Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices From a Medieval Village

“There’s something else. I’ve stared into the Round Pool,

and it’s hard to tell—

the water’s never still—

but I think I’m ugly. Big and ugly

and shy in the bargain. Mother says

I’ll likely not marry at all.

‘It’s a world of trouble you’ll save yourself,’

says Mother, ‘childbearing and child dying.’

And no doubt she’s right.

I always weep when the hogs are slaughtered.

I’m not strong enough to bear and lose.”

Like the narrative as a whole, this passage builds suspense because it begins with a vague detail that is not explained until later. In the beginning of the chapter, Taggot mentions something that her parents and brother haven’t seen yet (the sprig of hawthorn that Hugo left her). In the beginning of this paragraph, the phrase “there’s something else” functions similarly, for it is not revealed until a few lines later that Taggot is referring to her physical appearance. The phrase “childbearing and child dying” also emphasizes the brutal but inevitable realities of life by drawing attention to the fact that many children in the Middle Ages did not live to adulthood. The passage characterizes Taggot as compassionate and self-reflective; she knows she is too sensitive to cope with the loss of a child.

“He said I couldn’t tell anyone, not ever, because that hare belonged to the lord, and we had no right to eat it. And I never did tell, and no one found out. And when he lay dying, he told me to work hard and take care of my mother and sisters—and I promised I would, even if I died of working. I always did everything he told me, and I always will, so long as I live.”

The fervent tone of this passage shows the contrast between Will’s intense loyalty to his father and his lack of deference to the lord. He doesn’t express any guilt over his father’s “theft” of the lord’s hare to feed his starving family, and it is clear that Will is very committed to the promise he has made to his father to work hard, even if such effort claims his life. In this way, his very name, “Will” reflects his strength of will and the integrity of his character, and it is clear that his highest loyalty is to his family. Additionally the chapter differs from many of the others because it is in prose form, rather than poetry. This stylistic choice makes Will’s words balder and plainer, and this straightforward rhythm implicitly mirrors the practicalities of Will’s farm-oriented life.

“My mother died when I was born,

So I was suckled by one of the sheep.

It’s made me—my father says—

More sheep than human,

Which is true.”

Animals function as a symbol of hope and potential throughout the book. As a shepherdess, Alice has an especially close relationship with animals, which she attributes to the circumstances of her early childhood. She considers the sheep whose milk she drank to be something of a mother, and by extension, she considers that sheep’s offspring, Jilly, to be a spiritual sister of sorts. Alice’s straightforward acceptance of her father’s judgment that she is “more sheep than human” indicates the strength of her love for her animal companions.

“After the prayer, let the patient rest,

And tell his family, ‘I will do my best

To fight this sickness, but I fear his fate—

It may be that you called me in too late.’

Then shake your head, look serious and wise—

This sort of talk protects you if he dies.

If he recovers, it was all your skill

That brought him back to life. And that’ better still.”

This passage shows that Thomas has learned more than medicine by watching his father, a doctor. Thomas has observed his father’s attempts to ensure that he is never blamed for losing patients. Thomas’s careful attention to the appropriate gestures and facial expressions—“shake your head, look serious and wise”—suggests that he has been watching his father closely in the interests of emulating his techniques. The boy’s narrative also includes elements of black comedy about death and medicine, and in this context the passage’s rhyming style emphasizes the humor in his tone. This dynamic becomes most prominent in the contrast between the doctor’s attempt to appear “wise” even in the midst of risking a patient who “dies.” With this particular couplet, death is trivialized by the lightness of Thomas’s tone and his dismissive attitude toward the well-being of his patients. His outlook thus reflects the dramatic extent of Parental Influence on Children’s Development.

“And so, though my journey be long and hard,

I will kneel by the shrine of the well and pray,

For a hunchback’s life is a life of scorn.

I have known more sorrow than tears can tell.

There are times when I wish I had never been born,

But I will be healed at Saint Winifred’s well.”

Schlitz uses rhyme and repetition in this passage to emphasize motion, and because the monologue describes a long, arduous journey, the predictable A-B-A-B rhyme scheme suggests the steady pace of walking. The repetition of the assertion, “I will be healed at Saint Winifred’s well,” also emphasizes Constance’s strongly held faith in the efficacy of miracles—an indicator that the Christian religion played a strong role in the lives of medieval people.

“In the case of springs rich in mineral salts, the cures are easily explained: the salts would help to clean and dry up skin infections. Hot springs could ease the pain of aching joints or torn muscles. Other cures are harder to account for, but that’s beside the point: medieval people did not share our need to understand the world scientifically. They were convinced that the water from a shrine or relics from a saint could cure disease—and it may well be that these ‘faith cures’ were as reliable as the hodgepodge of astrology and folk medicine practiced by medieval doctors.”

This informative interlude follows the monologues of Thomas and Constance, whose perspectives offer two different philosophies on medieval healing. Thomas is the son of a doctor, but although his cures are based on the rudimentary medicine of the time, he expresses very little faith in his remedies. On the other hand, Constance is seeking healing based on faith, and she believes in its efficacy unquestioningly. This interlude suggests that because doctors’ “cures” had the potential to harm as many as they healed, a faith-based cure might be deemed no less effective simply because it couldn’t do any harm.

“My father died last winter—

also the chickens. Choked themselves—

thrashed and turned sick, after all the trouble I had

plucking their grass and cleaning their muck

and not one egg. What was I saying?”

The passage includes vivid imagery to convey the gruesome nature of the chickens’ illness and death, and these visceral details effectively convey the Brutality of Life in the Middle Ages. Yet even as Mogg’s words emphasize the importance of animals to the continuation of human life, it is also clear that she values the chickens far more highly than she does her abusive father. She equates her father’s death and deaths as chickens as similarly detrimental events. More of the passage is devoted to a description of the chickens’ deaths than her father’s, and it concludes with her trying to remember what she had originally been discussing.

“Oh, God makes the water, and the water makes the river,

And the river turns the mill wheel

And the wheel goes on forever.

Every man’s a cheater, and so every man is fed,

For we feed upon each other,

When we seek our daily bread.”

This monologue includes repetition of the rhythmic refrain “God makes the water, and the water makes the river, / And the river turns the mill wheel / And the wheel goes on forever” (27). The refrain emphasizes the cyclical nature of the mill itself, as well as the inevitability of life, and it is clear that Otho is confident of his path. He will be the miller because his father was before him. The passage also suggests the brutality required to survive in the Middle Age, for Otho believes that the simple act of seeking daily food requires people to “feed upon each other.”

“After that day,

he’s been my friend,

He doesn’t speak,

he doesn’t smile,

but he hasn’t forgotten,

and never joins in

when the other boys shout:

Lack-a-wit

Numbskull

Mooncalf

Fool.”

Schlitz uses simple, declarative sentences in Jack’s monologue to align with his cognitive abilities. The passage develops The Importance of Human Connection. Jack does not share his sister’s prejudice toward Otho, the miller’s son, but he does see Otho as a fellow human being. Jack therefore empathizes with Otho’s suffering after the boy has been beaten. Because Jack has had similar experiences at the hands of his father, he knows just how to soothe the miller’s son. Speech is not necessary; Jack knows that Otho has not forgotten his kindness, and he appreciates that Otho does not join in with the other boys’ taunts.

“Sharpen my sword on the Saracen’s throat—

Crush the bones of the heathen horde—

All for the glory of Our Lord!”

Schlitz emphasizes the ironic nature of the Crusades in this passage, for Simon unquestioningly views Saracens (Islamic peoples) as less than human, positioning them as the object of a knife sharpener. The rhyme also creates an emphatic contrast between the brutal violence of the first two lines and the religious statement in the third, and when the naïve boy declares, “Crush the bones of the heathen horde— / All for the glory of Our Lord,” his gloating tone reveals the deeply hypocritical nature of the Crusades, which justified wholesale invasion and slaughter in the name of piety.

“The Crusades were an unholy muddle of political motives, greed, savage brutality, and religious fervor. In spite of this, the Crusades had a sort of glamour that has lasted to this day. It is ironic, but when we say someone is a ‘crusader,’ we generally mean he is striving to do something noble: he is trying to improve the world.”

Schlitz’s use of the phrase “unholy muddle” emphasizes the fact that the Crusades were anything but righteous. Her emphasis of the disparate and ignoble motivations for these wars contrasts sharply with their glamorous reputation in the more stereotypical portrayals of the Middle Ages. One of Schlitz’s stated motivations for writing the novel was to present lesser-known medieval narratives that extended beyond the constant mainstream focus on knighthood. Simon’s monologue and this interlude both help to present the complexities and dark motivations of knighthood amidst the Crusades, challenging the courteous and chivalrous portrayals of this specialized social class.

“And being mine, at break of day,

The hour comes for us to part.

I’ll loose thee, Splendid, come what may,

Even though it break my heart.

Neither of us will shed a tear

The moment when I set thee free—

Thy valor taught me scorn for fear.

What care I what they do to me?”

Edgar’s monologue is in second person as he addresses the sparrowhawk that he so diligently raised. Schlitz thus emphasizes the importance of animals to life in the Middle Ages: this animal is spoken to like a human, and in Edgar’s estimation, the bird is worth the risk of enduring the harsh punishment that will come with setting it free. The rhetorical question leaves the narrative open-ended, and Schlitz never reveals the fate that befalls Edgar for his bold decision.

“Yet it is true:

I am better clad

better shod

and better fed

than those—churls.

And what if I am? […]

I do but take

What they would take

If the Lord God chose

To give it to them.”

Isobel’s scornful tone as she considers the lower classes reveals the full extent of her entitlement even as she unsuccessfully attempts to understand why others hate her. Although she acknowledges that she has more than others, she declares herself destined to receive such bounty, citing the will of the “Lord God” for her good fortune and the misfortunes of others. By suggesting that she is correct to take what is given to her, she shows her high-handed belief that she and her family have been “chosen” in some way.

“It made me think

how all women are the same—

silk or sackcloth, all the same.

There’s always babies to be born

and suckled and wiped,

and worried over.

Isobel, the lord’s daughter,

will have to be married,

and squat in the straw,

and scream with the pain

and pray for her life

same as me.”

Barbary articulates a key subtheme of the novel: that the Brutality of Life in the Middle Ages can function as an equalizer. Her contemplative tone acknowledges that childbirth is always painful and dangerous, regardless of a woman’s social station. Schlitz uses polysyndeton with the repetition of “and” to emphasize the numerous things that can go wrong for women in this situation, whether or not they are wealthy.

“He was different

from the others

though I know

that can’t be true.

He was like

a friend, a brother—

more like a Christian,

not like a Jew.”

While Petronella speaks this passage, Jacob simultaneously speaks the same lines as she does, but with the pronouns and religious labels reversed (e.g., “not like a Christian, / more like a Jew”). In this way, Schlitz achieves a choral effect by having both voices speak at once, and this approach emphasizes the fact that Jacob and Petronella are both being challenged to abandon their biases.

“I love the dogs, but God’s bones!

The house is full of fleas!

Fleas in the pottage bowl,

Fleas in the bread,

Bloodsucking fleas

In the blankets of our beds,

Nibbling our buttocks

And the backs of our knees,

Biting and delighting

Through the night—those fleas!”

The rollicking tone of this passage conveys Lowdy’s wry sense of humor despite her frustration over the omnipresent fleas. Techniques like the internal rhyme of “biting and delighting” combine with vivid images like “nibbling our buttocks,” and the expletive “God’s bones!” also helps to provide a comedic tone. However, Lowdy’s humor is balanced by the visceral imagery of living with “bloodsucking” pests in blankets, and it is clear that her daily life carries a wealth of inescapable hardships.

“She came over and dipped her hand in the dog’s bucket, and held out a handful of porridge. I was so hungry I snatched her hand and gobbled, same as if I was a dog. I gulped down the dog’s food and sucked her fingers, and she gave me more. And even as I was eating, I knew how queer it all was, but I didn’t care. She was strange and stank of dog, but I licked her palm as if it were a golden plate.”

This monologue is one of few told in prose form rather than in verse. The more matter-of-fact tone of this approach enables Schlitz to present rich detail in full sentences, rather than relying upon the oblique, impressionistic quality of poetry. The passage therefore includes extensive similes that render the strange, intimate moment even more vivid. For example, Pask’s description of gulping the dog’s food and sucking on Lowdy’s fingers emphasizes the momentary intimacy between them, and the comparison of Lowdy’s hand to a golden plate emphasizes how important Pask finds her kindness in this moment.

“These townsmen enjoyed a degree of freedom that was unknown to their country cousins. If a townsman suspected that the local miller was cheating him, he could take his flour to another mill. If a shoemaker’s shoes were not bringing in enough money, he could make better ones—or cheaper ones—or bellow out the virtues of his shoes in a louder voice.”

The final section of the novel features a shift from a country setting to the challenges of the town, and this interlude is designed to explain why life in town was in some ways preferable to the country. Schlitz’s parenthetical sentence construction in the last sentence (“—or cheaper ones—“) indicates the existence of numerous options in town. It also suggests the beginning of more modern concepts such as advertising.

“I put my thumb

on the mouth of the pipe,

sucked air—blew out,

and all this while

the glass is getting colder

duller

orange

blood red

mud red

black.”

Schlitz includes physical details to describe the effort that Piers makes to blow the glass. The inclusion of the sensory colors illustrates the glass’s lurid appearance even as the shifting tones indicate that the boy is running out of time to shape the glass correctly. Schlitz varies position of lines of text on the page throughout the verse monologues, and when only one word appears on each line, the pace of the narrative slows dramatically to mirror the slow, steady passage of time.

“MARIOT. If I have to be wed, MAUD. 

Then when all’s done and said—

I would rather be dead

I’ll wed Piers. than wed Piers.

In this passage, Schlitz uses the simultaneous delivery of the monologues to highlight the different views of the two daughters. While Maud assumes that her older sister’s view of Piers is similar to her own, the girls’ perceptions are precisely opposite. This passage is the conclusion of the monologue, and the author uses similar language with opposite meanings to emphasize the irony of the girls’ divergent views.

“And their luck changed. First my uncle died of the scurvy and we got his pigs. Then the nuns at the abbey hired us to catch eels—and we’ve been sniggling ever since. Do you see these eels? Fresher than the day they were born—and fat as priests.”

This passage represents one of few instances of upward mobility in the novel. In most instances, families’ financial circumstances do not change. Villeins are subject to the circumstances of their land and the kindness of their lords, and those who are poor usually remain poor. By contrast, although Nelly’s family was “starving poor” (75) and suffered circumstances dire enough to make her father consider drown their child, their inheritance of the pigs and their employment as snigglers has drastically improved their circumstances. Nelly’s use of second person gives the monologue casual, experiential tone.

“Now, let me get on with my scraper and dung.

You hold your nostrils—and hold your tongue.”

This rhyming couplet concludes Drogo’s monologue, which is focused mainly on his anger over frequent accusations that the tanners make the river stink. The incongruous rhyme of “dung” with “tongue” emphasizes the comedy of the monologue. The tone of the passage and the monologue as a whole is a light counterpoint against many of the others. While it deals with an unpleasant reality of life, it is a necessary one that does not have life-or-death stakes.

“Good masters, sweet ladies!

I am Giles the beggar,

the best of my trade!

Behold my crushed foot!

The sight of the wound

Would sicken your stomach, and soften your heart.

A penny? A farthing?

I grovel for mercy—

Sometimes I manage real tears.

(It’s an art.)”

Giles’s taste for showmanship is evident in his first line, and it is clear that he enjoys performing for an audience. This humorous monologue is therefore designed to bring the performative aspect of the book to a dramatic conclusion. Ironically, Giles uses a dramatic form to boast of his skill at playacting and deception, and the narrative therefore functions as a play-within-a-play. The passage also features the title of the novel as the opening of Giles’ speech. The use of punctuation and parenthetical are performative, suggesting that the actor might choose to deliver certain parts with emphasis, and others covertly, as asides.