Feudalism, then and now.

By Keith Rubin

McSweeney’s

To our loyal vassals,

We remain grateful to thee for thy continued fealty amidst these uneasy and ever-changing times. Whilst there has been only a SINGLE reported case of Bubonic Plague within our fiefdom (that of Simon the Tinker), we wished to take this opportunity to share with thee several precautionary steps we have taken to mitigate the further spread of this divine pestilence:

Increasing personal sanitation and hygiene procedures amongst all serfs
Beginning this past Lord’s Day, we have decreed that all serfs working in the fields must bathe in the town well at LEAST once per month. In addition, all those serfs handling crops directly must spit upon their hands to rinse away dirt BEFORE touching any of our foodstuffs.

Additional leeching stations at the midwife’s house
To pre-empt the possibility of a large-scale outbreak, we have doubled the number of leeches available to our community at any hour of the day, from six swarms to twelve. The increased capacity for leechings shall doubtless prove indispensable should any additional cases of the Plague arise.

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