Unfortunately, this causes clashes with the local manors that ostensibly protect them, and here the story takes place.Ī servant (Villein) of the local knight in his fortress escapes and becomes a Tinner, which makes him untouchable by Sir William Beauscyr, a source of no small frustration.

The story involves a curious English system at the time in which Tin miners on the Moors are so valuable to the King that they are protected from many usual laws and enjoy significantly greater freedoms than usual. this fills in an early gap in the series for me when Baldwin and Puttock are younger men. I've read nearly all of the Templar books that are out at this point, although in jumbled, random order. And when a murder was discovered, the moors themselves become an additional, savage character. This book looks at all those on the moors - the new runaway serf, the rich miner who owned several large pits, the men who smelted and worked the metal. It's no surprise that the locals looked on tin miners as a Mafia who used their positions to extort money from others. He was a King's worker, and thus free from all previous obligations. And at a time when peasants were classed as serfs, slaves in a feudal society, who must remain with the land, while a man who escaped to a city and remained free for a year and a day could win his freedom, a serf who made it to the moors, who took up a shovel and axe and declared himself a miner, was instantly free. If their extensive workings required plentiful supplies of water to wash away the soil, they could divert any water courses they wanted. They could dig anywhere where they thought there could be tin under the surface. He made a fortune from the mines, and gave miners extensive rights and benefits. In the medieval period, the King owned all tin-mining on Dartmoor. Sansom and Rory Clements.While hunting around for themes for a new story, I hit upon the idea of making use of the Stannaries.

Simon, assisted by former Knight Templar Sir Baldwin Furnshill, finds himself investigating cold-blooded murder, and there is no shortage of suspects.Īn action-packed historical mystery perfect for fans of Susanna Gregory, C.

But other miners resent Bruther's appearance, too, and they do not want their profitable extortion and protection racket destabilised.īefore dissent can spread to other serfs working for Beauscyr, Bruther is found hanging from a tree. Brother swiftly sets himself up as a miner on the moors: safe… or so he thinks.īeauscyr and his two feuding sons are furious to learn they have no legal claim on their wayward man, and demand justice from Bailiff Simon Puttock. Brutal punishments usually fall on the heads of runaways, but Bruther uses a legal loophole: on Dartmoor, tin miners enjoy special protection from prosecution. Peter Bruther, who works the land for his lord, Sir William Beauscyr, is fed up with his life of near-slavery, and has run away. The death of a runaway could spark a revolt…ĭevon, 1318.

A Moorland Hanging by Michael Jecks