The grape harvester

 

Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Marie. She lived with her parents and seven brothers and sisters in Belcastel, about ten leagues from Villefranche-de-Rouergue. She was very beautiful and very devoted to her family. Her father was  a ploughman, but on the lands of Ségala, the harvests were poor. So, the whole family raised chickens, rabbits, and pigs, which they fed on chestnuts and whatever else they couldn't eat themselves in their daily soups. Needless to say, life was hard in these countryside at the beginning of the 17th century.

 

One morning, as she was going to the market to sell some eggs and woven wicker baskets, a town crier from Gaillac began to harangue the crowd. He had been dispatched by the consuls of that town, who were looking for grape pickers and oxcarts to carry the grapes from the vines to the cellars. The harvest promised to be plentiful. The consuls of Gaillac had set the harvest date this year for September 30, the day following Saint Michael's Day, the abbey's patron saint. It was generally around this date that the harvest began at that time of year.

 

The Gaillac consuls had set the harvest date this year for September 30th, the day after Saint Michael's Day, the abbey's patron saint. It was generally around this date that the grape harvest began in the early 17th century.

 

Marie hurried back to the farm after selling her produce to inform her father. She urged him to go to Gaillac to harvest the grapes. Her father thought about it and said she would go accompanied by her brother, Thomas, two years her senior, who was an excellent herdsman whose skills as an oxcart driver would be appreciated. Her father insisted that they stay together throughout their stay in the Gaillac region and that their work would benefit the entire family, who needed it. There was little time left to set off. That same evening, everything was ready for an early departure. They had planned the trip over two days, arriving in Gaillac on September 28th. On the Place du Griffoul, a committee of winegrowers was there to welcome them. They received several offers and chose to work for a winegrower, Guillaume Derrieux de Lincarque. He accompanied them to Lacroux, provided them with accommodation, and brought them supper. The next day, everyone went together to the Saint Michael's Festival in Gaillac.

 

The harvest began in good spirits with about ten people, including the young son of a winegrower, Matthieu, who had come to lend a hand a few days before starting the harvest at his father's house because the grapes at his place were not yet fully ripe. Marie and Thomas were diligent in their respective tasks. Marie was careful to delicately cut the grapes with a pruning shears, which in Occitan is called a poda. Thomas, meanwhile, carried the baskets, laden with grapes, to the estate's cellar with his oxcart.

Matthieu always managed to harvest within a short distance of Marie. Thus, each time he emptied his basket into the porter's bin, he admired Marie's pretty face, which he appreciated more than anything. He readily struck up a conversation, always seeking a smile from Marie, who nevertheless insisted on remaining focused on her work.

 

By the end of the third day, a certain complicity had developed between Marie and Matthieu. The latter challenged Marie to see who would be the first to reach the quince tree marking the end of the plot. Matthieu had given Marie a slight head start and slipped a small bunch of grapes into her hand. Arriving first, Marie turned to Matthieu, and he crushed his bunch of grapes on her cheek. Marie was shocked and even a little furious at this incomprehensible gesture. Matthieu tried to explain it to her while reassuring her.

 

He explained that it was customary in the Gaillac region for young grape harvesters to do this as a way of showing their feelings of love. 

 

Marie regained her smile before Matthieu announced that he was to begin the harvest the next day at his father's house and that he hoped to see her again at the harvest festival when it was completed in the Gaillac region. Marie replied that she didn't know yet because she had to talk to her brother. 

 

When the grape harvest in Lacroux ended, Guillaume, the plowman and winegrower, thanked all the grape pickers and the cowherd for their work and paid them accordingly. He announced that they were all invited to the Harvest Festival, adding that he had been designated "King of the Young and the Poor" by the company of the same name to organize, with the authorization of the consuls of the town of Gaillac, three days of festivities. 

 

William had been chosen as King of the Young and the Poor because he was considered one of the best winegrowers of his generation, skilled at pruning his vines and ensuring a good harvest.

 

William came to speak privately with Thomas. He asked his permission to ask his sister, Marie, to be Queen for the last day of the festivities. William had to explain to Thomas what the "castelet" game was all about, concluding the festivities.

 

Thomas gave his approval, and William went to propose this role to Mary, who also accepted.

 

During these three days, the young people sang, danced, and played rather manly games that sometimes ended with the breaking of pottery, as on this last day of the festivities. The idea was to build a "castelet" out of tree trunks and branches, atop which would be enthroned the delightful Mary, Queen for the evening, holding a poda for a scepter. 

 

At the foot of this small fort, two clans were fighting, throwing shards of crockery and pottery at each other while protecting themselves behind armor. The battle would end late into the night. The leader of the winning clan, Matthew himself, joined his Queen, Mary, at the top of her "castelet" to invite her to come back down. Matthew then gave her a lovely pair of clogs and what he hoped would be her next year for the grape harvest.

 

Marie returned for several years. She married Matthew, and they lived happily ever after and had many children.