Thanks for this analysis! I've long been skeptical of the "you work more than a medieval peasant" meme, if only because I grew up in a rural farming area, and can definitively say that farm work never really stops. It doesn't matter if it's Sunday or a feast day, if you keep animals you'll have to tend them every single day. You could definitely take a day off from planting, or postpone harvesting for a bit, but so many farm tasks are unrelenting. You'll milk every day, or you'll hurt the cows. You'll have to put the chickens in their coop every night or risk losing your chickens. I love that the stone masons kept such good records, though. It feels so on brand for stone masonry.
Thanks for this analysis! I've long been skeptical of the "you work more than a medieval peasant" meme, if only because I grew up in a rural farming area, and can definitively say that farm work never really stops. It doesn't matter if it's Sunday or a feast day, if you keep animals you'll have to tend them every single day. You could definitely take a day off from planting, or postpone harvesting for a bit, but so many farm tasks are unrelenting. You'll milk every day, or you'll hurt the cows. You'll have to put the chickens in their coop every night or risk losing your chickens. I love that the stone masons kept such good records, though. It feels so on brand for stone masonry.