Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/335

 AGRICULTURAL LIFE 323 Entries like the following are frequently to be met with in the ' Chronicles ' : ' If a stranger wishes to fish he can throw his line in our brooks ; ' ' any traveller may eat all the grapes he wishes, but he must not put any in his sack. The watchman shall not charge him for what he has taken, but invite him to proceed further, and put him on the right way ; ' ' a stranger riding through the fields may take as much grain as he can hold in his hand on a gallop ; ' ' a carrier passing the field may take three sheaves.' Even the beasts of burden belonging to strangers were cared for. ' Should a stranger travelling with his goods and beasts be sur- prised by the darkness, his horses must be unyoked and cared for overnight by the community. In case of accident the traveller might take whatever wood was necessary for the repairing of his waggon. As the fields and forests belonging to the com- munity were considered 'sacred and inviolable,' the periodical inspection and determining of possessions and boundaries was regarded by the whole community as an occasion of deep importance. The processions were accompanied by flags, drums, and fifes, and assumed something of a religious character. On the boundaries of the district altars were erected, the Gospel was sung, and the pastor called down a blessing on the land. In the seignorial or manor districts the agents of the lord joined in the procession. The possessions of private individuals, whether fields, woods, gardens, or vineyards, were marked out and generally enclosed by hedges, which it was a legal offence to injure. The lands belonging to the community were always sur- rounded by a hedge, a ditch, or a simple wall. The methods of house building among the peasants T 2