Page:A short history of social life in England.djvu/143

 CHAPTER X

Fifteenth Century

CHURCH AND PEOPLE

T is impossible to turn from the manners and customs of the Middle Ages without noting the immense influence of the Church on the social life of the people. In her "yet unbroken unity," she "appealed with overpowering force to the imagination of her children. Her ceremonies were associated with every important phase of private life from the cradle to the grave; her cathedrals and parish churches were the only public buildings to which every class had the same rights and opportunities of access &hellip; her sanctuaries alone could give passing shelter to 123