He's a water leader, filling the sacks on the horses with water for delivery. Here's two examples from Randle Holme (I can post better pix later, if needed).

Sounds about right.

This note appears in a mid-16c printed copy of an interlude I'm editing. I haven't made any headway in reading it. Any ideas from anyone here?

One of my research projects has led to examining some printers' woodcut ornamental initials. I thought I'd try to learn how to make prints myself to get a better idea of what's involved. I've been practicing with lino-cutting, and while far from perfect, I'm fairly happy with the progress so far.