Page:The history of medieval Europe.djvu/387

THE RISE OF TOWNS AND GILDS 337 "And hills all rich in blossomed trees, And fields which promise corn and wine, And scattered cities crowning these Whose far white walls along them shine." Medieval writers describe their cities as wonderfully beauti- ful and attractive, and no doubt they were more interesting than the bleak castle of a feudal lord, and their life more animated and comfortable than the weary round of exist- ence of the villein in his hut on the manor. Since most towns grew up around a castle or monastery or market, or followed the irregular contour of a hillside, a river-bank, or the shore of a harbor, the streets ^ 1 he streets tended to be steep, crooked, and labyrinthine. They were also narrow like those in an ancient city, for the circumscribing walls limited the town area and made space within the fortifications precious. The main streets ran to the town gates, which were the only points where one could pass in and out of town. The value of land within the walls soon led to the practice of building overhanging upper stories to the houses. Goods exposed for sale in front of the shops, flapping signboards for the benefit of those who could not read, fountains providing a water supply for the neigh- boring houses, statue s of sa ints and little shrines for the devotional purposes of passers-by, further obstructed one's view and one's path. In some places the rule existed that at least one clear thoroughfare must be left through the center of the town, so that a horseman with lance across his saddle could ride the length of the street without encountering ob- structions. This experiment was performed annually and any part of a building that interfered with the progress of the lance had to come down. Street cleaning and lighting, sanitation and sewerage were still in a primitive state. Nevertheless, modern plumbing is based upon a medieval invention. Thomas of _ . . r% . . Sanitation Cantimpre, a writer of the thirteenth century, says that formerly in the case of aqueducts laid under ground the lead pipes were soldered together with tin, which after a while would rust out, but that in recent times