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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition => Topic started by: Wayne N on Thursday 09 October 25 10:11 BST (UK)
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In this 1565 Will, the testator from Thanet bequeathed the following:
Also I gyve & bequeythe to Robert Astone the sone of Ryc(hard) Astone halfe a some of wheat & half a some of barl(e)ye w(i)th half a quart(er) of pedware to be delyv(er)ed unto him w(i)thin on(e) ye(a)re after my desease
Is the term pedware referring to some type of dried seed, such as beans, lentils, chickpeas or peas?
Quarter measure here I figure to be the equivalent of around 8 bushels and half being 4.
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Words from Wills, S A Raymond has
ped: a wicker pannier; a hamper with a lid, perhaps to carry mackerel (Nfk)
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On the other hand, "Reprinted glossaries", Rev Walter Skean 1879 (seen at archive.org) has "Pedware: pulse" which seems a better fit.
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Pulse was my thought, too. If so, was it referring to any particular legume type during that era
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And finally (from me)
Pedware. For podware. Pulse, beans, peas, or any kind of pods[Johnson]
from" "A list of words and phrases in every-day use by the natives of Hetton-le-Hole in the County of Durham, in Lakeland, and in East Anglia, being words not ordinarily accepted, or but seldom found in the standard English of the day" ; Palgrave, Francis Milnes Temple, 1896
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https://archive.org/stream/listofwordsphras00palguoft/listofwordsphras00palguoft_djvu.txt
I've only had a quick browse, but I'm going to enjoy this.
Zaph
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According to the OED pedware is a variation of podware , both of which are now (till this thread!) more or less obsolete and did refer to all kinds of pulses
Boo
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Just to add that it's ... halfe a seme (of wheat, barley etc.). A seam is a measure of grain etc.
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Thank you to all for your input and links. :)
So Pedware, the podded legumes in Kent seemed to include peas and beans, among other crops
Further reading I ended up finding here:
http://bit.ly/4q3oGrG
Crops grown by east Kent yeomen in the seventeenth century included oats, wheat, barley and rye, hay, timber, hops, flax, hemp, tares (a vetch or lentil-like plant), peas, beans,
apples and pears.
And here:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32593/32593-h/32593-h.htm
Of mixed corn, as peas and beans, sown together, tares and oats (which[Pg 136] they call bulmong), rye and wheat (named miscelin)
Also thank you Bookbox for correcting some > se(a)me :)
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Farmers still grow field beans, which look like broad beans but are not harvested until they are brown, then used for animal fodder. All of these leguminous crops improve the nitrogen content of the soil.
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Thank you MollyC :)