Page:A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England During the Middle Ages.djvu/86

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

66 Hiftory of Domejiic Manners paid little attention to proportion in their reprefentations of towns and houfes, a circumftance which is fully illuflrated in this pidure. As the artift was unable from this circumftance to reprefent the buildings and ftreets of a town in their relative pofition, he put in a houfe to reprefent a multitude of houfes, and here he has fimilarly given one building within the walls to reprefent all the public buildings of the town. An exactly fimilar charafteriftic will be obferved in our cut No, 42, taken from the fame manufcript, where one temple reprefents the town. Here again No. 42. A Toivn. we have a party of citizens outfide the walls, amufing themfelves as well as they can ; fome, for want of other employment, are laying themfelves down liftleffly on the ground. The national fentiments and cuftoms of the Anglo-Saxons would, however, lead to the fele6tion of other places for the fcenes of their games, and thus the Roman amphitheatres became neglefted. Each village had its arena — its play-place — where perfons of all ages and fexes alTembled