The Tinner's Corpse Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  By Bernard Knight

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Acknowledgements

  Author’s Note

  Maps

  Glossary

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Footnotes

  By Bernard Knight

  The Crowner John Series

  CROWNER’S CRUSADE

  THE SANCTUARY SEEKER

  THE POISONED CHALICE

  CROWNER’S QUEST

  THE AWFUL SECRET

  THE TINNER’S CORPSE

  THE GRIM REAPER

  FEAR IN THE FOREST

  THE WITCH HUNTER

  FIGURE OF HATE

  THE ELIXIR OF DEATH

  THE NOBLE OUTLAW

  THE MANOR OF DEATH

  CROWNER ROYAL

  A PLAGUE OF HERETICS

  The Richard Pryor Forensic Mysteries

  WHERE DEATH DELIGHTS

  ACCORDING TO THE EVIDENCE

  GROUNDS FOR APPEAL

  The Tom Howden Mysteries

  DEAD IN THE DOG

  THE TINNER’S CORPSE

  A Crowner John Mystery

  Bernard Knight

  First published in Great Britain by Pocket Books, 2001

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster UK Ltd

  A Viacom Company

  Simon & Schuster UK Ltd

  Africa House

  64-78 Kingsway

  London WC2B 6AH

  This eBook first published in 2014 by Severn House Digital

  an imprint of Severn House Publishers Ltd.

  Copyright © 2001 Bernard Knight

  The right of Bernard Knight to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.

  A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4483-0127-0 (ePub)

  Except where actual historical events and characters are being described for the storyline of this novel, all situations in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to living persons is purely coincidental.

  This eBook produced by

  Palimpsest Book Production Limited,

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  This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which is was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicably copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  Acknowledgements

  The author is indebted to Dr Tom Greeves of Tavistock for advice on the history of tinning in Devon, as well as to Phil Newman for his field guide ‘The Dartmoor Tin Industry’. As with the other novels in this series, invaluable help was provided by the staff of Devon County Library in Exeter – and as always, my publisher Gillian Holmes and copy editor Hazel Orme offered unfailing support and encouragement.

  Author’s Note

  After wool, tin was England’s most valuable export in the early Middle Ages. Although it had probably been produced in Devon and Cornwall since prehistoric times, in the twelfth century – the time of our story – Devon’s Dartmoor yielded more than Cornwall and the tinners became a powerful force in the land. They were given their own Stannary parliament, laws and privileges, because of the value of their product to the Crown. With so much at stake, passions ran high in this ‘state within a state’ and, like Yukon gold-rushes of more recent times, a tough breed of men became embroiled in many bitter disputes over the mineral rights.

  Until around the time of Crowner John, virtually all tin was extracted from alluvial ore in the streams and rivers, in a process rather similar to panning for gold. Only later, when these sources were exhausted, did mining of the veins of ore begin.

  As with previous Crowner John mysteries, it should be pointed out that any attempt to give dialogue an ‘olde worlde’ flavour would be as inaccurate as it would be futile. In the time and place of this story, most people would have spoken Early Middle English, unintelligible to us today. Others spoke Western Welsh, later called Cornish, and the ruling classes used Norman-French amongst themselves. The language of the Church, and almost everything written, was Latin.

  GLOSSARY

  ALE

  A brewed drink, before the advent of hops – derived from an ‘ale’, a village celebration where much drinking took place.

  APPEAL

  Unlike the modern legal meaning, an appeal was an accusation by an aggrieved person, often a relative of a victim, against another for a felonious crime. Historically it preceded (and competed with) the Crown’s right to prosecute and demanded either financial compensation or trial by combat or the Ordeal.

  AMERCEMENT

  An arbitrary fine imposed on a person or community by a law officer, for some breach of the complex regulations of the law. Where imposed by a coroner, he would record the amercement, but the collection of the money would normally be ordered by the royal justices when they visited at the Eyre of Assize.

  ASSART

  A new piece of arable land, cut from the forest to enlarge the usable area of a manor.

  ATTACHMENT

  An order made by a law officer, including a coroner, to ensure that a person, whether suspect or witness, appeared at a court hearing. It resembled a bail bond or surety, distraining upon a person’s money or goods, which would be forfeit if he failed to appear.

  BAILEY

  Originally the defended areas, sometimes concentric, around a castle keep (‘motte and bailey’) but later also applied to the yard of a dwelling.

  BAILIFF

  Overseer of a manor or estate, directing the farming and other work. He would have manor reeves under him and be responsible either directly to his lord or to the steward or seneschal.

  BARTON

  A farming settlement.

  BLOWING-HOUSE

  A hut containing a small furnace for the first smelting of tin. Many were dotted around Dartmoor, consisting of a stone kiln in which layers of charcoal and ore were burnt, using a bellows, often driven by a crude water-wheel.

  BUDDLE

  A box for collecting ore washed from the troughs in stream-working.

  BURGESS

  A freeman of substance in a town or borough, usually a merchant. A group of burgesses ran the town administration and in Exeter elected two Portreeves (later a Mayor) as their leaders.

  CANON

  A priestly member of the chapter of a cathedral, also called a prebendary (qv). Exeter had twenty-four canons, most of whom lived near the cathedral. Many employed junior priests (vicars) to carry out their duties for them.

  CHAPMAN

  A roving pedlar, carrying his wares on his back, also later called a ‘packman’. His usual trade was in sewing materials and small household needs, ribbons and trinkets.

  CHAPTER

  The administrative body of a cathedral, comp
osed of the canons (prebendaries). They met daily to conduct business in the Chapter House, so-called because a chapter of the Gospels was read before each session.

  COB

  Wall construction using a mixture of mud, dung and vegetation such as bracken or straw.

  COIF

  A close-fitting cap or helmet, usually of linen, covering the ears and tied under the chin; worn by men and women.

  CONSTABLE

  Has several meanings, but here refers to a senior commander, usually the custodian of a castle, which in Exeter belonged to the King.

  CORONER

  A senior law officer in each county, second only to the sheriff. First formally established in September 1194, though there are a few mentions of coroners in Saxon times. Three knights and one clerk were recruited in each county, to carry out a wide range of legal and financial duties. The name comes from custos placitorum coronas, meaning ‘Keeper of the Pleas of the Crown’, as he recorded all serious crimes, deaths and legal events for the King’s judges.

  COVER-CHIEF

  More correctly couvre-chef, a linen headcover, worn by women, held in place by a band around the head, and flowing down the back and front of the chest.

  CURIA REGIS

  The Royal Council, from whom the judges were drawn.

  DEODAND

  Literally ‘a gift from God’, it was the forfeiture of anything that had caused a death, such as a sword, a cart or even a mill-wheel. It was confiscated by the coroner for the king, but was sometimes given as compensation to the victim’s family.

  DESTRIER

  A large war-horse able to carry the weight of an armoured knight. When firearms made armour redundant, destriers became shirehorses, replacing oxen as draught animals.

  EYRE

  A sitting of the King’s justices, introduced by Henry II in 1166, which moved around the country in circuits. There were two types, the ‘Justices in Eyre’ or ‘Eyre of Assize’ which was the forerunner of the later Assize Courts, which was supposed to visit each county town regularly to try serious cases; and the General Eyre, which came at long intervals to scrutinise the administration of each county.

  EXIGENT

  A person expelled from England on abjuring the realm after seeking sanctuary.

  FARM

  In the medieval sense, the total tax required by the King from a county. Collected by the sheriff and delivered to Winchester or London twice a year, it was a sum fixed by the Crown and if the sheriff could collect more, he could keep the difference for himself.

  HAUBERK

  A chain-mail tunic with long sleeves to protect the wearer from neck to calf; usually slit for riding a horse.

  HUNDRED

  An administrative division of a county, originally named for a hundred hides of land or a hundred families.

  JURATE

  A tinner’s representative at the Stannary parliament, sometimes called a ‘jurator’ or ‘stannator’.

  LEAT

  An artificial channel for water, leading it into an ore-washing system.

  MARK

  A measure of money, though not an actual coin, as only pennies existed. A mark was two-thirds of a pound i.e. thirteen shillings and fourpence (sixty-six decimal pence)

  MAZER

  A large drinking dish originally made from maple wood.

  MORTAIN, COUNT OF

  Prince John, who was also Lord of Mortain, in north-west France.

  MUTILATION

  A common punishment as an alternative to hanging. A hand, foot, genitals were amputated or blinding carried out.

  ORDEAL

  A test of guilt or innocence, such as walking over nine red-hot plough-shares, picking a stone from a barrel of boiling water or molten lead; if burns appeared, the person was judged guilty. For women, submersion in water was the ordeal, the guilty floating!

  PREBENDARY

  A canon of a cathedral, deriving an income from his ‘prebend’, a tract of land granted to him (see CANON).

  RULE OF ST CHRODEGANG

  A strict regime of a simple communal life, devised by an eighth century bishop of Metz. It was adopted by Bishop Leofric, who founded Exeter Cathedral in 1050, but did not long survive his death. The canons soon adopted a more comfortable, even luxurious, lifestyle.

  SECONDARIES

  Young men aspiring to become priests, thus under twenty-four years of age. They assisted canons and vicars in their duties in the cathedral.

  SHODE

  Tin ore.

  STANNARIES

  The tin-producing areas of Devon and Cornwall, which for centuries had a large degree of autonomy, with their own courts, prison and parliaments.

  STANNATOR

  See ‘JURATE’.

  STREAM-WORKS

  Method of extracting alluvial tin from the gravel of small river valleys; used before mining into veins of ore was begun.

  SUMPTER HORSES

  Pack animals, usually used in trains, for transporting goods in bundles or panniers. Mules and ponies were also used.

  TERCE

  The fourth of the nine services of the cathedral day, usually around nine in the morning.

  THOUSAND WEIGHT

  A measure of weight, especially tin bars; equivalent to twelve hundred pounds.

  TRAIL BASTONS

  Highway robbers, usually gangs of outlaws.

  TRIAL BY BATTLE

  An ancient right to settle a dispute by fighting to the death. Usually, an appealer (qv) would demand financial compensation from the alleged perpetrator or be challenged to battle. Women and unfit persons could employ a champion to fight for them.

  VICAR

  A priest employed by a more senior cleric, such as a canon, to carry out some of his religious duties, especially the many daily services in a cathedral. Often called a ‘vicar-choral’ from his participation in chanted services.

  WATTLE

  Construction of walls by plastering mud or lime plaster onto woven wattle panels (wattle and daub).

  WIMPLE

  A linen or silk cloth worn around a lady’s neck to frame the face. The sides were pinned up above each ear and the lower edge tucked into the neckline or allowed to flow over the chest.

  PROLOGUE

  April 1195 AD

  The early spring evening was well advanced when the men downed tools and set off homewards. They were working on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, so could walk back to their dwellings around Chagford within the hour, rather than camp out in the primitive huts dotted all over the high moor. Only eleven of their gang of a dozen tinners trudged down the little valley towards their wives and a good meal. As usual the overman had stayed behind to scrape the last of the precious shode from the wooden troughs, then add it to the pile of ore. Tomorrow it would be taken down to the blowing-house for the first smelting.

  The others marched away down the stony gully, following the stream that gurgled between moss-covered boulders under twisted, stunted trees that crouched down from the winds that whistled across the miles of open moorland. Tough as they were, the tinners were weary after the long day’s work and had little inclination to gossip on the way home. Although their calf-length boots of raw ox-hide were thickly greased, they were not watertight and the men’s feet were cold and wet from working in the stream all day. Most had managed a gruff farewell to the foreman they left behind, but in a few moments they were out of sight around the curve of the small ravine down which the South Teign brook sped on its way to join its northern partner at Leigh Bridge. After a few twists, as the ground dropped away from Thornworthy Down, the valley opened up to give a distant vista of fields and woods, with the little town of Chagford nestling in the centre.

  Left alone, Henry of Tunnaford surveyed the stream-working with an air of satisfaction and began unhurriedly to tidy up, ready for the next morning’s digging. He pulled up the short plank that acted as a sluice-gate at the top of the main trough, letting clean water from the leat run through the system overnight. Henry was a
wiry man, not tall and not broad, but still tough and rugged, like most of the tinners. He picked up a fallen shovel and a pick, and took them across to a rough shanty built against the high bank at one side of the workings. It was a crude structure, built of large moorstones and roofed with branches and turf. The hut did service as both a store and a shelter for the men, where they could eat their frugal midday meal when the rain or snow was heavier than usual.

  Now Henry stood in the open entrance, his hands on his hips as he surveyed the hundred yards of stream-work, which had eaten into the sides of the valley during the year they had been working this stretch of the little river. The weather had been fairly dry these past few days, but at the top end of the workings, plenty of water still cascaded over the breast to fall in a cataract. Some was guided away by the leat, a planked channel leading down to the long trough that ran immediately alongside the burbling stream.