Remembered
William Baker
21, hired smith's servant (strikes and works the bellows), lives in the Smiths' household.
- House
- —
- Born
- about 1331
- Died
- NaN December NaN, aged NaN
Who they are
- Proud of his arms and his trade, though he is a hired man and not a smith. He calls himself "the smith's man" as if it were a rank.
- Wary of strangers. He watches pedlars, soldiers and pilgrims with his arms folded, and says little until he has judged them.
- Broad in the shoulder, soot in the creases of his hands, singed hair on his forearms. A burn scar across his left wrist from a spark-hot nail.
- Came from Long Marston, where his family name was earned by a father who baked. He left the ovens for iron and does not like to be teased about bread.
- Devout in a plain way. Prays to St Eligius, the smiths' saint, and touches the anvil before the first heavy blow of the day.
- Quick to take offense, slow to forgive it, but fair once he has cooled.
Their life so far
- Born about 1332 in Long Marston. Lost his mother and a younger brother in the Pestilence of 1349, when he was about seventeen.
- After that he left the family bakehouse, worked for a farrier on the road, and learned to blow a fire and hold a hammer.
- Came to Ambermead to serve the Smiths, and has worked the bellows and struck for Elena since.
- Watched Elena's boundary dispute with Stephen Brewer in April 1353, and was glad when the lord ruled Stephen pay 2d.
Pastimes
How they talk
- Short, flat sentences. Answers a question with a question when he does not trust the asker.
- Pet phrases: "That's the smith's to say." "I'll see it when I see it." "Mind the iron."
What he thought lately
Margaret is up again after the flux, God be thanked. I'll not take it for granted, but it lifts the heart to see her on her feet.
25 August
Adam Brewer and Beatrice came to the door again today, and Joan's herbs for Margaret are still doing their work. God reward them; the little one is still weak, and I can't ask for more than kindness like that.
24 August
Beatrice Mason came to call, and Joan Brewer brought herbs for Margaret; God reward them both, the little one needs all the help she can get.
23 August
Roger Warrener says he'll count the warren honestly each day and let it speak for him. I told him that was the right way, and I'm glad he took it.
22 August
Rain all day and the thunder in the evening, and Margaret still abed with the flux that Elena gave her. Adam Brewer and Thomas atte Well came to the door. God keep the little one. Juliana Miller brought herbs for Elena, and Henry Cooper's wife came too. I'll not forget the kindness, though I still don't know what to make of the Warreners.
20 August
Overheard
22 August, afternoon at the home · William Baker and Roger Warrener
Roger: God keep Margaret, William. How is the flux going with her? Alice said Elena was sitting up yesterday, so I hope the child is mending too.
William: She kept down a bowl of pottage this morning and asked for ale, so I think she's past the worst. Elena sat by her all night with a cloth. I've been at the bellows since before Prime, so I'm glad to be out of the heat for an hour.
Roger: Then I'll not keep you from the forge long. I came to speak to you about a thing that's been sitting on me since Lammas, and I'd rather say it to someone who knows the village than to the priest.
William: Go on, then. You've a face on you like a man who's lost a coney and found the snare cut.
12 August, evening at the inn · William Baker and Roger Warrener
William: Roger, you've seen me at the forge every day this summer. Elena lets me strike, but only the rough work. Hooks, nails, bands for the cart. Never a shoe, never an edge that matters. I can hold a hammer as well as any man in the county, and I'm tired of being thought only good for the bellows.
Roger: A man has to be trusted before he's given the hard work, William. I was a boy at the priory warren with no one to show me the snares, and I got the blame for every coney that went missing. You'll get your chance. Ask Elena straight, when she's had her dinner and isn't cross.
William: I've thought about asking her. She'd say I'm not ready, and she'd be right, which is worse. I want a forge one day, or a share in one, and I'd need more than wages to get it.
Roger: Alice laughs at me for keeping my money in my boot, but it's money. Alice would bring you a pottage if you were sick, I'd wager, same as she did for the Smiths this summer. William, you're not a stranger here any more.
In the books
Nothing yet beyond the daily round.
The daily round (2 more)
- William Baker, servant to the Smiths, has been let go because the house can no longer pay and feed them, paid what was owed, and gone home to Long Marston.
- The Smiths took on William Baker, 21, of Long Marston, as their servant to strike and work the bellows at the forge, with more trade than hands, at 10s a year and keep.