4 PROLOGUE

comforts and the limited possessions which this man had. And
although my picture is frankly imaginary, it is based on a wealth
of definite evidence and backed up by an almost equal wealth of
suggestions and hints, none of them in themselves clear or weighty
enough, perhaps, to be vouched as evidence, but, nevertheless,
possessed of a cumulative power which could not be denied.

The sun rose early, for it was late June, but not much earlier
than the peasants of the little village of Belcombe, in the year
1320. As the light strengthened, bit by bit the village became
visible, and the confused medley, in which here a roof and there
a bit of wall stood out, began to arrange itself as a narrow street
with flimsy houses dotted about in little groups. In the centre of
it all the stone-built church loomed up high and very new-
looking above everything about it, and made the peasants*
houses appear small and insignificant. On closer view, the village
was seen to radiate from the church and down each of the winding
ways that led up to it the peasants had built their homes. There
they stood, some neat and trim, with their thatched roofs and
roughly finished walls in gpod repair, while others were dilapi-
dated and showed evident signs of neglect and decay* The larger
houses stood a little back from the lane, so that the ground in
front of each of them was roughly enclosed and set with young
cabbage, onions and parsley, and here and there a few herbs were
growing along the sides of the pathway to the house. Most of
them had a rudely constructed shed or lean-to at the back of the
house, and running away from this stretched another enclosed
piece of ground. This was mainly broken up and planted with
vegetables, and both here and in the rough grass beyond there
were a few apple and cherry trees. At the bottom of the garden
where it ran down to the stream the pigs had their styes, and any
villager fortunate enough to own a cow tethered it there in
among the rankly growing grass. Smaller houses had meagre