SC - Ravioli, dumplings, and excoriation

[Par Leijonhufvud]

Devra the baker postulated:
> >  Smallest eggs 
> >  to the Lord? On what basis do you make this assumption?
> > 
> Dear Lord Ras,
> 
> I think that the previous poster was basing the idea on human nature, and 
> man's desire to get the best bargain possible.  In college, when we read some 
> of the feudal contacts, they said things like "John the Joiner will give 10 
> dozen eggs at Easter, the loan of a cart, three bundles of hay.."  Now, it 
> seems very sensible to me that, if your contract specifies the number of eggs 
> to be given, but not whether they must be a particular weight or size, that 
> you would tend to give the least you could get away with--i.e. the smallest 
> eggs.  In the matter of Heriot? (where the lord takes a beast when the 
> original tenant dies, and the new one inherits) I believe that it is 
> specified that it should be "the best beast"... 8-} grin

Yes, I believe this is a reply to my original comments/questions. And yes,
I was taking human nature into consideration. You see all up and down
the scale from poor to rich throughout the history, including today of
folks paying with the least they can. How many times have you intentionally
paid more than you owed in taxes? You see great efforts to hide assets. This
was one of the reasons for the original Domesday Book.

And yes, Heriot required the tenant to give up the best animal. I assume
the choice of the "best" animal was not left up to the tenant.

- -- 
Lord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas           stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****