The Nursery Rhyme, Blow wind, blow is interesting as it relates to the making of bread and windmills. Bread has formed the staple diet of our species since the the Neolithic era. Roman soldiers were issued with grain, which they made into bread, and cooked themselves! The Mills The earliest written record of an English windmill is dated 1185 and is a rental note for a mill in Weedly, Yorkshire. Many mills were powered by rivers which were necessary to all medieval villages. Areas in Medieval England were governed by Lords of the Manor. Each manor had a set of rules, a charter, and by which the mills were governed. All grain produced by the peasants had to be taken to the and tenants of the manor were obliged to grind the corn at the lord's mill and were given a ration for their work. This humble Nursery Rhyme reflects an important and essential task which was critical to every country - the word Miller has now fallen from everyday use. |