A Manual
Concerning the Keeping of Hall, Hold or Weyr
- for Headwomen, Stewards
and others in service.
Index
Definitions
General
duties
Pertaining
to Food
Storage
Rooms and how to organise them
Cleaning
Tithe
periods
Seasonal
Duties
- Spring
- Summer
- Autumn
- Winter
Special Events
Personnel
- Hiring and
Firing
- Assigning appropriate positions
- Correspondence
Definitions
The Headwoman is responsible
for feeding weyr/hold/hall’s population, and generally keeps the domestic
side of the place running. I.e. Supplying clothes, supervising the care
of young, food collection/storage/preparation and generally organising
anything else so that people can live comfortably at the weyr/hold/hall.
She has support staff
who man kitchens, storerooms etc. to keep the place running smoothly.
Note : Please
make sure that all crafts/holds/weyrs are contacted before taking any
liberties, just to make sure you have proper information and have cleared
things through right channels for use of this (whatever) in RP. Although
the Headwoman would have some knowledge of a wide variety of subjects,
this does not mean that she can perform miracles!
General
duties include -
"Each night Manora receives
from the Head Cook a list of what he needs, so that the supplies can be
bought in from the remote storage caves by drudges and children. Major
events like Hatchings are planned more than a sevenday in advance; using
supplies kept in a reserve cavern and set aside for special occasions.
Spices and wines are seen to by Manora personally."
" DLG 2nd Edition p101 "
Planning a fasting
Preparation for
threadfall.
(HW jobs in setting up RP for the players etc.)
Turnday parties
Numbweed making!
(ick)
Sweeping /Mopping
Linen Storage
- A basic rule to remember
when ordering linen for the hall/hold/weyr is that good linen, though
expensive, is far more economical than is cheap linen. It is far better
to have spent the marks once than have to keep replacing the items becuase
they were of an inferior quality.
Seasonal
Duties
Spring
Complete overhaul
of hold/hall/weyr - clean everything, repair and replace used and worn
furniture, tapestries, clothing, drapery, carpet, linens, towels (fine
and everyday.)
Note: Borax is canon
to use as cleaning and whitening agent.
Use last of stored
winter vegetables and meat, if any.
Ovine shearing and
wool preparation starts.
Numbweed preparation
at proper harvest time.
Summer
Begin spinning shearings
into yarn/etc.
Begin drying harvests
of fruit/vegetables/meat for winter use.
Fatten animals for
slaughter.
Numbweed preparation
at proper harvest time. (Don't know when that is so have it in 2 places.)
Autumn
Slaughtering meat
- salting, drying, smoking.
Change summer linens,
draperies, carpets, etc., for freshly aired and cleaned winter ones. Air
and clean all those to be stored.
Wood storage and gathering
See to heavy clothing
- repair, assign new. (Orders for large bolts of fabric from Weaverhall
should be placed in spring so there is fabric enough for people to sew
all through the turn.)
Winter
What other fuel do we use? That should also be purchased/produced earlier
in year for use at this time.
Winter activities
planning to prevent cabin fever.
Winter we should probably
also include change of menu etc. for weather.. Make sure that menus match
seasons - By the end of winter.. Fresh fruit/veg from storage would be
getting low.. Extra fish/meat meals like stews to reflect this. (Rp opportunities
to complain about boring ‘samey’ meals.
)
Pertaining
to Food
Issues of refrigeration
and drying
Fish drying
- Gut and bone the
fish.
- Discard the heads,
but leave the skins and tails on.
- Place the fish in
a saltwater brine for three weeks, then remove them from the brine and
stack for several days to drain.
- Place on drying racks,
or "flakes" and let the sun do the rest. The fish is fully dried when
it's as stiff as a board.
- A properly cured
fish, when stored correctly, will keep for many years.
Meat Drying
- Trim off any fat
or connective tissue from the meat and debone.
- Cut the meat into strips no more than one-half inch thick.
- Soak the meat in
a seasoned brine for at least 1 day and then rinse and dry. You could
also try rubbing the seasoning in by hand, waiting a few hours and then
drying. Either way, it is important to keep the meat cool while it is
absorbing the seasoning.
- After food is prepared, spread
it in a single layer (pieces not touching) on drying trays and place in
a sunny spot which permits good air circulation. Ensure that the meat
is turned daily. Any foods that are strong-flavored should be dried by
themselves.
- Drying trays can be made by simply
using a frame and covering it with cheesecloth. Stretch this facric until
taught and then fasten on the back of the frame.
- For general drying, hang the strips
on racks in an area with good air flow that receives full sunlight.To
speed drying time, a fire can be built nearby. This will give the meat
a somewhat smokier taste.
How to keep things
cool/cold/from spoiling
Areas situated in
mountainous areas often have lots of underground springs and tunnels and
caves beneath the hold/hall proper. There could easily be a coldroom/buttery/
off the kitchen....cold cold underground spring...from the higher mountains
which keep everything at half decent controlled temps.
Otherwise.. Ice could
be brought in a’dragonback and placed in deep caverns to regulate the
temperature and keep things fresh.
Dried Foods
Dry halved apricots,
peaches, and plums on their flat rooftops between window screening. Shave
apples into long coils to dry. Corn, beans, rice and other grains, dried
fruit, vegetables, and seeds for fresh sprouted grains and planting should
constitute the bulk of food storage, with herbs, oils, sweeteners, spices,
vitamin supplements, dried milk or eggs, and other regularly enjoyed items
rounding out the program.
Herbs & their
Harvesting
The harvesting stage
of the herb depends on the part for which the plant is grown. Herbs, such
as mint and basil, for which only the leaves are valuable, harvesting
should commence before they begin to flower. Herbs, such as dill, which
are valued both for leaves and seeds, may be allowed to set seeds. As
a general rule, for all herbs with strong aroma and flavour, the best
time to harvest is around midday. Herbs with succulent leaves should be
harvested early in the day.
Herbs for the fresh
market can be placed in a bucket with water immediately after harvesting.
Herbs for preservation may be packed neatly in baskets or boxes.
Storage
Rooms and how to organise them.
Stores - How
to RP what’s in there and who gets stuff out of them.
A good headwoman must
be able to determine exactly what is on hand, as well as the rate at which
it is being used, in order, to make informative decisions. She must maintain
stock levels and replace any stock lost due to either being used up, or
worn due to general use in order to fully satisfy the needs and wants
of the hall.weyr/hold. The only accurate way to know what you have on
hand is to complete a physical inventory.
Problems in
how to RP common storage areas.
An example of
a working storeroom.
"This huge cavern lies below
the kitchen and is part of an extensive system of caverns, which are used
as Hall storage space. Three walls - east north and west - have shelves
that rise from floor to ceiling and are stacked with everything from bolts
of fabric to linens to Master Seahold's fine silver and crystal. There
are baskets at the bottom - rows of them - with boots and rolls of leather
and blocks of wood for heels with wool and yarn for sweaters with bolts
of towelling. The west wall holds wooden boxes of soaps and cleaners and
a large basket of sweetsand sits on the floor a large scoop handle protruding
from the powder.
In the center of
the room are two refectory tables with benches. At one end of one of
them a low stack of hide-bound logs holds patterns and sizes. Nearby
a long wooden box holds spool after spool of multi-colored thread and
all the accouterment needed for sewing. A narrow pedestal near the doorway
in the south wall also holds an open logbook but this you will find
is the headwoman's record of what goes in and comes out of this room."
(Storage Rooms at the Seacraft Hall - PernMUSH)
Cleaning
"On Pern, soap made of
Lye and fat is a very rare item. Instead, the Pernese rely on fuller’s
earth, lanolin, saponin root, oils and sweetsand.
Sweetsand, a naturally
foaming fine sand, can get out the stench of firestone and works also
on any other strong smell or heavy soil. Everyone bathes with it.
Saponin root and
lanolin are used for sensitive skin and fine hair. Fuller’s earth, a
rare clay, is good for the complexion and for cleaning certain kinds
of fabrics. Oils and vegetable waxes are good for cleaning floors and
still other herbal oils make do for skin treatments."
"DLG - 2nd Edition "
.
Sand is also an excellent and readily available way of
cleaning wooden articles, floors, tables, and the like.
Tithe periods
Organising tithes
Planned and accounted
for in conjunction with the high steward and his minions'.
Weyr wise
The tithe trains arrive
at the weyr and are then unloaded under the scrutiny of the Headwoman,
as she determines where each item is to be stored. These are then carried
down to various storage areas, depending upon the type of produce or item
that they are.
Hold/Hall wise
Tithes are gathered
from amongst the various cotholds and sent up, usually by wagon, to the
various holds. It is for the Headwoman to organise these items and to
take inventory of these before they are loaded and delivered.
Personnel
Management
Hiring & Firing
Although within a Hold, the Lord and/or Lady would have
considerable say over the hiring and firing within their hold, it would
generally be understood that the general day-to-day problems associated
with their employment would be handled by the Steward or Headwoman. This
would depend apon the particular problem, but as a general rule, minor
disagreements would not require the attention of the Holder.
It is also assumed that the more authoritive of the
Household positions, such as Stewards, Headwoman, any guards would be
employed by the Holders themselves.
Assigning appropriate
positions
| Residents |
Cotholder |
Steward Sea Trade |
| Assistant Librarian |
Gardener |
Jr. Steward Sea
Trade |
| Wine Steward |
Assistant Gardener |
Handyman |
| Archivist |
Grounds Crew Steward |
Kitchen Staff |
| Librarian |
Grounds Crew Workers |
Household Staff |
| Records Keeper |
Foresters |
Cleaning Staff |
| Assistant Cook |
Laundress |
Hunter |
| Headwoman's Helper |
Shepherd/Herder |
Painter/Artist |
| Fosterlings |
Stable
Master |
Secretary |
| Guards - Cadets
& Officers |
Stablehand/Runner
Handler |
Tavern Workers/Attendants |
| Messenger/Gofer |
Nanny |
Midwife |
| Animal Tender |
Assistant Nanny |
Jr. Steward |
| Seamstress |
Dockworkers |
Assistant Steward |
| Farmer |
Headwoman |
Wool Spinners/Knitters |
| Fisherman |
Assistant Headwoman |
Children |
| Assistant DockMaster |
|
Runner |
Correspondence
Protocol when writing
to officials.
Initially, one would
address the person to whom the letter is sent obviously. This would first
be their title, then their name.
eg.
This is followed by
an introduction from the one from whom the letter is sent, sending greetings
and leading into the point of the letter.
eg.
This is structured
as if one was actually adressing the person, though in the most formal
of tones.
eg.
In closing, the writer
identifies themselves by formal title as appropriate.
eg.
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