar. Bonfires were let across the city.
These were followed by Crown Nation Day on 17 November. This was a celebration marking the accession to the throne of good Queen Bess, Queen Elizabeth I. It was marked by a public holiday and bonfires in England and Wales for some 300 years. It is still marked in Berry Pomeroy in Devon today.
Unfortunately for King Charles I, Crown Nation Day continued to outshine his own birthday two days later, on 19 November. By the 1640s, the king’s birthday had become a day of both anti-Catholic and anti-Royalist protest. This was aimed principally at the queen – Henrietta Maria of France – whose own birthday fell on 25 November.
These sentiments provided the backdrop to the opening of the British Civil Wars. It almost certainly influenced his attempt to seize back control of London in November 1642. He intended to celebrate his birthday in his palace at Whitehall. But his march on the capital stalled at the barricades in Brentford on 12 November 1642 and came to a halt the next day on Turnham Green. These, of course, are the climax of God’s vindictive Wrath.
Early Modern Astrology & Lore in November – choleric Sagittarius
November is the month of Sagittarius, the archer. Those born under its fiery, eastern influence were said to have a sharp choleric temperament. According to Galen, their hot and dry humour tended to towards being full bodied, broad, fair, fierce, ruddy, strong, active and valiant. For Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter.
Jupiter – ‘Great Benific’ – planet of wisdom & fortune
In Early Modern astrology, benevolent Jupiter was the planet of authority and abundance. The ‘Great Benefic’, ‘Lord of Plenty’ it was the most favourable, fortunate of planets. Jupiter bestowed life, growth, fertility. It was the planet of wisdom, mercy, hope and the preservation of order.
In his 1647 textbook, Christian Astrology, the parliamentarian astrologer William Lilly associated Jupiter with the Church, bishops, clergy and ordered, organised religion. In the same year, he predicted that the Presbyterian church, alongside the Solemn League and Covenant with Scotland’s Kirk, had reached its zenith. The rise of Oliver Cromwell, the New Model Army and the Independents was to prove him right.
But great Jupiter could also cast a different shadow. An over-indulgent Jupiter might promise more than it could deliver. Its hot and wet, masculine temperament had a tendency towards pomposity and over optimism. It could lead to extravagance and waste.
And Jupiter had a darker cosmic twin, Saturn, the ‘Great Malefic. Together, they represented the forces of expansion and contraction. Cold and dry Saturn brought stagnation and decay. It was associated with scarcity, famine and plague. Every twenty years these great planets clash in the Great Conjunction.
November 2026 – Oak Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, meteors & more
This November, we will see an unusual alignment of planets and two meteor showers. Bright Venus will approach the waning crescent moon on 7 November 2026. The new moon will rise shortly after on 9 November to be full on 24 November 2026. This will be the Oak Moon.
The Northern Taurids will streak the dark sky in a meteor shower of slow-moving bright fireballs, 10–20 November 2026. They should be especially bright just after the new moon.
Great Jupiter will rule the night sky. In the middle of the month, The Lord of Plenty will align with Mars in a close conjunction in the pre-dawn eastern sky. They will be joined by the bright star Regulus to form a distinct triangle on 16 November 2026.
Jupiter’s cosmic counterpart, Saturn will also be visible at this time. It will rise in the early evening to the south west. While slippery Mercury will reappear low on the south eastern horizon just before sunrise, from mid-November. And the Leonid meteors will return. They will be at their peak 17-18 November.
This November, the best astrologers forecast a time of deep review, of communication, finances and relationships. However, the conjunction of Jupiter and Mars offers ambition, courage and enthusiasm. Let us hope that we can all seize a bit of their cosmic energy for the good.
St Andrew’s Day – fresh slaughtered haggis & old clootie
Finally, in Scotland, 30 November is St Andrew’s Day. It remains a feast before winter of Cullen skink, fresh slaughtered haggis and old clootie. In the words of the great Scots poet Robert Burns in his 1786 Address to a Haggis:
“Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Robert Burns, Address to a Haggis
Great Chieftain o’ the Puddin-race!”
Follow & Read More of the 17th Century Almanac
Whether you are threshing in your barn, driving cattle or preserving winter fair, I wish you a quiet, calm November. As ever, if this post is not the full store cupboard you were hoping for, please tell me what is missing.
I will post more of the 17th Century Almanac, next month. Each article discusses a topic of interest, such as 17th Century Climate Change and conflict, as well as annual activity in Early Modern Britain for that month. If you would like to receive an email notification of the next post, click the button to follow.
17th Century History – articles, maps & events
In the meantime, this website includes more posts and articles about life in 17th Century Britain, Europe and the Americas at Historical Notes and Maps. These include notes and pages on the impact of the Little Ice Age and The General Crisis of the 17th Century. They include articles on the English Revolution and Great Rebellion. They also include Pike and Shot Warfare and battles of the English Civil War.
You can also find more posts on Early Modern history, Living History and re-enactment at News & Blogs. You may also wish to read about the English Civil War history talks and battlefield walks I give. If you would like to meet, why not check out the calendar at Charles Cordell Events.
Divided Kingdom – English Civil War historical fiction
The 17th Century almanac blog posts provide a backdrop and set the scene for the Divided Kingdom books. This historical fiction series is set in Early Modern Britain during the English Civil War. These posts are part of their backstory.
The Divided Kingdom books take a fresh approach. They are not based on a single hero. They do not take sides. Their voices – ordinary men and women – face each other in the chaos of Britain in civil war. They are both relatable and sharply relevant today. They are also as historically accurate as is possible.
Please do check out some of the writing at Divided Kingdom Books, including book tasters and a FREE ebook short story.
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