Life in a Medieval City

Excerpt from Life in a Medieval City: Illustrated by York in the Xvth Century

N English history the fifteenth century is the last of the centuries that form the Middle Ages, which were preceded by the age Of racial settlement and followed by that of the great Renaissance. Although the active beginnings Of this new era are to be Observed in the fifteenth century, yet this century belongs essentially to the Middle Ages Perhaps the most attractive feature Of the Middle Ages is that they were so intensely human. A naive spirit appears in their formal literature, as in Chaucer's account Of the Canterbury pilgrims, in their decorated religious manuscripts, in their thought, and very characteristically, in their archi tecture, which combines a simple naturalness with a bold and daring ingenuity. From columns, the constructional motive Of which is so simple and natural, and walls pierced with windows, they erected systems of lofty arches and high stone vaulted roofs, the stability of which depended on very skilled balancing of thrust and counter-thrust.

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