254 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



William of Malmesbury, who flourished in the first half 

 of the twelfth century, the culture of the vine had in 

 his time arrived at such perfection within the vale of 

 Gloucester, that a sweet and palatable wine, " little 

 inferior to that of France," was made there in abun- 

 dance. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, 

 almost every large castle and monastery in England 

 had its vineyard. The land on the south side of 

 Windsor Castle, now a pleasant green lawn, running 

 from the town under the castle- wall, was a vineyard, 

 of which a particular account may be seen hi the 

 ' Archaeologia.' At this period, wine was made in 

 England in considerable quantities ; and yet the 

 importation of foreign wines was very large. In the 

 year 1272, London imported 3799 tuns; Southamp- 

 ton and Portsmouth, 3147; and Sandwich, 1900.* 

 In the time of Edward III., a trade in Rhenish wine 

 was carried on between Hull and the ports of the 

 Baltic. "I" The vineyards were, probably, continued till 

 the time of the Reformatian, when the ecclesiastical 

 gardens were either neglected or destroyed ; and 

 about this period, ale, which had been known in 

 England for many centuries, seems to have super- 

 seded the use of wine as a general beverage. This 

 arose from the better cultivation of the country. 

 Under the feudal tenures, when the serfs were often 

 suddenly compelled to follow their lords to battle, 

 husbandry, particularly the growth of grain, was 

 fearfully neglected; and sometimes the most dreadful 

 famines were the result. The prices of wheat occa- 

 sionally fluctuated from ten shillings to twenty pounds 

 per quarter of modern money. J But when just princi- 

 ples of tenancy were established, so that the occupier 

 of the land could be sure of appropriating to himself a 



* Anderson's History of Commerce. 



t Rymer's Fcedera. 

 $ In 1270, wheat was 19 4s- per quarter; in 1316, it was 2s. 



