Baron Conon and Adela had still another duty ere they returned to St.
Aliquis. They were fain to go with their sons, and each burn a tall
candle before the altar of Our Lady in the cathedral. All dwellers
near Pontdebois are intensely proud of their great church. It has been
building now these forty years. At last it is fairly complete, although
the left tower has still to be carried up to the belfry, and very many
niches lack the sculptured saints presently to occupy them. A worthy
cathedral, like a worthy character, is growing continually. Probably
the Feudal Age will end before Notre Dame de Pontdebois is completed as
its pious designers have intended.[127]
The cathedral is the center for a large group of buildings whereof
most are in the noble pointed (Gothic) style of architecture. As just
explained, in the sacred close there is the bishop's palace and the
houses of the canons; there are also a cloister for promenading, a
school (much like that at the monastery), a room for a library, and
a synodal hall for meetings of the canons and where the bishop can
conduct litigation. There is, in addition, a hospital for sick clerics.
The whole forms a little world sequestered from the uproar and sordid
bustle of the marts and workshops of Pontdebois. As you enter the
cathedral compound, exterior cares are suddenly left behind you--a
great sense of peace is realized. One hears the wind softly whistling
through the soaring tracery of the massive right tower. There is a
whirring flutter of doves from their homes under the flying buttresses.
Through a section opened in the floral tracery of a great window comes
the rumbling of an organ and the deep Gregorian chant of some hymn
from the psalter. Utter contrast it all is either to the hammering and
chaffering of the city, or the equally worldly clatter of the castle
court! The vast tower pointing upward speaks even to the thoughtless,
"Fortress and city, trade and tourney endure only for the instant--the
things of the Spirit abide forever."
The cathedral, by its vast and soaring bulk, completely dwarfs the
comparatively small and mean houses of the town. They are of thatch
and wood. It is of stone. They lack even a tawdry magnificence. The
cathedral could gaze with contempt on royal palaces. This fact teaches
even more clearly than words the enormous place occupied by the
Church in the Feudal Age. It is not by its literature and learning
(though these are not to be despised), but _by its sacred architecture
and sculpture_ that the spirit of this era displays its power and
originality. In contemplating so magnificent a fabric, it is best
to remember that it is the work of men of ardent faith, profoundly
convinced that in the church building there dwells continually upon the
high altar God himself, invisible but ever present. Squalid dwellings
may suffice for man, but not for the Creator. And since God actually
takes his abode in such an edifice, every art must contribute to its
splendor. Architects, sculptors, painters, jewelers, all perform their
best, each rendering his homage to the Eternal. The cathedral,
therefore, sums up all that is noblest in the art of the time when it
is erected.
[Illustration: NOTRE DAME AND THE BISHOP'S PALACE AT THE BEGINNING OF
THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY
From the restoration of M. Hoffbauer. At the left the Petit-Pont and
the buildings of the archbishop's palace, destroyed in 1831; the
cathedral, of which the choir and the south transept were finished only
at this date; behind the cathedral, on the ground occupied to-day by a
public garden, was the church of Saint-Denis du Pas, built previous to
the cathedral and destroyed in 1813.]
Since the nave of such a church often can be used for secular mass
meetings without fear of impiety, and since a whole countryside
will claim the right to throng the edifice on great festival days,
a cathedral has to be far larger than an ancient pagan temple.[128]
It must possess an interior meet for elaborate processions, stopping
often at each of twenty-odd altars lining its walls. To erect a
building like this is an undertaking in which a whole countryside can
be asked to join. About forty years ago the old cathedral, built in
the ancient Romanesque (round-arched) style with a wooden roof, was
falling into disrepair, and the new pointed, stone-vaulted architecture
was developing through all France. People from regions round made
remarks about the "impiety" of the clergy and folk near Pontdebois
in "dishonoring heaven." Various prelates taunted the ruling Bishop
Thibaut with his mean cathedral. This Thibaut, however, had been
an energetic as well as a devout man. By prudent administration of
the diocese he had saved considerable money. He next persuaded his
canons to curtail their luxuries and to contribute generously. Means,
too, were taken to lure money from the faithful. The holy relics
were exhibited. Indulgence from purgatory was promised to donors.
Conscience-stricken barons were urged to atone for their crimes by
liberal gifts to the new enterprise. Civic pride and excited piety won
the deniers from the Pontdebois trade and industrial masters. A rich
countess left a notable legacy on condition that the canons should
always pray for her soul on the anniversary of her death. So between
coaxing and religious feeling a goodly fund was collected--and, as was
wisely said, "the new cathedral has saved many souls"--meaning that
many sinful people were happily moved to redeeming acts of generosity.
There were even gifts, it is said, from brigands and evil women,
likewise a good many less debatable presents in kind, as when a baron
gave both the necessary oak and the pay of the carvers for making the
magnificent choir stalls, besides presenting the great stained-glass
rose window. Whatever the source, no donation was denied, the bishop
counting it fortunate if even the booty of thieves could be turned to
the glory of God.
[Sidenote: Building the Cathedral]
Bishop Thibaut found a skillful architect, a Norman, half cleric, half
layman, who had assisted on one of the great churches at Rouen. The
plans this man drew up were very elaborate, but he did not live to see
them more than half executed. Even if workmen and money failed not,
it was dangerous to rush the erection of the great piers, buttresses,
and vaulted ceilings. At Auxerre, where they tried to hasten the work,
much of the choir suddenly collapsed "like a crash of thunder," though
Heaven mercifully prevented the loss of life. At Noyon they began to
build in 1152. Their cathedral was nearly finished by 1200. Notre Dame
de Paris was begun in 1163, and the choir was fairly completed by 1177;
but the great towers and façade certainly cannot be finished before
1225. Rheims was begun in 1211, but undoubtedly even the work on the
choir cannot be ended under thirty years from that date. If Pontdebois
is reasonably complete after forty years of effort it is therefore
being built more expeditiously than the average cathedral. Indeed,
many wiseacres shake their heads. "Too much haste," they mutter; "when
one builds for God and in order to last till His Judgment Day, it is
very sinful to hurry."
First the choir was finished with all energy possible, for here the
canons must constantly chant their offices. The nave, which was more
for popular gatherings, waited till later. There was great rejoicing
when at last the main portal was so far completed that a very fine and
tenderly carved statue of Christ could be set above the same. "_Our
beautiful God!_" the people lovingly call the image; and from that
time, year by year, the work went forward, every member or ornament
that was added seeming to suggest something additional, as if the
achieving of perfection were to be a work for eternity.
[Sidenote: Cathedral a Natural Growth]
To erect the main structure of his cathedral, Thibaut had called in a
traveling fraternity of workmen, the Lodging-House Keepers of the Good
God, who obeyed the Master of the Work--_i.e._, an architect. They
would stay for years in one place, recruiting new members as old ones
died, then moving elsewhere when no longer needed. This fraternity
erected the main structure of the building; then Thibaut passed away,
money failed, and enthusiasm somewhat lapsed. However, twenty years
later, a new fraternity were put to work on the façade and towers. This
was more delicate work, involving a great deal of skillful carving.
They were obliged to stop again before completion had been attained.
Probably a score of years hence, still another such fraternity will
raise the second tower. Meantime, every year, a few skillful craftsmen,
sustained by donations, add a statue here and a gargoyle yonder, put
richly painted glass into another window, or complete the intricate
carving around the railing to the pulpit stairs. Now and then there
is a special exhibition of relics to attract worshipers and their
alms.[129] One of the results is that the style of the different parts
of the cathedral differs subtly according to the respective periods of
their construction. There is not a contradiction, but only a pleasing
variety. One feels that _the cathedral is something living_. It has
come into being, not by arbitrary creation, but by a natural growth;
like a mighty, comfort-spreading tree.
[Illustration: THIRTEENTH-CENTURY WINDOW IN THE CATHEDRAL OF CHARTRES,
REPRESENTING SAINT CHRISTOPHER CARRYING CHRIST]
As we wander about this glorious fabric, with its hundreds of
statues,[130] its blazing windows, its vaulted roof which hangs its
massive weight of stone so safely above our heads, all attempts at
detailed description become futile. Let them be left for other books
and other moods. Later generations doubtless will record at great
length that about the middle of the twelfth century a great activity
in church building, as a surpassing work of Christian piety, began to
manifest itself especially in northern France. This activity was not
to spend itself for more than a hundred years.[131] It absorbed much
of the best thought and energy of the time. In addition, it developed
a genuinely new type of architecture, a real innovation upon those
models traceable back to the pagan Greek. We come to the reign of the
pointed arch which adapts itself to endless curves and varieties. We
have, too, the grouped columns which uphold the groins of the lofty
vaulting, their members radiating outward like the boughs of a stately
forest. These columns and piers can be made amazingly light, thanks to
the daring use of flying buttresses, an invention not merely of great
utility, but of great beauty. Thanks also to these grouped pillars,
groins, and buttresses, the walls between the bays (intervals between
the columns) are in no wise needed to uphold the roof of stone; and as
a result these bays can be filled up with thin curtain walls crowned
above with enormous windows which are filled with a delicate tracery
and a stained glass that throws down upon the pavement of the church
all the rainbow tints of heaven. Each bay is likely to contain a
separate chapel or at least an altar to some particular saint. Over
the portal, where the main entrance gives access to the long nave,
radiates the mighty rose window, the final triumph of the glass and
tracery. And so through all the vast structure--huge in proportions,
yet, as it were, a harmonious mass of fair carving and jewel work,
until (even as says Holy Writ) "the whole body fitly joined together,
and compacted by that which every joint supplyeth, according to the
effectual working in every part, maketh increase of the body unto the
edifying of itself in love."
[Sidenote: Magnificent Dimensions of Cathedrals]
So the apostle of the making of a Christian man, so, too, of the
making of the august church. And after saying this, what profit to add
that this cathedral has a length of about four hundred feet, that the
ceiling of the nave rises at least one hundred feet above the pavement,
that the rose window is nearly forty feet in diameter, that the higher
tower is much more than two hundred?[132] Numbers are for sordid
traffic, they are not for a work wrought out of a passionate love of
man toward God.
We cannot stay to linger over the symbolism which they tell us is in
every part of the church; how the "Communion of Saints" is proclaimed
by the chapels clustering around the choir and nave; how the delicate
spire which rises at the center of the transepts teaches that
"vanquishing earthly desire we should also ascend in heart and mind";
how the triple breadth of the nave and two aisles, likewise the triple
stretch of the choir, transepts and nave, proclaim the Holy Trinity;
and how the serried armies of piers and columns announce the Prophets
and Apostles who uphold the fabric of the Church; while font, altar,
crucifix, and crosses innumerable attest the earthly pilgrimage and
redeeming passion of Jesus Christ.
But the cathedral is more than a great collection of allegories.
Everywhere in stained glass, and still more in the multitudinous
images, is told the Bible story. The characters are not clothed in
Hebraic fashion. "Baron Abraham" and "Sire David" appear in ring mail
like doughty cavaliers. The history of the good warrior Judas Maccabæus
perhaps is told in greater detail than that of prophets like Isaiah and
Jeremiah. But very few important stories are omitted, and, above all,
the great pageant of the life of Jesus is worked out in loving detail.
The child, who is brought time and again to visit the cathedral, knows
almost every essential Bible narrative, albeit he may never learn to
read even French, much less to con the Latin of the Vulgate. Likewise,
in the cathedral rest the tombs of brave seigneurs and worthy bishops,
each covered either with an effigy showing his armor and his beloved
hunting dogs couched at his feet, or in his pontificals; and the tombs
also of noble women, sculptured as richly clad, who have made life
beautiful by their worthy living, and who now rest securely until God's
great Judgment. So the cathedral is both a temple for the hopes of the
present, and an inspiration from the remote and nearer past.[133]
[Sidenote: Stained Glass and Sculptures]
After he had prayed beside his father and mother, little Anseau stole
away from the altar and wandered timidly about the church. In a corner
of a transept he found a stone craftsman completing a small image of
St. Elizabeth to adorn some niche. The sculptor was polishing the back
of the statue no less carefully than the front. "Why such trouble?"
asked the boy curiously. "No one can see the back." "Ah, my fair
damoiseau," replied the other, smiling, "no man, of course; _but God
can see_. This is for the Cathedral; and is God 'no one'?"
The next day, having spent all their money and become wearied of the
mechanic bustle of Pontdebois, Baron Conon and his company rode back to
St. Aliquis. After they had traveled for miles, the great mass of the
cathedral was still visible behind them.
The Feudal Age has produced very much that is evil--it has also
produced the Gothic church and its builders. By which ought the epoch
be judged?
Seven hundred years afterward the donjon of St. Aliquis is an
ivy-covered ruin. Vanished is the monastery; vanished, too, the
peasants' huts. In the smoky industrial city on the site of Pontdebois
not one ancient stone seems left upon another. But, hold! Soaring high
above ugly roof and factory chimney, with its airy pinnacles denouncing
a life of materialism and doubt, visited by admiring pilgrims from
beyond the Sea of Darkness, the great fabric of the gray cathedral
remains.
FOOTNOTES:
[127] Few or no cathedrals were _really_ completed at any time, in the
sense that all the details of their design were brought to perfection.
[128] For example, Notre Dame de Paris covered four times the floor
area of the Parthenon at Athens (a decidedly large Greek temple) with
its nave thrice as high as the older building. Of course, a Greek
temple was primarily for housing a holy image; the great sacrifices and
the throng of worshippers would be outside the edifice in the open,
unlike a Christian church.
[129] One device was to take an extra-precious relic and intrust it to
monks, who would place it in a cart and drive through a wide region
haranguing the faithful and holding out a purse for them to fill. At
Rouen one of the cathedral towers was known as the "Butter Tower,"
because it was largely built with money given for permission to eat
butter in Lent.
[130] At Rheims, prior to the German bombardment of 1914, there were
more than two thousand statues.
[131] During this period there were built in France some eighty
cathedrals and more than five hundred large and superior churches in
this Gothic style.
[132] Such figures would indicate that Pontdebois Cathedral was
somewhat smaller than Notre Dame de Paris. It could rank up well among
the great churches of France, yet not at all in the first class.
[133] St. John of Damascus, writing in the Orient in the eighth
century, gave what amounted to the standard justification of holy
images and pictures in churches and for the veneration of the same:
"I am too poor to possess books, I have no leisure for reading. I enter
the church choked with the cares of the world; the glowing colors
attract my sight like a flowery meadow; and the glory of God steals
imperceptibly into my soul. I gaze on the fortitude of the martyr and
the crown with which he is rewarded, and the fire of holy emulation is
kindled within me. I fall down and worship God _through_ the martyr;
and I receive salvation."
Index
A
Abbey, see Monastery.
Abbot, election and powers of, 321, 322.
sometimes profligate, 327.
Adubbement, see Knighthood.
Advocates, of monasteries, 332.
Alexander, romances of, 180.
Alms, collected at feasts, 129; see Charity.
Apprentices, 362.
Arbalists, 190.
Architecture, military, improved by Crusader, 18.
Aristotle, authority of, 336.
Armor, 191 ff.
Assembleur, a literary, 143.
B
Backgammon, 52.
Bailey of Castle, 22.
buildings and scene inside, 26.
Baillis, seigneurial officers, 10 nt.
_Banalités_, 258.
Banner, of baronial castle, 33.
Baptism, customs at, 81.
Barbican, 21.
Baronial family, of superior type, 14.
Baron, usual rights of, 7.
cruel and outrageous, 8, 9, 152.
typical feuds and neighbors, 13.
superior type of, 153.
Baronial feuds, 224 ff.
Barony, composition and government of, 10, 11.
Bath, before adubbement, 202.
Battle cries, 248.
Battle, Bouvines, typical of Feudal warfare, 241 ff.
mobilization for, 243.
preliminaries of, 244.
array of the armies, 245.
engagement of the infantry, 247, 248.
the battle cries, 248 nt.
charge of French cavalry, 248, 249.
flight of Otto IV, 250.
rout of Germans and Flemings, 251.
tactics and strategy employed, 251, 252.
Beards, shaved by noblemen, 95.
Beds, great feather, 39.
Bedrooms, furniture of, 38 ff.
Beer, 121.
Beffroi, in sieges, 237.
Bells, of communal donjon, 351.
Bertran de Born, war songs by, 176.
Betrothals, 105.
Beverages, 120, 121.
Bill of fare, at feasts, 128.
on fast days, 129.
Billiards, game of, 57.
Birth, customs at, 81.
Bishop, 373 ff.
honors of, 373.
wealth and power of, 374.
desirability of office, 376.
how elected, 377.
vast secular duties, 378.
employed by king or pope, 379.
wrote ecclesiastical duties, 380.
worldly types of, 380, 381.
forbidden secular luxuries, 381.
participates in warfare, 382.
friction with abbots and barons, 383.
abuse right to excommunicate, 383, 384.
interdict by, 384.
relations with canons, 385 ff.
relations with parish priests, 388 ff.
Bishops, visit disorderly monasteries, 326.
Books, elegant copies of, 341.
Brandy, 121.
Bread, varieties of, 118.
Bride, costume of, 107.
Bridegroom, costume of, 108.
Bridges, state of, 344.
Bridge tolls, baronial, 12.
Buffet of knighthood, 204, 205.
C
Camps, in feudal warfare, 243.
Canons, elect bishops, 377, 380.
nature of office, 385.
duties of, 386.
worldly and gross, 387.
Carpets of rushes, and "Saracen," 37.
Cartel of defiance, 229.
Carver, at feast, 127.
Castle, position of between rivers, 4.
built to resist Vikings, 5.
famous specimens of, 18.
siege of, 234 ff.
Castle, of St. Aliquis, original plan of, 16.
primitive tower of, 17;
disadvantages of early type, 18.
rebuilt on improved model, 19.
palisade before, 20.
barbican outer barrier, 21.
lists before bailey, 21.
bailey, gates and porters, 22.
walls and parapet, 23.
great difficulty of attacking, 24.
scene in the bailey, 26.
buildings in the bailey, 26, 27.
cookhouse in bailey, 28.
inner ward of, 28.
inner gate, 29.
main court yard of, 29.
donjon of, 30.
halls of, 30 ff.
prison under donjon, 33.
summit of great tower, 33.
watchman on tower, 34.
palais, main residential building, 34, 35.
furniture in hall and chambers, 36 ff.
Castle building, era of, 6.
Castle folk, one huge family, 46.
intimate relations between, 47, 48.
organization of, 48.
"Cat," siege engine, 237.
Cats, 84.
Cathedral, numerous uses of, 393.
express the best spirit of the age, 394.
erection a regional undertaking, 396.
initial stages of building, 397.
fraternity of builders, 398.
building a natural growth, 399.
use of arches, columns and buttresses, 400.
stately dimensions required, 401.
magnificent stained glass, 402.
every part a work of piety, 403.
Chambers, of baronial castle, 36.
Chansons de geste, 138 ff., 142.
Charity, 275 ff.
motives for, 276.
alms very customary, 277.
given by monasteries, 333.
Charter, communal, 352, 353.
Checkers, game of, 52.
Cheese, varieties of, 119.
Chess, in great acceptance, 54.
history of game, 55.
chessmen, 56.
Children, rearing of, 80 ff.
early education of, 82.
Christmas celebrations and plays, 294.
Church, endeavors to regulate marriages, 101, 102.
resists divorces, 102.
vast wealth of, 374 nt.
See Bishop, Abbey, Monastery, Canons, Priests, etc.
City, entrance to, 346.
crowded streets, 347.
lack of air and sanitation, 348.
population of, 347 nt.
great burghers of, 349.
burgher mansion, 349.
danger from fires, 350.
the civic donjons, 351.
communal charger, 352.
See Commune.
Cleanliness, personal, among upper classes, 42.
lack of, in woolen clothing, 89.
Clergy, legal privileges of, 159, 375.
see Bishop, Canons, Priests, Monks.
Clerk, see clergy, Church, etc.
Cloisters, of abbey, 317.
Clothing, of peasants, 264.
Coinage, confusion in, 366.
Commerce, see Shops, Industries, Fairs.
Commune, charter of, 352, 353.
privileges of inhabitants, 353.
clergy rail at Commune, 354.
communal insurrections, 354.
jurisdiction of bishop, 355.
rule by echevins and rich merchants, 355, 356.
Corvées, 258.
Courtesy, training in, 184.
Cowls, 320.
Clothing, male and female, 88 ff.
materials used, 89.
garments of noblemen, 90.
headdress for men, 91.
garments of noblewomen, 91.
use of silks and furs, 92.
rapid changes in fashions, 93.
dress of lower classes, 94.
headdress of women, 95.
conspicuous costumes to indicate evil characters, 98.
Cookery and foods, 113 ff.
implements in cookhouse, 114.
meat frequently boiled, 114.
game especially desired, 114, 115.
butcher's meat, 115.
poultry, 116.
fish, 117.
soups, 117.
meat pies, 117.
Cookhouse, in a castle, 28.
Cosmetics, use of by women, 97.
Cross bows, 190.
Crusades, on wane in XIII century, 3.
improve military architecture, 18.
D
Dais, in castle hall, 36.
Damoiseau, 185.
Dances, varieties of, 133.
Dancing, passion for, 84, 85.
Dean, of canons, 386.
Devil, belief in, 302.
assists wizards and witches, 303.
Dice, games with, 52.
sinfulness of, 53, 54.
Dinners, menu at castle in ordinary days, 49.
Divining, 306.
Divorces, resisted by Church, 102.
Dogs, very desirable for hunting, 64.
Donjon, of castle, 30 ff.
of a commune, 351.
Dinner customs, 122 ff.
See Feast.
Drawbridges, of castle, 22, 28.
Dress, see Clothing.
E
Echevins, in commune, 355.
Economic self-sufficiency, of a well-ruled barony, 46.
Education, of young nobleman, 176 ff.
ideals inculcated, 178.
training in letters, 179.
reading of romances, 180.
training in riding, fencing and hawking, 181.
maxims inculcated, 181, 182.
placed out as squire, 182.
training as squire, 182-184.
taught jousting, 183.
learns "courtesy," 184.
good side of training, 186.
premium on prodigality, 186, 187.
demanding knighthood, 187.
Effeminate knights, 188.
Emancipation, of villeins, 256.
Ensigns, before city houses, 350.
Epics, North French, 142, 143.
Excommunication, of a lawless baron, 9.
a public declaration of, 289.
abuse of, by bishops, 383, 384.
Executions, varieties of, 170 ff, 173.
beheading honorable penalty, 173.
hanging, usual method, 173,174.
ceremonies at gallows, 174, 175.
F
Fairs, 365 ff.
attended by great multitudes, 366.
very profitable to founders, 368.
numerous commodities on sale, 369.
regulation of traffic, 370.
amusements at, 371.
Falconry, see Hawking.
Family life in a castle, 70.
Famines, among peasantry, 255.
Fealty, oath of, 157.
Feast, formal, arrangement of guests, 126.
beginning of dinner, 126.
serving the meats, 127.
typical bill of fare, 128.
on a fast day, 129.
closing ceremonies, 130.
vast plenty and carousing, 130, 131.
Feudal civilization, reaches climax in XIII century, 2.
Feudalism, 146 ff.
nature of, 147.
absence of true gradations in, 148.
duties of fief holders, 149.
military service usually essential, 150.
arrogance of many barons, 151, 152.
outrageous baronial tyrants, 152.
better types of barons, 153.
how fiefs are expanded, 154.
accession to a barony, 154, 155.
doing homage, 156.
oath of fealty, 157.
vassalage honorable, 158.
Feuds, baronial, 224 ff.
frequency of, 225.
waged within families, 225.
limitations upon baronial, 226.
pitched battles infrequent, 226.
absence of strategy, 227.
great valor of warriors, 228.
origins of a typical feud, 229.
delivering the "cartel," 229.
assembling the vassals, 230.
a baronial "array," 231.
ravaging of noncombatants, 232.
a petty battle, 233.
use of mercenaries, 234.
siege of a castle, 235 ff.
Fiefs, varieties of, 147.
duties of fief holders, 149.
Fish, demand for, 117.
use of, 129.
Flowers, garden, 68, 69.
Foods, see Cookery.
Foresters, seigneurial, 259.
France, in full mediæval bloom in XIII century, 2.
French, rise of as literary language, 141.
Frescoes, in castle, 35.
Friendship, tokens of, 106.
Fruit trees, 68, 69.
Funeral customs, 284 ff.
caskets and interments, 285.
Furniture, of castle halls, 36, 37.
of bedrooms, 38 ff.
Furs, wearing of, 92.
G
Gambling, with dice, 53, 54.
Game, wild, cannot be killed by peasants, 67.
greatly desired at feasts, 114.
varieties of game birds, 116.
Game Laws, oppressive, 272.
Games and amusements, 51 ff.
Garden of a castle, 67 ff.
frequent place for gatherings, 68.
herbs and vegetables in, 68.
constant demand for flowers, 69.
Generosity, virtues of nobles, 186.
Gifts, constantly exchanged among nobles, 187.
Girls, noble, education of young, 83 ff.
are devoted to hawks and dancing, 84.
Glass, used for windows in castle, 35.
Guilds, 360 ff.
great subdivisions of, 360.
friction between, 360, 361.
regulations of, 361.
management of, by syndics, 362.
apprentices, 362.
hired workers, 363.
masters in guilds, 363.
H
Handwashing before meals, 125.
Hangmen, 166 ff.
burns dishonest cloth, 349.
Hair, customs of wearing, 95.
false hair used by women, 97.
Halls of castle, 30 ff.
very murky in donjon, 32.
more elegant in palais, 35.
Hauberks, 191.
Hawking, vast delight in, 57.
hawks always exhibited, 58.
varieties of hawks and falcons, 59.
complicated art of "Falconry," 59.
training of hawks, 60.
good falconers precious, 60.
professional jargon of, 61.
prayers over hawks, 61.
excellent sport with, 62.
Heralds, at tourneys, 212 ff.
Hermits, 296.
"Herodias's daughter," dance of, 136, 137.
Homage, ceremony of, 156.
Hospitality, baronial, 43 ff.
ceremony of receiving guests, 44.
Heiresses, given in marriage by suzerain, 102.
Helmets, 192.
Horses, indispensable in war, 196.
varieties of, 197.
trappings of, 198.
presentation to new knights, 205.
Hot cockles, game of, 52.
Houses, of peasants, 263.
huts of the very poor, 265.
dwelling of rich burghers, 344.
seldom of stone, 351.
Hunting, serious business, 63.
many wild animals, 63.
equipment of hunters, 64.
dogs essential for, 64.
chasing down a great boar, 64 ff.
return from the hunt, 66, 67.
hunting across peasants' lands, 67.
I
"Immunity," possessed by barons, 7 nt.
Imposts, on peasants, 258.
Infantry, in battle, 245, 247, 248.
Inns, 345, 346.
Industries, in towns, 357 ff.
trades in special streets, 358.
shopkeepers, 359.
regulation by officials, 359.
See Guilds.
Interest, on money, taken by Jews, 365.
Interdict, 384.
Isabella, Queen, forced by her barons to change husbands, 100.
J
Jews, in cities, 364, 365.
Jongleurs, 132 ff.
varieties of, 133.
trick performers, 134.
depraved montebanks, 135.
jongleurs in great demand, 136.
troupes of, 136, 137.
a superior type of jongleur, 138.
gives a recitation, 139 ff.
Jousting, training in, 184.
See Tourneys.
Justice, administration of, 159 ff.
no equality before the law, 159, 160.
judicial powers of a baron, 160.
"low justice" pertains to petty nobles, 161.
laws enforced by the provosts, 161, 162.
formal assizes, 162.
ordeal by battle, 162.
checks upon such ordeals, 163.
summary treatment of villeins, 164.
types of peasant litigation, 165.
fate of condemned bandits, 165 ff.
K
King, seeks as many vassals as possible, 12.
Knighthood, who can demand, 187.
by whom bestowed, 200.
nature of an adubbement, 200, 201.
vigil at arms, 201, 202.
dressing the candidates, 203.
ceremony of adubbement, 204.
presentation of horses, 205.
exercises of new knights, 206.
Knights, effeminate types of, 188.
L
Lances, 195.
Last Day, fear of, 288.
Lighting of halls and bedrooms, 39.
Lists, before castle, 21.
Lovers, presents between, 106.
M
Manners, for young ladies, 71 ff.
Marriage ceremony, 109, 110.
Marriage, 98 ff.
usual reasons for marriages, 99.
ages for, 99.
heiresses compelled to marry, 100.
very sudden marriages, 101.
attempts of Church to regulate, 101-102.
young girls wedded to aged barons, 103.
negotiation of a marriage treaty, 103, 104.
desirable qualities in a bridegroom, 104.
betrothal ceremonies, 105.
intercourse of betrothed couple, 105, 106.
preparation for wedding, 106.
wedding proceedings, 107 ff.
customs of peasants, 266.
Marshall, of a castle, 48.
"Mass of the Ass," 292.
Masters, in guilds, 363.
Mealtimes and dinner customs, 42, 122.
Meats, abundance and varieties of at feasts, 128.
Medical Art, 280 ff.
conducted by executioners and barkers, 280, 281.
use of bleedings, 281.
professional physicians, 281 ff.
their jargon, 282.
healing relics and processions, 283.
Mêlée, climax to tourneys, 221.
Mercenaries, use of, 234.
Merchants, see Shops, Fairs, etc.
Mining, in sieges, 239.
Minstrels, see Jongleurs.
Miracles, belief in, 300.
Moats of castle, 22, 28.
Mobilization, for battle, 242, 243.
Monastery, 312 ff.
Benedictine foundations, 314.
land and buildings, 314, 315.
abbey church, 316.
cloisters, 317.
dormitory, 318.
refectory, 319.
adornments of buildings, 320.
costume of monks, 320, 321.
discipline and organization, 321.
duties and occupations of monks, 322, 323.
persons becoming monks, 324.
a disorderly monastery, 326.
specimen abuses, 327.
struggle against idleness in, 330.
bequests to, 331.
secular "advocates" of, 332.
agriculture and industries in, 333.
almsgiving by, 333.
manual labor by monks, 334.
copying of books, 335.
study of pagan authors, 335.
curriculum of study, 336.
authority of Aristotle, 336.
scientific works, 337.
study of botany and geology, 338.
writing chronicles, 339.
piety of book copying, 340.
beautiful manuscripts, 341.
Monasticism, see Monastery and Monks.
Money, hardly necessary on an average barony, 46.
varieties of coinage, 366.
Monks, many sick or infirm, 319 nt.
costume of, 320.
discipline of, 321 ff.
persons becoming monks, 324.
See Monastery.
Montebanks, 135.
_Montjoie St. Denis_, 248 nt.
Morality, of castle life, 77-78.
Music, delight in, 132.
Mystery plays, 294, 295.
N
Needlework, by castle women, 80.
Night, closing castle for, 49.
Nightdresses, not used in feudal ages, 42.
Nobles, employed around a castle, 48.
O
Omens, belief in, 300, 301.
Ordeal, by battle, 162.
by fire, 170, 171.
Oriflamme, royal standard, 245.
Otto IV, see Battle, Bouvines.
P
Palisade, before a castle, 20.
Passions, hot and childish in feudal ages, 47, 48.
Patrons, of parish churches, 388, 389.
Peasants, forbidden to kill game, 67.
inferior weapons of, 189.
life of, 253 ff.
always considered inferior, 254.
population dense, 254.
in danger from famines, 255.
frequently emancipated from serfdom, 256.
status of free "villeins," 257.
constantly exploited, 258.
lands much divided, 259.
primitive agricultural methods, 261.
calamity of short crops, 261, 262.
a peasant family, 262.
its house and furniture, 263.
clothing of peasants, 264.
very poor peasants, 265.
villein marriage customs, 266.
long hours of toil, 267.
lack of education, 267, 268.
filthy habits, 269.
sullen and impious characters, 270.
gross oppression by knights, 271.
severe game laws, 272.
futile peasant revolts, 273.
popular village sports, 274.
Pellison, 90, 91.
Penance, public, 290.
Philip Augustus, see Battle, Bouvines.
Physicians, see Medical Art.
Pilgrimage, as penance, 297.
shrines frequented, 298.
sacredness of Rome, 299.
Pillory, 171.
Pleasures, usual, of a baron, 43.
Pork, demand for, 115.
Porters of castle, 22.
Poultry, 116.
Priests, parish, 388 ff.
how appointed, 388, 389.
scandalous appointments, 389, 390.
status of, in villages, 390.
charges against, 391.
many faithful and learned, 391, 392.
Prior, of abbey, 322.
Prison, sometimes under donjon, 33.
treatment of inmates, 168, 169.
fearful dungeons in, 169.
Privacy, absence of in baronial castle, 36.
Provosts, 8, 10.
enforce law on barony, 161 ff, 259.
Q
_Quadrivium_, 336.
_Quintain_, 185.
R
Ragman's roll, 51.
Ransoms, sought in tourneys, 220.
Recluses, 296.
Reign of Folly, 291.
Relics, holy, used for healing, 282, 283.
saints, 307 ff.
collections of, 308.
great value of, 309.
often spurious, 310.
"translations" of, 311.
Religion, popular, 286 ff.
attitude of knights, 287.
fear of Last Day, 288.
Excommunications, 289.
public penance, 290.
festive side of religion, 291.
"Reign of Folly," 291.
Mass of the Ass, 292.
Worship of the Virgin, 293.
Christmas celebrations, 294.
mystery plays, 295.
hermits and recluses, 296.
pilgrims, 297 ff.
belief in spirits, 301 ff.
Rings, customs with, 95, 96.
Rising, early hour for, 41.
Roads, evil state of, 344.
Roland, Chanson de, 138.
ordeal by battle in, 162.
Romances, North French, 142, 143.
read by young nobles, 180.
Roman Law, returning to vogue, 160.
Rome, resort for pilgrims, 299.
Routine of the day, for a baron, 43.
Rushes for carpets in castle halls, 37.
S
Sanitation, lacking in castle cookhouses, 28.
not sufficiently guarded even by nobility, 42.
Scientific studies, in monasteries, 337 ff.
Seigneurial officers, 259.
Self-sufficiency of a well-ruled barony, 46.
Seneschal, of a castle, 48.
Serfdom, 256.
Service, personal, honorable for nobles, 48.
Servants, abundant in castles, 85.
organization and duties of, 86.
Service, at table, 123.
Shields, 193.
Shopkeepers, 358, 359.
Shoes, 90.
Shrines, sought by pilgrims, 298.
Sickness, frequent in Middle Ages, 277.
leprosy and other plagues, 278.
great losses in childbirth, 279.
healing saints, 279, 280.
mediæval medicine, 280 ff.
Siege of a castle, 234 ff.
varieties of siege engines, 236, 237.
the beffroi, 237.
mantelets, 238.
undermining a wall, 239.
Silks, for apparel, 92.
_Sortes Apostolorum_, 306.
Soups, 117.
Spirits, supernatural, belief in, 301.
Squires, taught to serve at table, 123.
training and duties of, 182-184.
Subinfeudation, 12.
Superstitions, of peasants, 306.
See Witchcraft, Devil, etc.
Surcoat, introduction of, 93.
Suzerains, see Feudualism.
Swords, 194.
Syndics, of guilds, 362.
Syria, famous castles in, 19.
T
Tables, at dinner, 124.
Tapestries, in castles, 37, 38.
Taverns, 345.
Tennis, game of, 57.
Thirteenth Century: height of the Middle Ages, 2.
Tilting, see Tourneys.
Times for meals, 42.
Tolls, on commerce, 367.
Tortures, 165 ff.
vainly discouraged by Pope Nicholas I, 166.
methods of, 167 ff.
Tolls, at a baron's bridge, 12.
Towers of castle, 23.
Trade, in towns, 358 ff.
See Fairs.
Travelers, usually welcomed at castles, 44.
Travel, 343-345.
Trenchers, at feast, 127.
Tristan and Ysolt, story of, 139.
_Trivium_, 336.
Trojan War, romances of, 179.
Troubadour songs, 144, 145.
Tourneys, 208 ff.
"crying" the tourney, 208.
people attracted to them, 209.
early tourneys were battles, 209, 210.
denounced by Church, 210.
arrangements for, 210, 211.
lists and lodges, 211.
opening ceremonies, 212.
procession of jousters, 213.
armor and bizarre costumes worn, 214.
jousting by pairs, 215.
art of lance-breaking, 216.
a bloody duel, 217.
defending a barrier, 218, 219.
dueling for ransoms, 220.
the mêlée, 221, 222.
vast expense of tourneys, 223.
Trouvéres, 142 ff.
Tyranny, of outrageous barons, 8, 9.
V
Vassals, can have two or more seigneurs, 11.
desire to hold from the king, 12.
summons of, to war, 230.
see Feudalism, Homage, etc.
Vegetables, 68, 118.
Vigil before knighthood, 202.
Vikings, castles built to resist them, 5.
Villeins, subject to summary justice, 164.
See Peasants.
Virgin, The, popular worship of, 293.
W
Walls of castle, 23.
Wars, nobles delight in, 176.
almost incessant, 224.
varieties of, 225.
See Feuds.
Watchman, on castle tower, 34.
Weapons, give superiority to nobles, 189.
arms preferred by them, 189, 190.
missile weapons non-noble, 191.
armor, 191 ff.
hauberks and helmets, 192.
shields, 193.
swords, 194.
lances, 195.
Wedding proceedings, 106 ff.
bridal procession, 109.
ceremony at church, 109, 110.
presents at wedding, 110.
great feast at wedding, 111.
Windows, glass in castle, 35.
stained glass in churches, 402.
Wine, 120.
Witchcraft, 303 ff.
casting a spell, 305.
lawful forms of divining, 306.
Witches, 303-305.
Wizards, 303-305.
Women, noble, praised for beauty by minstrels, 70.
types of female beauty, 71.
taught good manners, 72, 73.
married off against their will, 74.
can be harshly treated, 74, 75.
sometimes grossly neglected, 76.
often extremely coarse, 77.
alleged shortcomings of, 78.
accomplishments of, 79.
manage children and household, 80 ff.
Woolens, generally used for garments, 89.
_Books of Art and Artcraft_
HISTORY OF ART By Elie Faure
Volume I--_Ancient Art_ _Translated from the French by Walter Pach_
No History of Art fills the place of this one. It shows art to be the
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tells _why_ and _how_ man constructs works of art. _Nearly 200 unusual
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DEVELOPMENT OF EMBROIDERY IN AMERICA By Candace Wheeler
A history of embroidery from the quill and beadwork of the American
Indians to the artistic achievement of the present. A book to delight
the collector and to serve as a guide for the art student, designer,
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HOW FRANCE BUILT HER CATHEDRALS
By Elizabeth Boyle O'Reilly
The Boston _Herald_ writes: "It is a monumental work, of living
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PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION
By John D. Whiting
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HARPER & BROTHERS
Franklin Square New York
_Humor and Drama_
By Distinguished Authors
THE MAN FROM HOME
By Booth Tarkington and Harry Leon Wilson
The scene takes place in Italy, and the American humor shows up
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MONNA VANNA By Maurice Maeterlinck
One of the Belgian poet's most powerful dramas. The scenes are laid at
Pisa, Italy, at the end of the fifteenth century. _Portrait._
L'AIGLON By Edmond Rostand
This, the only English edition published of the story of the great
Napoleon's unfortunate son, was translated by Louis N. Parker. It is
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PARTING FRIENDS
By William Dean Howells
A farcical scene on an outgoing steamer, when two sweethearts can find
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THE MOUSE-TRAP
By William Dean Howells
This volume contains in compact form four of Howells's most popular
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Tea, The Mouse-Trap, A Likely Story. _Illustrated._
HARPER & BROTHERS
Franklin Square New York
* * * * *
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
Minor punctuation errors repaired.
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_
The image "Listening to a Trouvère in a Château of the Thirteenth
Century" is shown in the list of Illustrations as "Facing p. 140" It is
actually placed between p251 and p252 in the original. The position in
the original has been retained, but its placement may be a printer's
error.
p60 "along with hugh goshawks" replaced with
"along with huge goshawks"
p73 "she will peversely do these very things" replace with
"she will perversely do these very things"
p91 "simplifications here and elaborations elsewere" replaced with
"simplifications here and elaborations elsewhere"
"oramented with gold embroideries" replaced with
"ornamented with gold embroideries"
p94 "veils common in the succeeding age" replaced with
"veils common in the suceeding age"
p100 "the crown of Jersualem became vacant" replaced with
"the crown of Jerusalem became vacant"
p106 "praising his finacée's beauty." replaced with
"praising his fiancée's beauty."
p143 "another entertainer than Maitre Edmond" replaced with
"another entertainer than Maître Edmond"
p148 "as our forefathers sent the old Carrolingians." replaced with
"as our forefathers sent the old Carolingians."
p153 "for his suzerian the duke" replaced with
"for his suzerain the duke"
p156 "as Father Grégorie says, pithily" replaced with
"as Father Grégoire says, pithily"
Footnote 55: "feel that they had sinnned beyond pardon." replaced with
"feel that they had sinned beyond pardon."
p206 "montionless for an instant" replaced with
"motionless for an instant"
p207 "he is knighted and can speak for hmself" replaced with
"he is knighted and can speak for himself"
p212 "sendel and samite," replaced with
"sendal and samite,"
p213 "They do down one side" replaced with
"They go down one side"
"This process will keep up though the games." replaced with
"This process will keep up through the games."
p235 "said Jerome, smilingly" replaced with
"said Jerôme, smilingly"
p268 "Father Etienne is the only person" replaced with
"Father Étienne is the only person"
p292 "bishops fight against instrusions" replaced with
"bishops fight against intrusions"
p319 "too feeble to to get to the church." replaced with
"too feeble to get to the church."
p371 "while the Pointdebois traders" replaced with
"while the Pontdebois traders"
p378 "differs largely from a seigneur n that" replaced with
"differs largely from a seigneur in that"
p384 "the Church by a humiliating penace" replaced with
"the Church by a humiliating penance"
p394 "by the Church in the Fuedal Age" replaced with
"by the Church in the Feudal Age"
Footnote 128 "and the throng of worshipers" replaced with
"and the throng of worshippers"
p405 "Advocates, of monastries" replaced with
"Advocates, of monasteries"
p413 "Suzerains, see Feudualism" replaced with
"Suzerains, see Feudalism"