Cup Bearer. Galley Rower. Gong Farmer

Cup Bearer

A cup bearer – Codex Manesse, UB Heidelberg, Cod. Pal. germ. 848, fol. 205r: Herr Konrad, der Schenk von Landeck

An important position in many royal courts was to be the person that served the monarch their drinks. It was widely feared that one could easily be poisoned, so this person was responsible for making sure the drinks were safe, even if that meant tasting the beverages themselves. A king needed to be very trusting of his Cup Bearer, so the person with this job could be very influential in court politics.

Galley Rower

15th century Venetian galley – image by Konrad Grü nenberg in 1487.

Perhaps the most gruelling job in the Middle Ages was to work on a galley, where teams of men would row the ship. Vessels could have up to a thousand crewmen, where they propelled the vessels at a much faster rate than by relying on sail. Benjamin Arbel, in A Companion to Venetian History, 1400-1797, notes how the Republic forced its subjects in places like Crete and Cyprus to take on these jobs. Arbel explains that “a galley rower was one of the most detested obligations among Venice’s colonial subjects, and they tried to avoid it all possible manners, including becoming priests, which freed them from this burdensome obligation. Under such circumstances the burden was largely borne by poor peasants would could not afford to buy an exemption from this service. ” As it became even more difficult to find people willing to take on this job, galley owners had to rely on slaves to be rowers.

Gong Farmer

Until the invention of modern sewers and plumbing, human waste was usually deposited into a privy or cesspit. They periodically needed to be cleaned out, and that was what the Gong Farmer was paid to do. Using a large ladle, they would scoop out the waste and then transport it away.

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