Page:A short history of social life in England.djvu/85

Rh To guard against any attempted rising on the part of the conquered, castles were built in every position of importance, and these were the homes of the Norman barons. Familiar enough are the remains of these old Norman keeps to-day—familiar the thick massive walls, standing four square on rising ground, surrounded by river or moat, and entered by the solid and inhospitable gateway. Familiar are the towers and battlements frowning defiance over the surrounding country, their narrow slits of windows suggestive of draughts and sunlessness within. Inside is the square courtyard, grass growing unheeded on the spot where once clanked hosts of armed men. We see again the long hall, or salle, as the newcomers renamed it, at once dining-room and justice hall, serving as of old for sleeping accommodation for retainers and dogs, when the long day was done and the baronial family had ascended the outside staircase which led to their comfortless bedroom. For one bedroom in those days did duty for the whole family. The lord and his lady had a roof and hangings to their bed, while the rest of the family occupied small beds ranged round the room.

Quilts, made of feathers, seem to have taken the