Life of a miller

The life in these regions, where the only important thing was to survive on the borderline between the Ottoman conquerors and defenders, was on the verge of a breakdown for many centuries. Even during short breaks from war events, cold winters never showed any mercy. Nevertheless, in those eternal perpetuations of troubled times, an optimistic and joyful spirit of millers’ life developed full satisfaction in which that which is interesting cannot be seen by the eye, a special way of life flowing naturally along the mill and organising the family and social relations. The oldest son of the miller would inherit the mill with the obligation to take care of the younger brothers and sisters. With the mill, he would inherit also all the previous clients of his father that he got just the same way. In that generational flow of people gathered around the mill and the milling, the biggest discomfort for the miller, almost shame, would be to lose a peasant who went to another miller. The connection of the miller and his mill escapes any explanation or category. Only one thing was sure – the deafening and regular noise of the moving mill rocks taking care of the firm sleep of the miller with the miller waking up in an instant and jumping to his feet upon any unnatural sound of the millstone.