The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-05
A VIEW OF MEDrAEvAL ENGLAND
Tribal, Not National, Was Its Char
meter 600 Years Ago.
From the London Chronicle.

From the London Chronicle.
What was medieval England like, in its
actual physical features and what were
the facilities for travel at that time? This
is the question put and answered in a
most interesting paper by Mrs. Law, in
the July issue of the Economic Review.
the author, after picturing the towns and
roads Of England in the thirteenth CEN
fury, reviews some of the royal journeys
made by three successive Kings of Eng
land, John, Henry III and Edward /,
sketching out the probable routes taken
When considering the England OF that
wonderful thirteenth century-the greatest
and most interesting century, perhaps, Of
the whole Christian crave must dismiss
absolutely from our minds the England
of to-day We must, as Mrs. Law, quot
ing William Morris, reminds us, forget
six centuries o'erhung with smoke" and
the hideous spread OF the town" and
rather think of the pack horse on the
down." and of a London small and clean
and white"
Mrs. Law, having enumerated the six
great roads which the Romans made,
asks how far these roads were used. Sew
en- centuries of neglect had done their
work, but the writer concludes, from sew
eral pieces of evidence that at the open
ing OF the thirteenth century these roads
must have been in a comparatively fair
state of preservation" Therefore, the
monarchs OF the time used them so far as
was practicable, and the routes taken in
many of their journeys are traced, and
the time CONSUMED Is given. John took
eight days 10 go from Bristol TO Winches-
ter, which was his favorite place of resi-
dence, and he probably followed the old
Roman road from scarborough to Stock
ton in winter, while from Battle to Corfe
In summer nc took nine days, most of the
way by the coast road marked on the old
map of the Bodleian library. Henry III
look a very awkward cross-country jour
ney from Huntingdon TO Worcester, which
occupied sixteen days. What turnings and
twistings, what straining Of the traces
and break-neck plunges, and uncertain
conjectures, and terrible Joltings from
side to side a journey of this kind must
have entailed, we can imagine.
Edward / made successive Journeys from
Hereford to Shrewsbury, thence to Chess
ter, thence TO York in midwinter, which
much have been, in the language of Truth
full James, far, far from gay" Another
midwinter journey this king took was
from Bristol to Canterbury, but 1t was
fairly direct, the route being by Bath,
Marlboro, Newbury Basingstoke, Oldham
toll had fair communication for the facili-
tating OF the cloth industry, and in the
eastern counties the communication by
the old Icknelid way was comparatively
good. Edwards journey of 1921 was for
those days what a journey to California OF
farthern India would be now, only far
longer and more troublesome. 1t was
from Amesbury to Berwick, and he went
by AndOver and Derbyshire, and Welbeck
and York, Northalierton, Darlington
Newcastle and Ainwlck, his actual travel
ing occupying two and a half months
Edwards Scotch war was a great benefit
20 the trade of Northern England. the
royal patronage to the merchants being
on a large scale for those days.
The trite reflection, of course, arises
how luxurious and comfortable life has
become when the poorest emigrant with a
few shillings in his pocket, can command
comforts and convenlences not dreamed oil
by the English Justinan." But every
thing, as has been truly said, has its price
and in the "hell-holes" of our industrial
| districts, and the overwhelming expansion
| of London dreariness and ugliness, We Sc,
| the terms on which nature permits us L
| have our modern improvements. Even Ii