The village of Hemingstone in Suffolk, in the south of England, is a charming one, with many of the original buildings beautifully preserved. The lands surrounding the village were once the home to Hemingstone Manor, now sadly lost.
This domain, back in the 12th century, was a valuable one, and the house would have been grand. The estate encompassed some 100 acres (40 hectares) and a considerable income could be derived from such a property. For comparison, such a sizeable portion of land was termed a “hide” and five such “hides” were sufficient to support a medieval knight, and therefore grant the rank of a noble.
However the owner of the land in the late 12th century was no knight, and in fact had quite a different job. These lands, and the revenues derived from them, were owned by a professional flatulist whose name, appropriately, was Roland the Farter.
Unum Bumbulum
Roland the Farter is not a character about whom we know much. We do not know his ancestry, and we do not know his family. It would seem that, as far as the records are concerned, he sprung from nowhere, a true self-made man.
It should also be mentioned that the records themselves are incomplete and what survives is contradictory. Some have him coming into the ownership of only 30 acres (12 hectares), others as much as 110 acres (45 hectares).
Nor is it clear which king Roland served, although most of the sources agree that it was Henry II. Some instead believe that his royal patron was Henry I, or perhaps even Richard I, the Lionheart of England so beloved by his people in the tales of Robin Hood.
On one thing the sources do agree, however, and that is how Roland came into possession of these lands. Roland was a professional flatulist and the property was a gift from the King of England. In return, once a year Roland the Farter was duty bound to appear before the King, and fart in his general direction.
Apparently Roland was so good at this, or at least it was deemed so funny, that he made a regular appearance at the King’s Christmas banquet where his would perform his signature trick. His duty was strictly laid down and recorded, in Latin no less, and stated that every year he was required to perform “Unum saltum et siffletum et unum bumbulum”: One Jump, One Whistle, and One Fart.
Such an arrangement was known as “Searjenty”, an arrangement in feudal Europe whereby tenure was offered in return for a specified duty to be performed for your feudal lord. Or King, as it was in this instance.
So it was that, in return for an annual engagement where Roland was required to appear at court and fart in the faces of the assembled nobility for the amusement of his King, he received an extremely good living in one of the richest parts of medieval England. Nor were his lands forfeit to the Crown on his death: we know his estate was passed to his son, Hubert de Afleton, and ownership can be traced thereafter through several others of his line.
Not a bad set up for a single fart.
Top Image: Nice work if you can get it: Roland the Farter was set up for life, and all he had to do was fart in front of the King once a year. Source: Tomislav / Adobe Stock.
By Joseph Green
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