Æftera Líða, the „after-Litha", is the high-summer month after the solstice. The sea stays calm, the light stands high – and in the meadows the grass falls beneath the scythe.
Name & Meaning
Like its twin, this month too bears the name Líða – „gentle, navigable". It follows the summer solstice; in leap years the inserted Þriliða stands between the two. German Heumond names the work that marks the month.
Work & Custom
The hay-harvest is in full swing: grass is mown, turned, dried and carted in, for the winter fodder decides the herd’s survival. The calm sea still allows voyages and trade. Already the eye turns to the coming grain-harvest, and the sickles are whetted.
Bede’s Testimony
Líða means „gentle" or „navigable" … one was wont to sail the quiet sea.
— Bede, De temporum ratione ch. 15 (on the two Líða months).
Sources
Bede, De temporum ratione ch. 15; Faith Wallis (transl.), 1999; „Labours of the Months" (July = mowing/hay).