Eleanor - The Ale Wife and Village Wise Woman

The life of an Ale Wife

It was very common for the wives of bakers to become the village ale wife. Ale being made from barley, the baker has his contacts for the cereals and the finances to cover the initial cost of the process. Thus in one fell swoop a single family has cornered the market in the two most important staples of diet for the villagers!

As a dabbler in herbs and charms a villager must be very wary. Although it will be many centuries until the great witch trials, an accusation can, at the very least, lead to a ducking in the village pond.

Eleanor's story...

When Gruffydd the baker was apprentice to a rope maker from Newton Abbot, he spent some of his time aboard the ships of Plymouth, sometimes staying on board when the ships put to sea to undertake repairs to rigging.

On one such occasion he was injured by a falling spar at the port of Whitby. A local wise woman was called for and Eleanor the healer first met Gruffydd. She cured him with herbs of power and from that moment on they remained together.

Eleanor was brought up in Northumbria among the wise women and leaches of that district, who are as famous among the English as the leaches of Myddfai are among the Welsh.

Finally returning with Gruffydd to Cosmeston she has become a great boon to the village. The sick of Cosmeston often prefer to visit Eleanor with her herbs and potions rather than risk the knife and great cost of brother Simeon.

Unlike Simeon, Eleanor has pity on the weak and poor of the manor and will often treat the sick for a small gift, or if they cannot afford even that, she will only ask for their kind words.

Eleanor gets on well with all the villagers, but often crosses swords with Brother Simeon and Father Edwin. Although even they must admit that she has cured many, they feel that this power may come from the devil and there are times when suggestions of witchcraft are mooted.

However, Simeon and Edwin are more than happy to deal with Eleanor in her other guise, for she is the village ale wife and produces the essential ale for the community which is sold from her house which doubles up as the village tavern.