Page:A short history of social life in England.djvu/144

 the hunted criminal or outlaw, her holidays alone brought rest and freedom to the serf."

In the very midst of town and hamlet stood the parish church—the pride and joy of the people. Gradually the Norman style, already described, had been replaced by the pointed arch of Gothic architecture, and after a period of transition, during which the nave of Durham Cathedral and the choir of Canterbury arose, the Early English style came in, and was first used on a large scale in Lincoln Cathedral, to be replaced in its turn by the Perpendicular. While their homes, judged by our modern standards, were yet bare and comfortless, our ancestors lavished money and thought on the decoration of their church. To adorn and beautify it was a labour of love in which every class of society shared. The poor man gave his toil, the prosperous burgher presented painted glass windows, the successful gilds bestowed altar-cloths, the traveller brought back Eastern silks, the wealthy gave silver chalices, embroidered copes, costly hangings, banners, lamps, shrines; no man died without bequeathing what he could to his parish church. So likewise the local artist carved the seats, local scribes wrote the