Fern

fernsFern, or bracken, used to be cut and collected by commoners as a cheaper alternative to straw for bedding animals. They had to get permission to do it from the Forest Keeper (see K). Commoners would build big stacks of fern, and thatch the tops with reeds to keep the rain off. Fires of dried fern were used by commoners to burn the bristles from the skin of slaughtered pigs.