Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/347

AGRICULTURAL LIFE 335 honour of her nativity, and beg her to intercede with her beloved Son for him. The strict observance of religious duties by the servants was strenuously insisted upon. We find in a domestic law book at Konigsbriick, near Selz : ' Each servant shall hear the entire Mass and sermon every Sunday and holy day, and not leave the church before it is ended. Whoever, without permission, shall not hear the Mass and sermon shall be deprived of meat at lunch, or be fined five shillings.' Then, ' So often as the servants sit down to eat, the steward shall remind them, by knocking on the table, to pray, and whoever shall laugh or refuse to pray after this shall be fined a Batzen.' Then, ' When the Angelus is rung the steward shall call the servants to prayer, and whoever disobeys shall be punished in like manner.' The cup-bearer Erasmus of Erbach made a similar law in 1483 for his property at Odenwald : ' All the servants must be taught that praying and working go together. They must pray together at table before and after eating, and at sound of the Angelus when it rings ; for this they shall stop their work, and not excuse themselves on the score that they have too much to do. They shall attend Mass and sermon on Sundays and holy days, and be careful not to disturb others by their merriment. Whoever disobeys this often shall be dis- charged at the close of the year and sent from the manor. The steward and overseer shall be particular to set a good example, and the steward, at least, shall begin his day by hearing Mass.' The landed property of the cities was a very impor- tant matter in the Middle Ages. In the interest of their towns and the development of their resources the