The 17th Century Almanac for November – slaughter & remembrance
The 17th Century almanac for the month of November – the month of gunpowder, Martinmas slaughter and remembrance; the season of ‘sunshine and shadows, tempest loud, and calms’.
November was the month when cattle, pigs and geese that could not be kept over winter were slaughtered. Great droves of cattle were driven across Britain 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.
17th Century Life & Agricultural Labour – 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. This 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 digging out the jakes, or privy house cesspits, and the cleaning of chimneys. Both needed to be done before winter use overfilled them.
St Edmund’s Day – 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 the 23rd of November. From then on, the store cattle were kept in barns, fed on barley straw, or ‘stover’. They were let loose in farmyards and on the croft only once per day in winter ‘to rub and to lick them, to drink and to play’. Even today, mice and rats soon follow to infest 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 ahead. 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, 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 they must be butchered.
The 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.
Remembrance – Armistice Day & the Thirty Years War
Today, the 11th of 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 it is followed by Remembrance Sunday, the day of Remembrance for all casualties of war since 1914.
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 the 8th of November 1620. It ended thirty years later, on the 1st of November 1648, at 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 5th of 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.
November the 17th was celebrated as Crown Nation Day, marking the accession to the throne of good Queen Bess, Queen Elizabeth I. Unfortunately for King Charles I, Crown Nation Day continued to outshine his own birthday two days later, on the 19th of 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 the 25th of 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 king’s march on the capital stalled at the barricades in Brentford on the 12th of November. It came to a halt the next day on Turnham Green. These, of course, are the climax of God’s vindictive Wrath.
The Oak Moon & St Andrew – fresh slaughtered haggis & old clootie
This year, a new moon will rise on the 1st to be full on the 15th of November. This will be an Oak Moon, the last but one before the Winter Solstice. Finally, in Scotland, the 30th of November is St Andrew’s Day. It remains a feast before winter of Cullen skink, fresh slaughtered haggis and old clootie.
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 and yearly activity in Early Modern Britain, next month. If you would like to receive an email notification of the next post, click the button to follow.
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 & Events. You may also wish to read about the English Civil War history talks and battlefield walks I give.
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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