Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/244

 232 HISTORY OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE appurtenances of their superiors. Here we see a broken scabbard, and there a naked knee obtruding from a torn hose. Thanks to the number of these genre pictures, done by the best artists of the time, we are familiar with the manners of the day, and can contrast them with those of later times. A market scene is represented in a miniature or on glass in which women and young girls recommend their wares and offer them for sale — white bread and butter on a white plate, eggs in baskets, and milk in jugs. Pigeons and young chickens are tied in hampers, which are carried on the heads of the women, who wear dresses made of coarse stuff, the bodices high in the neck and crossed over the bosom, the skirts scant and of convenient length. An apron is tied by strings knotted in front. The hair, divided in the middle, is allowed to hang loose by the young girls, while by the older women it is hidden under a handkerchief, which hangs loosely down or is tied under the chin. We also find the popular amusements of the day represented with the same precision and accuracy. For instance, one picture shows us children spinning tops, trundling hoops, playing blindman's buff, swing- ing and turning somersaults. Another shows us older people amusing themselves with chess, backgammon, and dice. May festivals and shooting parties are often represented. Dancing being the favourite, indeed the general, amusement of the people in the Middle Ages, it naturally formed a constant subject for art. The lower orders always preferred to dance in the open air. The inns never contained dancing-halls, and we see the gay crowds collected on the green, dancing to the music of