it could be said
of many a fine lady, as was asserted of Lady Joan Berkeley, that she
never "humored herselfe with the vaine delightes of London and other
cities," and never travelled ten miles from her husband's houses in
Somerset and Gloucester.

The life of the manors was not, however, a round of tireless industry.
The ruddy-cheeked, simple-minded English women of the better class
were possessed of a redundant vitality and a fund of joyousness and
humor which sought and found expression in a variety of healthful
outdoor recreations, as well as indoor amusements. The pleasing art
of letter writing had come to hold a position of interest in polite
circles; for although the women may not have been skilled with the
quill, their letters were nevertheless natural, simple, and sincere,
and they were fairly proficient in the art of reading. Their religious
duties occupied a part of each day, as did their visitation of the
homes of the dependants on the estate; for it was the lady of the
manor who was looked to by the poor for herbal medicines and such
delicacies as were supplied to the sick. Great ladies sometimes
recognized their duties to the poor not only by giving individual
doles, but by founding almshouses. Nearly every lady of distinction
felt it incumbent upon her to do something for the relief of suffering
and distress. It is especially pleasing to know that it was the women
whose sensibilities were thus touched, and who were first influenced
by the idea of social responsibility for the less fortunate classes of
society. The records of the times abound with instances of benevolence
in institutional forms. When it was impracticable for her to be her
own almoner, the lady employed for the office a monk or a priest, and
so associated her charities with the Church, by the teachings of which
her impulses were trained. The saints' days were customarily observed
by especial and important contributions for the poor.

Were it not for the manors, the Middle Ages would lack almost
altogether poetry and literature other than that of the monkish
chroniclers. Literature and poetry in this period were chiefly centred
around the women of the nobility. It was probably due to the fondness
of Henry I. for letters that a literary taste was excited among his
queens. The earliest specimens existing of vernacular poetry are some
verses addressed to Henry's second spouse, Adeliza. Feminine taste
and royal patronage combined to free poet