As schools, too, the monasteries did no trifling service to society in the Middle Ages. In addition to their influence as great centres of learning, English law had enjoined every mass- priest to keep a school in his parish church, where all the young committed to his care might be instructed. This custom continued long after the Norman Conquest. In the Trinity College Psalter we have a picture of a Norman school, where the pupils sit in a circular row around the master as he lectures to them from a long roll of manu. Two writers sit by the desk, busy with copies resembling that which the teacher holds.
The youth of the middle classes, destined for the cloister or the merchant"s stall, chiefly thronged these schools. The aristocracy cared little for book-learning. Very few indeed of the barons could read or write. But all could ride, fence, tilt, play, and carve extremely well; for to these accomplishments many years of pagehood and squirehood were given.
The only Norman coin we have is the silver penny. Round halfpence and farthings were probably issued. As in Old English days, the gold was foreign. In the reign of the Conqueror, and for some time afterwards, tax-collectors and merchants reckoned money after the English fashion.
- W. F. COLLIER
WORDS
aristocracy, nobility. betokened, indicated. chronicles, annals. committed, intrusted. cornices, mouldings. decorated, adorned. destined, intended. dissection, cutting up. elaborate, minute. excitement, commotion. exterior, outside. familiar, well known. fealty, allegiance. husbandry, agriculture.
illuminations, illustrations. lavished, squandered. managed, contrived. manifest, evident. manus, writings.
meed, reward. mere, lake. palisade, fence. perforated, pierced. privilege, right. reckless, heedless.
reckoned, calculated. rejoiced, gloried. resounded, echoed. retainers, adherents. ribald, vulgar. scientific, systematic. snatching, seizing. suspended, up-hung. temperance, abstinence.
tenements, lands and houses.
tournament, tilt.
vanished, disappeared.
NOTES
① Keep, the tall square tower forming the strongest and securest part of the castle; called also the donjon , or mastertower. [Lat. dominio , from dominus , a lord.] The under-ground part of the donjon was used as a prison; hence dungeon .
② Portcullis, a huge gate of crossed timbers hung in the gateway of a castle, where itcould be let down suddenly to bar the entrance.
③ Oriel, a large projecting window forming a recess in the room, usually richly decorated, and filled with stained glass. Oriel means literally a portico, and was applied originally to a recess at the end of a Gothic hall.
④ Franklin, a freeholder. [Fr. franc , Ger. frank , free.]
⑤ Jesses, short straps.
⑥ The author of "Ivanhoe," Sir Walter Scott.-Ivanhoe , one of his most fascinating romances, is a story of the times of Richard I., the Lion Heart.
⑦ Quintain, an ancient tilt-board, consisting of a cross-bar turning upon an upright post, and having a broad board at the one end, and a bag full of sand at the other. If the horseman missed the board, he was laughed at; and if he hit it, he had to avoid being knocked off his horse by the bag of sand which then swung round to his back.
⑧ Joust (joost ), mellay.-The former was tilting in sport; the latter was tilting in earnest. Both are French words, as nearly all the words in the language of chivalry are. "Joust" is from jouster , jouter , to come together; whence Eng. jostle . "Mellay" is from melee (may-lay) , a confused crowd, from meler, to mix .
⑨ Lickers, that is, gluttons. [Old Fr. lescheur , Ger. lecken , to lick; whence Eng. lickerish , dainty, nice in food.]
⑩ Juggler, that is lit., joker . [Fr. jongleur , fun; Lat. jocus , a joke or jest.]
Scriptorium, that is, writing-room. From Lat. or , a writer; scribere , to write.
Caen stone, a fine white stone found near Caen in Normandy, which is built of it. The stone is exported to great distances on account of its beauty. Caen was at one time the capital of the dukedom of Normandy in France; and there William the Conqueror and his Queen are buried.
QUESTIONS
What did the structure of Norman castles betoken? How were they protected from attacks? What was the oath of fealty? How was a Norman keep furnished? In what out-door sports did the Normans engage? On what occasions were tournaments held? What was the difference between a joust and a mellay ? What social fact underlies the distinction between ox , sheep,&c., and beef , mutton , &c.? Who were the jugglers? What useful purposes did monasteries serve in those times? What is the difference in architecture between the castles and the monasteries? How is this to be explained? What classes of society were taught in the schools of the Middle Ages? Why not the aristocracy? What is the only Norman coin we have? How was money reckoned after the Norman Conquest?