January 19

Upon this frozen morning, Sir Almeric de Brattleby, weary from the French wars and sensing the rot of ague in his bones, summoned his three sons to the edge of the wetlands. Beneath the skeletal limbs of the Black Oak, which had served as a landmark since the Conquest, he dictated the Great Codicil to a shivering clerk. This document ensured that the grazing rights of the lower fens would remain in common trust, preventing his eldest son from enclosing the pastures for sheep-walks, a move that preserved the village's survival through the lean mid-fifteenth century.

When receiving a rural dean or itinerant curate within the solar, the master of the house must balance the dignity of his station with the reverence due to the cloth. It is a common error to treat the local priesthood with the same familiarity one might extend to a bailiff or a falconer. One must offer a slight inclination of the head and the second-best chair, ensuring that wine is presented in silver, never pewter, to mark the spiritual nature of the guest.

Furthermore, when the visitor departs, it is the duty of the eldest page to escort them to the outer gatehouse. To allow a man of God to traverse the courtyard unmanaged is to signal a lapse in the house's piety. During the winter months, it is also deemed an act of high chivalry to provide a warm charcoal brazier for their mounting block, ensuring their return journey to the parsonage is conducted with a modicum of warmth.

Begin by thoroughly cleansing the boar's head, removing the hair with a searing flame and scrubbing the skin with sand and brine. Place the head in a lead-lined copper cauldron and submerge it in a mixture of water and verjuice. Simmer gently over a low peat fire for no less than six hours, skimming the rising fats with a wooden spoon until the meat begins to fall away from the bone at the mere touch of a knife.

Once the flesh is tender, remove it from the liquor and pack it tightly into an earthen crock. Strain the remaining broth through a fine linen cloth, adding the bruised spices and hyssop to the liquid. Boil the spiced broth until it is reduced by half, then pour it over the meat until fully covered. As it cools in the larder, the collagen will set into a firm, crystalline jelly. Serve sliced thin with a crust of rye bread and a sharp mustard to cut the richness of the fat.