Summary

As Chapter 17 opens, Thirsk stands at the village's bounds and realizes that he has not been this close to the community's edge for several years. He bumps his forehead against the stone marking the bounds, echoing a village tradition that keeps adolescents from straying. He ruminates on the "four mementos of these seven days" that he has with him: his wounded forehead; the scorch mark on his palm from the dovecote fire; the kick wound on his face from the mob attack on Master Jordan's groom; and a blank piece of calfskin vellum.

Thirsk looks back at the village, thinking of the row of winter wheat he planted the day before. He bids the land farewell, then turns toward the views beyond the bounds of the villages and notices that they are "more rewarding to the eye" (242). He judges that he can live off...