Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 1.djvu/321

Rh tells him that the wall of the adjacent hall is in one part weak and dilapidated enough to allow of his obtaining an entrance through it; but Lancelot prefers breaking open the grating in order to approach directly into the chamber, to passing through the hall, in which it appears in the sequel that the seneschal Sir Kay was sleeping for the purpose of acting as a spy on the queen's conduct. It is an interesting drawing, even in its details, for the door of the hall exhibits the lock, knocker, and hinges of that time, and the roof is a perfect example of early tiling. The chimney also is distinguished by a peculiar style, which runs through all the drawings in this MS., and may be compared with that of the house in the seal engraved in our last number. Over Lancelot's head is the soler, with its window. In addition to the passages already cited from the fabliaux relating to the soler, or upper floor, it may be observed that it appears to have been in the thirteenth century a proverbial characteristic of an avaricious and inhospitable person, to shut his hall door and live in the soler.

We have a very elegant example of the chimney in fig. 4, representing part of the house of a knight, whose wife has an intrigue with one of the heroes of these romances, King Claudas. The knight laid watch to take the king as he was in the lady's chamber at night, but the king being made aware of his danger, escaped by the chamber window, while the knight approached by the hall door—the illumination of which this is a fragment represents—Ensi que li roys Claudas s'enfuit par mi un fenestre, por le signour de l'ostel qu'il veoit venir.

The manuscript from which we are quoting contains many interesting illustrations of the minor castellated buildings, of which some description was given in our former article, representing the manner in which the towers, &c. were roofed, with the wood-works on the top. In one of the romances a duke of