The Village 2

(i)

 

The Reeve stood at his window, watching the procession depart. His house, the manor house, was nestled on a hill and offered a fine view of the village square. When the Flagellants began their self-inflicted
punishment the Reeve ordered his wife and son to face the wall with
their hands over their ears. Only when the spectacle had finished did
he allow them to carry on with their business. His son, a tall boy of
twelve, resumed his studies. His wife returned to the kitchen to pulp
herbs in a stone bowl.

 

The Reeve’s name was Thomas Blanford. As bailiff and village magistrate he commanded respect and went about his duties with vigour. The village, he believed, was a microcosm of the universe. Order had to be maintained; justice seen to be done. The appearance of the
Flagellants was an unfortunate distraction. Their antics filled the heads of the villagers with unsound notions, causing lunacy and uncertainty among the ignorant. Thomas Blanford wasn’t ignorant. He knew that mankind was in great peril. A great pestilence was approaching his door and he was determined that his family would be prepared for the trials to come.

 

He turned to his wife. A graceful woman ten years his junior, she was
devoted to her husband and their son. For weeks, acting on her husband’s orders, she had been collecting flowers and herbs from
the forest. This produce she dried, shredded, pulped and squeezed
into tiny sacks of liniment, which all three wore around their necks.
For Thomas Blanford the simple act of watching his wife do such
things filled him with contentment. He lifted one of the tiny sacks
to his nose and took a deep breath.

 

The Reeve’s son, Nicholas, was precocious. He dressed himself in a
jacket, breeches, and hat like his father. Even at twelve years old he had decided upon his calling. He would become a lawyer and enter
service for the King. He spent his days reading thick, leather-bound
books on astronomy, medicine, and the natural world. Like his father
he respected the church and believed in Christ the saviour, yet showed astute reasoning in his questions regarding the strange men who had visited their village.

 

‘Is the world about to end because of sinfulness, father ?’ he asked.
‘And, if so, is it not a great injustice that God punishes the pious too ?’

 

Thomas walked over to the long table and stroked his son’s hair.

 

‘A great punishment awaits mankind. And yes, devout men will be swept
aside in the coming storm. But those who find favour with God must prove their worth. That is why we must remain indoors - to protect
ourselves, and show our purity to the Lord.’

 

The Reeve returned to the window. It was dark now and the stars were cast against a clear sky. A figure carrying a basket ran down the hill. It
was the figure of a young girl…a girl he recognised as the daughter of the imprisoned villain…a man whose sentence he would soon be obliged to pass.

 

 

 

(ii)

 

Mattie looked up, startled by the sound of the church bell. It was barely
three hours after daylight. The bell had never sounded at this time before. She placed her child in its bed and went to look outside.

 

There was an air of confusion around the village square. A few villagers
were slowly making their way towards the church. Others stared at the
bell tower. Why was it ringing ?

 

Soon the parson appeared and began ordering the villagers into the church. Mattie watched him as he walked down the hill, shouting: ‘A message from the bishop! Robert Wyclyffe has a message from the bishop!’

 

Mattie had no intention of going into the church. She hurried back inside
her dwelling and pushed shut the flimsy wooden door. She picked up her basket and collected a piece of cooked meat from the griddle on the hearth. Then she peered through the half-closed, lopsided door until the parson had ushered the last villager up the hill. She emerged from her dwelling and ran across the deserted square.

 

She ran until she reached the manor house. The shutters of the side window were closed. She banged on the door.

 

A moment passed. Then she heard Thomas Blanford’s voice. ‘Wait.’

 

The wooden shutters opened, revealing a piece of white muslin pulled taut across the frame. The figure of the Reeve peered out at her. He was holding a handkerchief to his mouth with his right hand. His left
hand drew aside an edge of the muslin and beckoned to her impatiently. ‘Give me the basket’ he said.

 

Mattie passed the basket through the window and the Reeve emptied its
contents on the kitchen table. Blanford had arranged with the girl for her to bring food for the duration of his self-imposed quarantine. Soon a planetary alignment of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars would signal the beginning of the pestilence. Blanford had determined to keep his family isolated until its passing.

 

Through the muslin Mattie watched as the Reeve studied the food. Mattie could see two other figures – the Reeve’s wife and son – as well as the bright glow of the fire. The Reeve returned and handed her the
empty basket through the curtain.

 

‘A penny’ he said and tossed a coin out of the window. ‘Come again
tomorrow. And bring fresh meat when you do.’

 

He closed the shutters. Mattie knelt, picked up the coin, and ran back
to her dwelling.

 

 

 

(iii)

 

Wyclyffe stood in the pulpit and looked down on his congregation. The church was full. Many of the villagers looked uncertain or agitated. They
seemed to know why he had summoned them.

 

Wyclyffe told them to kneel and pray.

 

As a child he had preached alone in the forest, declaiming in rough Latin
to the birds and trees, imitating the priest from his own village. He always knew that he too would become a priest. He felt God everywhere. Even when his young eyes fell upon death he saw only
beauty, compassion, and release. Life was a strange interlude, filled
with suffering – a preparation for eternal paradise.

 

‘May the grace of God be with you’ he said and made the sign of the
cross.

 

He studied their faces for a while. From where he stood he noticed that
several of the younger women were pregnant - defiled by men from a
neighbouring village or else abandoned by their husbands and left to
fend on their own.

 

Wyclyffe had always felt unease at the concept of earthly suffering. Why, he wondered, did God punish mankind so ? Why, if the human race had been created in His image, did He afflict and compound so many lives ?

 

He began to speak, gripping the oak pulpit with both hands. He told the
villagers that he had met with the bishop and been told that a great
plague had crossed the water. The villagers must stock up on food and
water and keep a fire burning in their homes. ‘For your own sakes'
he said 'observe canon law and bless your neighbour every day.’ He
paused and added: ‘God has decided to test humankind in light of our earthly sins. From this day we will prohibit strangers from entering our village lest they are messengers of the devil and carry the pestilence with them.’

 

Panic swept through the congregation. Children began to cry. Garbled
prayers turned to wailing, the wailing to screams. Wyclyffe thumped
the pulpit with his fist and called his congregation to order.

 

‘We have no food in our house,’ shouted a man. ‘How can we store food
if we have none ?’

 

The man’s comments caused a new wave of anxiety. Again Wyclyffe brought down his fist. ‘Those with food will be obliged to donate what they can to those without. And in the same spirit of charity, those with
an abundance of firewood will share with those who are in need. We
are all at the mercy of God’s will.’

 

A woman holding a small child shouted: ‘Why should I take food from my child’s mouth and give it to those who are undeserving ?’

 

Wyclyffe, keeping his voice level, proclaimed: ‘Show mercy to one another and He will show mercy to you. I have ordered our men to block the village entrance from the road by constructing a barrier across the
bridge. In that way the plague may pass us by.’

 

By now the church echoed with the sound of cries and blasphemies. Some villagers ran towards the door so that they could begin to prepare.
Others stayed where they were, gazing at the cross that hung above
the alter.

 

Wyclyffe closed his eyes and gave them his final blessing. Then he turned and made his way back to his lodging.

 

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