The morning times., 1895-12-31
spEcrAcuLAR MIDDLE AGES.
Chicago News.


Theperiod was spre,eminently spectacular.
Il was repete with splendid pageantry.
which al; the people might witness. The
journeyinss of the king and his court were
almost incessant, in fact there were
few sections where the royal train was not
a familiar sight. Edward / changed his
residence seventy-fiye times in one year.
an average of three times a fortnight.
He alwa ys had with him, besides his favorite
r,nights, twenty y-four archers on foot, the
chancellor and his clerks, the steward,
the chamberlain, the outer and nne
Iparsiials. the treasurer OF the wardrobe.
and many more minor Officers and their
attendants Knights had curied hair, long
ocarls. ring-.aden fingers, jeweied girdles.
purses embroidered with gold arabesques,
red shoes, much slasbed and ions-pointed.
and short silk or fur-iined coats with wide
flowing sleeves. Special officers wore
special liyeries- The ensemble must have
been unspea 6ai,iy brilliant.
The bishops besides making episcopal vis-
itations, had 10 look after their landed prop
erty: and a bishop never Travelled without
much sp,eni,oT. and a great retinue. The
bisop OF Hereford, for instance, had in his
pay a adueichampion, So uires, clerks, arters.
falconers, porters,- groonis, messengers,
bakers, Kitchen servants and pages, fun
forty persons in all. Even common monks,
wiler they took long journeys from the
cloister. sometimes assumed the garb OF
knights.
OGeens and great ladies, spienGidly a.
tired, often Travelled in carriages dra wn
BY five horses fastened in a row. These
carriages had carved wheels, stlded beams,
tapestry hangiDgs, silk curtains and em-
broidered cushions.
Tsere were tournament OF brave knights
witnessed by fair ladies, rigiis at arms,
hunts with hawks, horses and hounds, nitr-
acle plays in the churchyards, midnight ex-
hunIatioGs, Te Deunis and popular gaines
There were the merry. BUSTING, claniorous,
part-soiored fairs tpatronized by all Eng
land and contributed TO by all the worldl,
where were displayed, besides the staple
products, leatherwork, embroideries, tap
estries, silks, velyetS. exquisite glasses,
porcelains niiters and coronets abi3Ze with
gems, jcweied gloves, rings, choice wines,
spices, frankincense, wood and ivory carv-
ings. marvellous work in iron, bronze and
pewter, stained glass and Illuminated
nlissaIs. Above all, there were the public
cerenioHials of the guilds, very splendid,
particularly in London.
I'm their professions to church, says
Timbs in his "CurioSities of London the
companies We're Joined by ythereligious orders
in their rich costumes, wearing wax torches
and singing, and frequently attended by
the lord mayor and great civic authorities
in state. Funerals were as reEgiousiy ob-
served by them, and TO celebrate with be-
coming grandeur the obseguies OF deceased
members almost the whole of these frater-
pites kept state pail or hearse cloth;
members of superior rank were followed
10 iDterment by the lord mayor and civic
authorities, and it was the custom 10 pro-
vide funeral dinners with sums left by tile
decea sed or sent after death by the relatives
to their His
Their parades sometimes took place on
the river, where they had b1rses "fresaly
furnished with banners and streamers OF
silk richly beatea with the arms and badges
Of their crafts.'' There were pageants on
the return Of the king after foreign
9ictory and on his setting out for foreign
conquest. Coronation PROFESSIONS, though
less frequent, came quite often enough, and
were participated in by all the crafts
At the coronation OF Henry ", in 1893,
Cheapside. according To Froissart, had
''seven fountains running with red and
white wine and the craftsmen, clothed In
their proper liveries, bore banners of their
trades