I've been doing a lot of random middle ages research for this story I'm writing but when the characters actually interact more with a village than just passing through and trading, I found that it was *hard* to find day to day information about what peasants and villagers had in their houses. Who bothered to write down what poor people did?

Then after some time searching, I found: "La Maison Rustique" a late 1500s book setting out in exhaustive detail how a landowner should set up their house, the associated village, land management, animal husbandry, medicines, making bread and beer and other things, ... what a fantastic resource.

It's also written in 16th century french. I can read french! 16thC french is a struggle. And it doesn't have chapter headings only numbers, but it *does* have an index, which is good because it's over 800 pages. (Did I mention it's thorough? It's thorough.)

There's no way I'm reading the whole thing. So I'm translating and transcribing the index so I can search for the parts I want to read.

It was a very influential book apparently, and many landowners were guided by it, *and* it was translated into several languages. There is an english translation... but right up front in the title of that edition, it indicates that the information was *changed* to bring it in line with English practices. Which makes it no longer a book about French practices.

And while my story isn't set in 16th century France, it is set relatively close to there, in 15th century Occitanie. Certainly closer to there than to 17th century England, which is what the English language edition represents. So, I'm taking the more difficult route of reading in an old-fashioned version of my second language.

I also found a very interesting (modern French) archaeological book about the structure and layout of medieval French villages, that talked a lot about how the buildings were made and their layouts. An entire chapter just on hearths and fireplaces! (I read this first to get my brain back into reading-French mode. It's been a while.)

Anyhow, some of the index entries are funny to me.

Garlic, it's virtues and cultivation
-how to avoid the stink after eating it

Spiders, when a horse eats one

Eels make water lighter

...and that's just in the first page of the index. (All of those are 'A' words in french. Ail, Araignée, Anguilles.)

heehee more funny index entries

Moles and mice, enemies of the artichoke.

Asparagus can make sheep horns grow.

Basil and amber hate each other forever.

Morals of the ancient shepherds
-and arts they invented.

Beer fattens chickens and capons.

Three oxen don't plow as much land as a horse.

Bewitched cattle.

(I will not follow every curious index entry. I will not follow every curious index entry...)

more funny index entries...

Burgundians frank & good hearted but stubborn

(Brhais) fine, proud, and silly/foolish

Who has the bugle, & the sanicle thumbs their nose at the surgeon

(Bugle and sanicle are medicinal plants)

I have no idea what a brhais is though. Other than it's fine, proud, and foolish.

Anyhow, finished the B section of the index. :)

ah this index...

Goat hair hawker

People of champagne of good heart but fixed in their opinions

Thistle of a hundred heads & its marvellous properties

Cats licking their feet & passing over their ear, sign of rain

Garden caterpillar dies by women's menstrual flow(?)

Bewitched horse

Why we say plant cabbage, and you get (reforts)

the eels must be fed & why

Crow/raven cawing and flapping its wings, sign of rain

--

And that's the 'C' section of the index done.

I wonder how many types of livestock will have a "bewitched" entry. I've seen horse & cow (cheval & boeuf) so far.

The author clearly has Opinions about the people of different nations/dutchies/principalities/etc outside of the 1500s Kingdom of France.

Also the author has clearly forgotten how often cats and crows do those totally normal behaviours when it isn't just about to rain LOL

The eels have appeared again! This entry was attached to an entry for a water storage cistern. So I guess they kept eels in their water storage or something?

Yeah I realized I'd been posting really long posts about this index...

But hey, I finished translating D, E, and F sections!

--

Brandy has infinite virtue

Oat water intoxicating like wine

Snail eaten by cattle [please tell me the advice isn't as horrible as it was for a horse eating a spider...]

Writing and reading not necessary for a farmer [sigh]

Famous ponds

Stirrups, what pastry [I have no idea either.]

Impatient women [now taking bets on how misogynistic the referenced section is... oh wait I'm not planning to translate it never mind]

Demanding too much of a farmer, makes him careless or a thief

Chicken manure to regrow hair

Fig trees pacify/soothe bulls

Strawberries, their admirable innocence & characteristics

--

There were a lot of weird things they did with manure, in that series of entries.