449-1066] MODE OF LIFE 51 by wind or water power. The principal commerce was in wool, lead, tin, and slaves. A writer of that time says he used to see long trains of young men and women tied together, offered for sale, "for men were not ashamed," he adds, "to sell their nearest relatives, and even their own children." VI. MODE OF LIFE, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS 103. The Town. The first Saxon settlements were quite generally on the line of the old Roman roads. They were surrounded by a rampart of earth set with a thick hedge or with rows of sharp stakes. Outside this was a deep ditch. These places were called towns,1 from 'tun," meaning a fence or hedge. The chief fortified towns were called 'burghs” or boroughs. Later on, this class of towns generally had a corporate form of government, and eventually they sent representatives to Parliament (§ 213). ९९ १९ 104. The Hall. The buildings in these towns were of wood. Those of the lords or chief men were called "halls," from the fact that they consisted mainly of a hall, or large room, used as a sitting, eating, and often as a sleeping room, a bundle of straw or some skins thrown on the floor serving for beds. There were no chimneys, but a hole in the roof let out the smoke. If the owner was rich, the walls would be decorated with bright-colored tapestry, and with suits of armor and shields hanging from pegs. 105. Life in the Hall. Here in the evening the master supped on a raised platform at one end of the "hall," while his followers ate at a lower table. The Saxons were hard drinkers as well as hard fighters. After the meal, while horns of ale and mead were circulating, the minstrels, taking their harps, would sing songs of battle and ballads of wild adventure. Outside the "hall" were the "bowers," or chambers for the master and his family, and, perhaps, an upper chamber for a guest, called later by the Normans a sollar, or sunny room. If a stranger approached a town, he was obliged to blow a horn; otherwise he might be slain as an outlaw. Here in the midst of rude plenty the Saxons, or Early English, lived a life of sturdy independence. They were rough, strong, outspoken, and fearless. Theirs was not the nimble brain, for that was to come with another people (the Normans), though a people originally of the same 1 One or more houses might constitute a town. A single farmhouse is still so called in Scotland. race. The mission of the Saxons was to lay the foundation; or, in other words, to furnish the muscle, grit, and endurance, without which the nimble brain is of little permanent value. 106. Guilds. The inhabitants of the towns and cities had various associations called guilds (from gild, a payment or contribution). The object of these was mutual assistance. The most important were the Frith guilds or Peace guilds and the Merchant guilds. The former constituted a voluntary police force to preserve order and bring thieves to punishment. Each member contributed a small sum to form a common fund which was used to make good any losses incurred by robbery or fire. The association held itself responsible for the good behavior of its members, and kept a sharp eye on strangers and stragglers, who had to give an account of themselves or leave the country. The Merchant guilds were organized, apparently at a late period, to protect and extend trade. After the Norman Conquest they came to be very wealthy and influential. In addition to the above, there were social and religious guilds, which made provision for feasts, for maintenance of religious services, and for the relief of the poor and the sick. FIFTH PERIOD1 "In other countries the struggle has been to gain liberty; in England, to preserve it." - ALISON 107. William marches on London; he grants a Charter to the City. Soon after the great and decisive battle of Hastings (§ 74), William the Conqueror advanced on London and set fire to the Southwark suburbs. The Londoners, terrified by the flames, and later cut off from help from the north by the Conqueror's besieging army, opened their gates and surrendered without striking a blow. In return, William, shortly after his coronation, granted the city a charter, by which he guaranteed to the inhabitants the liberties which they had enjoyed under Edward the Confessor (§ 65). That document may still be seen among the records in the Guildhall, in London.2 It is a narrow strip of parchment not the length of a man's hand. It contains a few lines in English, to which 1 REFERENCE BOOKS on this Period will be found in the CLASSIFIED LIST OF Books in the Appendix. The pronunciation of names will be found in the Index. The LEADING DATES stand unenclosed; all others are in parentheses. 2 See Constitutional Documents in the Appendix, p. xxxiii. William's royal seal was appended. It has indeed been said on high authority that the King also signed the charter with a cross; but no trace of it appears on the parchment. The truth seems to be that he who wielded the sword with such terrible efficiency disdained handling the pen (§ 154). 108. The Coronation; William returns to Normandy. On the following Christmas Day (1066) William was anointed and crowned in Westminster Abbey. His accession to the throne marked the union of England and Normandy (§ 191). (See map facing p. 54.) He assumed the title of "King of the English," which had been used by Edward the Confessor and by Harold. The title "King of England" did not fully and finally come into use until John's Wittm king spec. Willen buscrop-pepopaperan Jealle pabuphpapubmnan Londone menafce Jendace freonslice. Juckyde topicpille gebeon vallpa papa laza people begic papan on eadpendeldage king of the pylle per alc cyld beo hif faden innume, aftop his fædop dago. perille gepolian panig man top annppianz brode drop gehaaldr. WILLIAM'S CHARTER TO LONDON. (Reduced copy) accession, more than a hundred and thirty years later. William did not remain in London, but made Winchester, in the south of England, his capital. In the spring (1067) he sailed for Normandy, where he had left his queen, Matilda, to govern in his absence. While on the Continent he intrusted England to the hands of two regents, one his half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, the other his friend William Fitz-Osbern; the former he had made Earl of Kent, the latter Earl of Hereford. During the next three years there were outbreaks and uprisings in the lowlands of Cambridgeshire and the moors of Yorkshire, besides incursions of both Danes and Scots. 109. William quells Rebellion in the North (1068). The oppressive rule of the regents (§ 108) soon caused a rebellion, and in December William returned to England to put it down. He found the task a hard one. The King of Denmark made it all the harder by sending over a powerful fleet to help the English. William bribed the Danish commanders and they "sailed away without striking a blow." Then, little by little, he brought the land to obedience. By |