Page:The child's pictorial history of England; (IA childspictorialh00corn).pdf/106

 places, the houses in them being very little better than wooden sheds.

28. There were no shops, so that every thing was bought, as formerly, at the markets and fairs.

29. A great many merchants, from London, France, and Flanders, used to bring goods to the fairs for sale, and they were obliged to pay tolls and duties to the lord of the manor, which came to a great deal of money, because they brought a quantity of valuable merchandise, as the nobles themselves purchased their wearing apparel, jewellery, spices, and many other commodities, at the fairs, which sometimes lasted fifteen days.

30. The dress of the great nobility, in the fourteenth century, was very handsome, for they wore mantles of satin or velvet, with borders worked in gold, over jackets highly embroidered; and their velvet caps were often adorned with jewels.

31. The middle classes wore close coats of cloth, with leather belts round the waist, such as the Blue-Coat Boys now wear, and they had tight pantaloons, short boots, and cloth caps.

32. The clothing of the working people was made of very coarse wool, sometimes undyed, and all spun and woven at home by the women,