WE FOUND in the domain estate of Asnapium (Genep, in the modern-day
Netherlands) a
royal house built of stone in the best manner, 3
rooms; the whole house surrounded with balconies, with
11 apartments for women; beneath 1 cellar; 2 porticoes;
17 other houses built of wood within the court-yard
with as many rooms and other appurtenances, well built;
1 stable, 1 kitchen, 1 mill, 1 granary, 3 barns.
The yard surrounded carefully with a hedge and stone gateway and above a balcony from which to make distributions [to the poor].
An inner yard, likewise enclosed within a hedge, arranged in a suitable manner planted with various kinds of trees.
Vestments: coverings for 1 bed, 1 table cloth, 1 towel.
Utensils: 2 brass kettles, 2 drinking cups, 2 brass
cauldrons, 1 iron one, 1 frying-pan, 1 gramalmin, 1
pair of andirons, 1 lamp, 2 hatchets, 1 chisel, 2 augers,
1 axe, 1 knife, 1 large plane, 1 plane, 2 scythes,
2 sickles, 2 spades tipped with iron. Enough wooden
utensils for use.
Farm produce: old
spelt*
from last year, 90 baskets which
can be made into 450
weight*
of flour; 100
measures*
of barley. From the present year, 110 baskets of spelt,
planted 60 baskets from the same, the rest we found;
100 measures of wheat, 60 sown, the rest we found; 98
measures of rye all sown; 1800 measures of barley,
1100 sown, the rest we found; 430 measures of oats,
1 measure of beans, 12 measures of peas. At the 5 mills,
800 measures, small measures. At the 4 breweries, 650
measures, small measures, 240 given to the
prebendaries,
the rest we found. At the 2 bridges, 60 measures of
salt and 2 shillings.
At the 4 gardens, 11 shillings.
Honey, 3 measures; about 1 measure of butter; lard,
from last year 10 sides, new sides 200 with fragments
and fats, cheese from the present year 43 weights.
Of cattle: 51 head of larger cattle, 5 three-year-olds,
7 two-year-olds, 7 yearlings; 10 two-year-old colts,
8 yearlings, 3 stallions; 16 cows; 2 asses; 50 cows
with calves, 20 young bullocks, 38 yearling calves,
3 bulls, 260 hogs, 100 pigs, 5 boars, 150 sheep with
lambs, 200 yearling lambs, 120 rams, 30 goats with
kids, 30 yearling kids, 2 male goats, 30 geese, 80
chickens, 22 peacocks.
Also concerning the dependencies which pertain to the
above mansion. In the villa of Grisio we found
domain buildings,
where
there are 3 barns and a yard surrounded by a hedge.
There is there 1 garden with trees, 10 geese, 8 ducks,
30 chickens.
In another villa. We found domain buildings and a yard
surrounded by a hedge and within 3 barns, 1
arpent
of vines, 1 garden with trees, 15 geese, 20 chickens.
In a third villa, domain buildings. It has 2 barns, 1 granary, 1 garden, 1 yard well enclosed by a hedge.
We found all the dry and liquid measures just as in the palace. We did not find any goldsmiths, silversmiths, blacksmiths, huntsmen or persons engaged in other services.
The garden herbs which we found were lily,
putchuck,
mint, parsley, rue, celery,
lovage,
sage, savory,
juniper, leeks, garlic, tansy, wild mint, coriander,
scallions, onions, cabbage,
kohl-rabi,
betony.
Trees:
pears, apples,
medlars,
peaches, hazelnuts, walnuts,
mulberries, quinces.
spelt:
A kind of grain (Triticum spelta) still widely cultivated for
food in Germany and Switzerland; sometimes known as German wheat.
Back to text
weight:
The unit of weight was the Roman pound, at 408 grams. Charlemagne replaced
the old Gallic pound, which
was closer to the modern American pound, of 453 grams.
Back to text
measures:
The unit of measure was the muid. Charlemagne had a standard
measure (modius publicus) constructed and in a number of his
capitularies enjoined that it be taken as a model by all his subjects.
It contained probably about 50 dry liters. A smaller measure
was the setier, containing about three and a fifth liters.
Back to text
prebendaries:
Clerics attached to the church on or near the estate.
Back to text
shillings:
A shilling was a unit of money,
equaling 12 pennies of 1.7 grams of silver each (32 wheat grains of .053
grams).
Back to text
domain buildings:
"Attached to the royal villa, in the center of which stood the
palace or manse, were numerous dependent and humbler dwellings, occupied
by mechanics, artisans and tradesmen, or rather manufacturers and
craftsmen, in great numbers. The dairy, the bakery, the butchery, the
brewery, the flour-mill were there . . . The villa was a city in embryo,
and in due course it grew into one, for as it supplied in many respects
the wants of the surrounding country, so it attracted population and
became a center of commerce."-- Jacob I. Mombert, Charles the Great (New
York, 1888), pp. 401-402.
Back to text
arpent:
An ancient Gallic land measure, equivalent to about half a Roman
jugerum (the jugerum was about a quarter of a hectare, or
two-thirds of an acre).
Back to text
putchuck:
The same as "pachak." The fragrant roots of this plant are still
exported from India to be used for burning as incense.
Back to text
lovage:
Called libesticum in the text, this herb (Levisticum officinale)
of the carrot family resembles celery and is used as a spice and a remedy.
Back to text
kohl-rabi:
A cultivated kind of cabbage (Brassica oleracea gongylodes). The edible
part is a large turnip-like swelling
of the stem above the surface of the ground.
Back to text
betony:
A mint plant, genus Stachys, used both as a medicine and as a dye.
Back to text
medlars:
A small tree (Mespilius germanica) of the rose family whose fruit
resembles crab apples.
Back to text
Images:
A Mouldboard Plow(Luttrell Psalter, 1340)
