A little bit. Millers were often hated by the common folk and called thieves - not because they were robbers or fenced stolen goods, but because they were often suspected (or really did) of stealing people's grain and keeping more than the agreed upon amount of wheat.
That makes a lot more sense than millers being the network of thieves. Was that based on any historic precentant?
A little bit. Millers were often hated by the common folk and called thieves - not because they were robbers or fenced stolen goods, but because they were often suspected (or really did) of stealing people's grain and keeping more than the agreed upon amount of wheat.
Here's a machine-translated article talking about it: https://cesky-radio-cz.translate.goog/v-cesku-mame-zkresleny-pohled-na-mlynare-8726089?_x_tr_sl=cs&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp