Castle Diary: The Journal of Tobias Burgess

Set in 1285 England, the story was presented as the journal of Tobias "Toby" Burgess, a boy nearly 11 years old from the parish of Saltington. Toby lived with his father Henry, his mother Gwynedd, and his two younger sisters, Edythe and Sian. He was about to leave home to serve as a page at Strandborough Castle, the estate of his father's elder brother, John Burgess, Baron of Strandborough. In medieval England, sons of noblemen were sent to serve in the households of higher-ranking lords to learn the skills and courtly manners required to become squires and eventually knights. Toby's mother had delayed the arrangement for two years, but his father insisted the time had come. She asked Toby to keep a journal so he could share his experiences, since news from the castle was scarce.

Toby arrived at Strandborough on January 10. His cousin Simon, a young man soon to be knighted, rode out to greet him. Toby entered the Bailey, a large enclosed courtyard, and observed the Keep, which housed the Great Hall. He shared a room with three other pages: Mark, who was friendly, and Oliver and Humphrey, who were less welcoming. In the Great Hall, his Aunt Elizabeth greeted him warmly and explained that his uncle was away attending the King. Toby also met his younger cousin Abigail and his older cousin Beth.

Toby quickly learned the hierarchies of castle life. His duties included running errands, carrying messages, and serving food at mealtimes. As his aunt's nephew, he was also her personal page, which Humphrey warned would bring closer scrutiny. His first attempt at serving went badly; his hands shook so much that food fell to the floor. He observed the layered household, which included Isbel, his aunt's well-born companion; the Steward, who oversaw the servants; the Constable, who guarded the castle; and the Reeve, who managed the manor's farms and lands.

Toby's uncle returned on January 17 and warmly welcomed him but counseled patience when Toby immediately asked for a horse. The Chaplain arrived to teach the pages Latin, Scriptures, and numbers, and was strict, thrashing Toby for whispering with Mark during lessons. A squire soon brought exciting news: Toby's uncle had commanded a boar hunt. At the stables, the Sergeant-Farrier, the castle's horse caretaker, assigned Toby a courser named Prancer. On the day of the hunt, Toby fell far behind the other riders and heard the Huntsman signal the kill before he could reach the clearing. He missed the action and lost his way home, arriving at dusk without supper.

In February, Toby escaped the freezing Keep by slipping into the kitchen, where Cook put him to work copying splattered recipes. He watched Cook make bread before dawn, using barm, a form of yeast the village Brewess skimmed as foam from her brewing ale. Cook made Toby miniature loaves of the castle's three breads: fine white manchet for the Hall, brown cheat bread for servants, and coarse brom-bread for animals. Toby spat out the brom-bread, amusing the kitchen staff. He began archery training at the butts, the practice targets beyond the North Wall, and received a yew bow as tall as himself. He struggled but improved, and one arrow accidentally killed a sparrow in flight. Cook served the bird to Toby as "Sparrow à l'Arrow."

In late April, the castle hosted a jousting tournament on Saint George's Day. On the Lists, the designated combat field, Toby's uncle faced Lord Sudbury and knocked him from his horse three times. On the third pass, however, Sudbury's blow also lifted Toby's uncle from the saddle. Toby's uncle rose quickly but could not raise his twisted visor and had to have the Smith hammer it free in the armory. A knight was mortally wounded during the tournament; Mark noted that such deaths were common. In late May, Toby's uncle dubbed Simon a knight. After days of prayer and fasting, Simon received armor, gilded spurs, and a shield bearing the Burgess family's two ravens. He knelt for the colée, a heavy ceremonial blow from his uncle's sword, then rose and vowed to be gallant and brave.

A summer drought dropped the river to record lows and coated the moat in green slime. The garderobes, the castle's toilets, reeked without flowing water. In July, Toby learned that a grand Earl was coming, and his uncle hoped to gain the King's favor by hosting the nobleman lavishly. The Earl of Branstone arrived, and the household dined in the Hall for five days. Toby marveled at stuffed peacocks dressed in their feathers, larks' tongues, and a cockatrice, a novelty dish combining the top half of a fowl with the bottom half of a piglet. During the feast, Toby collapsed with a fever.

His uncle sent Simon to fetch a physician named Leach from nearby Middlethorpe. Doctor Leach examined Toby's urine, consulted astrological charts, and declared that Earth and Fire were battling for control of Toby's body. Toby suspected the real cause was overeating. The doctor bled him, opening a vein to release "black bile," a substance medieval physicians believed caused illness. Toby recovered but suspected he had mended in spite of the treatment, not because of it.

Once well, Toby feigned illness to skip school and wandered along the river, where he encountered a man catching fish with his bare hands. The poacher threatened Toby, then proposed a deal: Since both were where they should not be, they would keep silent. When the wheat harvest arrived, the Reeve exercised the lord's right of "boon," a feudal obligation requiring villagers to leave their own crops and reap the castle's wheat for free. On boon-day, Toby encountered the poacher again and learned his name was David. David bitterly called the payment of one sheaf per half-acre inadequate, explaining that boon-work pulled villagers from their own land for the castle's gain.

In October, the Water-Keeper, who oversaw the castle fishponds, led David through an angry crowd with a rope tied to his wrists. Mark explained that everyone poached and that the villagers were furious because David had been singled out as an example. David was locked beneath the gatehouse to await the King's traveling judge. At trial, the judge urged the jury of 12 village men to find David guilty. The foreman appeared to agree, then delivered a reversal: not guilty. Mark explained that village jurors would never condemn one of their own to the gallows.

In December, the castle prepared for Christmas. Toby helped cut holly, ivy, and mistletoe to decorate the Great Hall. On Christmas Day, Toby's aunt gave every member of the household a gift; Toby received an inkwell with a silver lid and a knife for cutting quill pens. Toby's father arrived on December 27. Toby spent the day saying farewell; he and Mark searched for David in the village but found only a warm fire in David's empty house. Before dawn the next morning, Toby and his father rode out. Simon galloped after them with a long, cloth-wrapped parcel, telling Toby to remember his archery and that no bird was safe while he trained at the butts. As Simon rode away, Toby looked back at Strandborough, its towers dusted with fresh snow and the watchman stamping his feet on the highest tower. Though only a twelvemonth had passed, Toby felt he returned home far more than a year grown.