I've just read an article in 'Freelance Informer' magazine about bondagers - 'a form of agricultural slavery [that] persisted in Britain till the early 1940s'. On the Scottish Borders hiring fairs were held annually, for farmers to take on farm labourers for the coming year. This is common knowledge among self-respecting folk people, of course.

What I hadn't heard of was that the hired man, or hind, was expected to bring a woman with him -- the bondager. Essentially, she was a slave, the article explained; she would work in the fields, keep the hind's living quarters clean, and keep his bed warm if he was single. Her children would be born in a ditch, behind a hedge, or wherever she could find a bit of shelter; she'd have to be back at work the next day. The children would become slaves themselves.

These unfortunate women were virtually on the same social level as Untouchables in India. The practice was only ended when the Women's Land Army came into being during WWII, when the bondagers drifted off into the towns to end up, in all likelihood, as prostitutes.



Is this true? If so, is it an exaggerated account? And why haven't I heard of it? Well, thae answer to that last may just be that I've led a sheltered life, but I'd be surprised if there were no songs on the subject, or if I've never heard any of them. Put me out of my misery, please!

Steve