ABSTRACT
The records of the monasteries often show a marked consideration for their working beasts on the part of monastic landlords and this is notably so in the large estates owned by the great abbeys.
Thus 13th century rules, laid down by the Abbey of St. Peter, Gloucester, expressly state that the servants of their manors are to take care of the oxen, making sure that the mangers in each stall contain a night’s food for each team, and they are to plough without injuring or distressing the beasts.4
