120 SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 



and lowest in the land. When made of silk and embroidery, 

 sometimes jewelled, they were gifts for kings, princes, and 

 prelates. Again, when the work of the harvest was over, 

 gloves are served out to the husbandmen who had been engaged 

 in field labour. The bare hand was a symbol of hostility, the 

 gloved of peace and friendliness. This custom lingers still at 

 weddings and funerals, the occasions on which traditions are 

 most enduring. Equally universal was the use of seals. Some 

 of these, as is well known, are the choicest works of medieval 

 art. It is said that England was famous for seal engraving in 

 the fourteenth century. One seal of the Black Prince, annexed 

 to a deed in the possession of Merton College, is of rare beauty. 

 But the small freeholder was possessed of his seal. When John 

 Senekworth's effects were valued, two seals (firmacula argentea) 

 are enumerated among his chattels. Similarly, the muniment- 

 rooms of colleges possess numberless leases and other deeds 

 duly signed by the parties consenting to the grant, some of 

 these being people of very humble condition 11 . 



Great people gave liveries. Cloth, as we shall see below, 

 was comparatively costly, and the dress worn by all persons 

 above the lowest rank, when they were at leisure, was ample. 

 The cloak, robe, or gown of the day was often the coverlet at 

 night. Modern costume would have been utterly extravagant 

 in the middle ages, since it is available only for one purpose, 

 that of day wear. The garb of the fourteenth century, some 

 changes considered, is still seen in the almsman's gaberdine, 

 the dress of the boys at Christ's Hospital, the alderman's gown, 

 the formalities of the academical graduate, the cassock of the 

 priest, and the apron of the bishop. The gradation of ranks 

 was duly observed in the quality of the cloth. 



It has been observed above, that the subdivision of land, 

 the rate of production being taken into account, was very 



ra Vol. ii. p. 569. iv. 



n Among the presents occasionally made are rings. Thus in 1316 anil- 1318. Merton 

 College gives a ring to John Bledlowe's wife, and makes a similar present in 1321 to 

 another married woman, (vol. ii. pp. 569. iv.. 570. i. ii.) 



