The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-08-24

gloub austerltles. Extravaganza in dress pre-
Valled AT that time among men aud women TO
such degree tbat Parliament was appealed to
on the subject in 1868. From the Knights ex-
hottatlon on the subject, this mania seems to
nave affected the women alarmngly and the
examples given of the passion Tor dress appear
70 surpass what is acknowledged in our day. Yet
the vast increase of materials as well as the
extended interests aud objects opened to woman
now. renders the eXtravagance Of dress in the
Middle Ages far less repreheDsible.
Ihe record OF woman's work in the Middle
Ages includes far more than the account of
what her needle accomplished. The position of
the mistress Of family in those centuries was
no sinecure. When we look up at castles
Eerched on rocks or walk through the echolng
apartments OF baronial halls we know that
woman must have worked there with brain and
hngefs: The household and Its dependencies,
IN such mansions consisted of more than q
score OF Lersons, and provisions must be laid
IN during the autumn for many months. As
we glance at the enormous fre-paces and
ovens in the kitchens of those castles
and halls, and remember the weight of
the armor men wore we can readily imagine
that no trifing supply OF brawn and beef was
needed ior their meals; and the sight of a hus-
band irownng out of one of those old helmets
because the dinner was scanty, must have been
a fearful trial 10 feminine nerves. The title of
Lady means the "Gver of bread" in Saxon,
and the lady of the castle dispensed food to
many beyond her own hous ehold
The task of preparing the raiment of the family
devolved upon the women; for there were no
expensive articles. Wool, the produce of
the loCk was carded and spun; fax was
grown, and woven into coarse linen; and
both materials we're prepared and fash
Toned into garments at home. Glimpses
OF domestic life come down to us through early
legends and records, some OF which modern
genius has melodiZed. Authentic history and
romantic story often show us that women of all
| ranks were little better, in fact, than household
drudees to these splendid knights and courtly
old barons. The far Enid sang charming song
cha horN hpo1. h,tt u1No
rived she not only assisted her mother to re-
ceive him, but, by her fathers order, led the
| knights charger TO the STALL and gave him
| corn. If she also relieved the noble animal of
| his heavy saddle and horse furniture, gave him
| water as well as corn, and shook down the dry
| turze Tor his bed she must have had the courage
| ana skill OF feminine Rarey; and we fear
her dress OF faded silk came out of the stable in
very dilapldated condition. After the horse
| was cared for, Enid put her wits and hands 10
work to prepare the evening meal, ana spread
| it before her father and his guest. The knight,
| indeed, condescended to think her 'sweet and
serviceablep
The women of those days are often described
| only as they appeared at festivals and tourna-
| ments-ladies OF beauty, to whom knights low
| cred their lances, OF whom troubadours sang
| They had their amusements and their trlumphs,
| doubtless; but they also had their work, domes-
| tic, industrial, and sanitary They knew how
to bind up wounds and care tor the sick, and we
| read many records OF their knowledge in this
| department Elaine, when she found Sir Laun-
| Celot terribly wounded in the cave, SO skilfully
| aided him that, wneh the old hermit came who
was learned in ell the simples and science of the
| times, he told the knight that cher hne care
| had saved his lite"-a pleasing assurance that
! there were medical men in those days, as we'll
| as in our own, who expressed no unwlliingness
| to allow woman credit tor success in their
| own profession.
| Illuminated books sometimes show us pictures
| of women Of the hum bier ranks OF lite at their
| work. On the border of fine manuscript of
4 No ooFE rI thnrn 10 fIn 90
woman employed with her distatf, her head
| ana neck enveloped IN cOverchiet The figure
| rises out of flower. In a manuscript of 1916,
| a countrywoman is engaged in churning, dressed
| in q comfortable gown and apron, the gown
| tidily pinned up, and her mead and neck In
| coveTchlei. The churn is OF considerable height
and of very clumsy construction. blind beggar
| rently a cup in his mouth to receive donations
| In another part of the same volume Is a beaut-
| full damsel with her hair spread over her shoul
| ders, while her maid arranges her tresses with
comb of ivory set in gold. The young lady holds
a small mirror, probably Of polished steel in her
| hand. Specimens Of these curious combs and
| mirrors yet exist in collections. century later
| we see a pretty laundress holding in her hands
| a number OF delicately woven napkins, which
look as if they might have come out of the
elaborately carved napkin press OF the same
! perod in the collection OF Sir Samuel MyriCk ct
| Goodrich Court.
Although the Knight of the Tower disapproved
of young ladies being taught to write, there were
| women whose employment Wfltlng seems to
have been; but these were nuns safely shut
| up from the risk of biHetS-dO1tI. In DR..
Maitland's ESSAYS on the Dark Ages" he
| quotes from the biography of Diemudis
a devout nun of the eleventh century, list of
the volumes which she prepared with her own
hand, written in beautiful and legible characters
| to the praise Of God, and of the holy Apostles
Peter and Paul, the patrons of the monastery,
| which was that of Wessobrunn in Bavaria. The
| list comprises thirty-one works, many of them
| in three or four volumes; and although Diemu-
| dis is not supposed to have been an authoress,
she is certainly worthy of having her name
| handed down through eight centuries in witness
| ofwoman's sindeiatigableworkI IN the scriptorium
| One missal prepared by Demudis was given
| to the Bishop of Treves, another to the
| Bishop Of Augsburg, and one Bible in two vol
umes is mentioned, which was exchanged by
the monastery for an estate.
We can picture 10 ourselves Diemudis in her
| conventual dress, seated in the scriptorium,
with her materials for chirography. The sun,
| as it streams through the window, throws a
| golden light over the vellum page, suggesting
| the rich nue. of the gilded nimbus while in the
convent garden she sees the white lily or the
modest violet, which, typical of the Madonna,
she transfers to her illuminated borders.
Thus has God ever interwoven truth and
| love with their correspondence of beauty
| and development in the natural world, which
| were open to the eyes of Diemudis eight hun
d1ed years ago, perhaps as clearly as to our own
in their latter days That women of even an
earlier century than that of Diemuds were per-
mtted to read, If not TO write, is proved by the
description of private library, given in the
letters of G. S. Sidonius Apollinaris, and quoted
| in Edwards History of Libraries" This book
| COLLECTION was the property of a gentleman Of
| the fifth century, residing at his castle of
ments, the first of which was expressly in
| tended for the ladies of the family, and