The monk who carefully illustrated this work had little idea that he would leave us one of the very few records that have survived of the monthly tasks of 1,000 years ago. The original is in the British Library. The Anglo-Saxons were some of the first to use the wheeled plow shown here. This could turn heavy soils, which had not been previously plowable. February was known as Sprout-kele from kelewur, a vegetable used for making broth.
Opinions differ about the activity shown here.
One suggests that vines are being pruned using serps, the broad bladed tools. Certainly the workers seem to be using care. Other historians have suggested that they are coppicing trees for firewood. The workers are breaking ground, digging, hoeing and sowing for the coming season. The month was held in great reverence as it was the month in which Lent began.