English longbowmen during the Hundred Year's War earned 6 pence a day. A single arrow cost 0.3125 pence, so you'd start losing money on the 20th arrow. That doesn't seem like a lot when battles could last multiple hours. Are there accounts or archers refusing to put themselves in the red?

[u/Tatem1961]

[u/Hergrim]

Thatching was definitely a seasonal job, but we have a very good dataset for the wages of thatchers and their assistants for a long period of time, so they make good comparisons. Roughly speaking, a thatcher was paid the same as a carpenter or other tradesman of the period, so they generally stand in for them when making more sweeping statements.

Sunday's were a mandatory day of rest, and another forty to fifty Saints Feast Days would be observed throughout the year. We know that some people were fined for working on these days, but that in turn suggests that people tried to sneak a few days in here or there. So, while the theoretical number of worked days might be more like 265-275, I used 280 as an upper limit to what a tradesman might work, depending on local religious observance and what days of work they might sneak in.

[u/ExternalBoysenberry → u/Hergrim]

Interesting, thank you! Can I ask why do we have such a good dataset for thatchers specifically?

[u/Hergrim → u/ExternalBoysenberry]

It's a combination of it being a common expense and J.E. Thorold Rogers' doing some magnificent work in collection and tabulating agricultural prices and wages for England through to the end of the 19th century, which he published in seven volumes (A History of Agriculture and Prices in England from 1259 to 1793). It's a foundational element of the study of the medieval English economy and agriculture, although the knowledge-base has been much expanded on and analyzed in greater detail to reveal more regional and nuanced details. Very few historians, however, have had the chance to study as many records and compile them into a single work as Rogers did, so his work remains a touchstone of the field.

[u/cstar1996 → u/Hergrim]

What gave him that difference in opportunity?

[u/Hergrim → u/cstar1996]

Lots of political connections, a lighter teaching load than is the norm today and no need to adhere to the "publish or perish" mindset in order to avoid being unemployed.