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The Knotsman
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About This Book
The Knotsman does not exist, you will not find him in history books or collections of 'bygone' skills. But Math Jones has created him, and his fellows, in a time very like the English Civil War. There he is, going from house to house, village to village, battlefield to gallows, unravelling knots and problems, physical, emotional and psychological; a new kind of cunning man, not always welcome, not always quite as clever as his fingers and picks would have him believe.
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A True Historie of the Last Knotsman
Dāye hear the Knotsman came our way,
His tugs and picker in his case,
Calling around the market-place,
With āis Any strings fer me tāday?
Did ye see the knots upon his face,
The lines and hitches tightly bound;
And trailing, like a tethered hound,
The story of his sharp disgrace:
A tale of scandal going round
Of lovers, closely knit, against
Their parentsā wishes, hard, incensed,
Unless the ātrothing-rope be found,
And so the Knotsmanās search commenced,
With heavy promises to find
The heart-string-join, and so unbind
The love-knot from their bloods condensed.
He spied the matted threads behind
The upper bedroomās linen-chest,
And at the mothersā fierce behest,
Began his loosing-work unkind.
The younger felt, within his breast,
The first cord of his heart untie,
And speaking to his loverās eye,
Awoke him from his joyful rest.
I say we must the world deny,
Before the hitches of our heart
Are by the Knotsman eased apart.
The river took them both to die.
Arrested for his ādevilās artā,
Imprisoned by the New Belief,
All stoked by fathersā rage and grief,
The Knotsman felt the judgeās dart,
But slipped his bindings, sought relief,
Escaping to our neighbour town,
Was by the constable put down
To hang from gallows on the heath.
A hangman came, of great renown,
To raise the beam and tie the noose,
A slip-knot two-step to induce,
And take the parentsā silver crown.
No rope would suffer such misuse
To cause the cunning Knotsman pain,
But showed the gallows-man disdain:
The loops and hitches set him loose;
The hangman tied his rope in vain,
As through the crowd the Knotsman slipped,
Not ever by a binding gripped,
Nor never to be seen again.
The Knotsmanās Apprentice
The Knottyman came to the backdoor. āA āstrings fer me?ā Mother would turn him away, but I pulled at her sleeve. Sissy said, āMiss Jemima, Mām?ā
He searched the linen-chests, then the boot-room; he examined curtains, the spinning, even candle sconces. Shabby beside our bright things. A walking shadow, quiet around Jemimaās bed.
He brought three knots to the parlour: a leather cord in fatherās breeches, his best. A silken from motherās undergown. She blushed. And my bowstring, a toy left unused. All snagged and knotted beyond untying.
Mother tutted, agreed to his āpenny a ānotā.
He let me watch, took the leather and pulled his blade. āNiā tā cut, lad, nay. Nivār tā cutā. Tight skin on bone and sinew worked. I watched. He pushed the cords, not pulling, blew on them, tapped, eased the loops. Soon it was free. Father stormed into the house, shouting for mother!
He worked the silk, āClen hanās, dānāt mithārā. I saw him tease the knot, split it in two, draw them apart, unbind them one at a time. Mother was screaming upstairs. I stood. His hand stilled me.
He took my bowstring, winked, working fingers, picking, pushing, rolling, teasing. Mother came down. Flushed, smiling. Father followed, not scowling, happy. He put coin on the table: a shilling! He took her hand.
A rush of cannonballs lurched in my stomach. Gunpowder and muskets. I stood, walking through a cavalry charge, embraced them.
The Knotsman went, leaving breeches, chemise and a new-strung, toy bow.
āJemima, Mām! Sheās worse!ā
She was burning, covers thrown, Sissy mopping her down. Father knelt to pray, mother sobbed.
I saw it. A single, light and crinkled thread, limp from the hem of her nightgown. Clearing my eyes, I sat at her feet. Took u...
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Contents
- THE LAST KNOTSMAN
- APPRENTICESHIP
- LOOSE THREADS
- JOURNEYMAN
- MASTER
- Copyright