Page:A short history of social life in England.djvu/95



MERGING from the dark days of turbulence after the Norman Conquest, when the Englishman's castle was in very deed and truth his home, we turn to the thirteenth century to find considerable development in the social life of our forefathers. The days of warfare past, the English home no longer required the strong defensive construction of the castle, with its frowning battlements and towers. Smaller dwellings with less gloomy surroundings now succeeded the fortress home, and the English manor-house sprang into existence. The Norman hall still played a large part in its construction. Though no longer built over dark dungeons for