Sometimes whales were driven into an inlet by many
boats. River fish included eels, pike, minnows, burbo, trout, and
lampreys. They were caught by brushwood weirs, net, bait, hooks,
and baskets. Oysters were so numerous that they were eaten by the
poor. The king's peace extended over the waterways. If mills,
fisheries, weirs, or other structures were set up to block them,
they were to be destroyed and a penalty paid to the king.
Other lords had land with iron-mining industries. Ore was dug from
the ground and combined with wood charcoal in a shaft furnace to
be smelted into liquid form. Wood charcoal was derived from
controlled charring of the wood at high temperatures without using
oxygen. This burned impurities from it and left a purer carbon,
which burned better than wood. The pure iron was extracted from
this liquid and formed into bars. To keep the fire hot, the
furnaces were frequently placed at windswept crossings of valleys
or on the tops of hills.
Some lords had markets on their land, for which they charged a
toll [like a sales tax] for participation. There were about
fifty markets in the nation. Cattle and slaves (from the word
"slav") were the usual medium of exchange. An ox still was worth
about 30d. Shaking hands was symbolic of an agreement for a
sale, which had to be carried out in front of witnesses at the
market for any property worth over 20d. The higher the value of
the property, the more witnesses were required.
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