y
or the north star during the night.

Plays about miracles wrought by holy men or saints or the
sufferings and fortitude of martyrs were performed, usually at the
great church festivals. Most nobles could read, though writing was
still a specialized craft. There were books on animals, plants,
and stones. The lives of the saints as told in the book "The
Golden Legend" were popular. The story of the early King Arthur
was told in the book "The History of the Kings of England". The
story at this time stressed Arthur as a hero and went as follows:
Arthur became king at age 15. He had an inborn goodness and
generosity as well as courage. He and his knights won battles
against foreign settlers and neighboring clans. Once, he and his
men surrounded a camp of foreigners until they gave up their gold
and silver rather than starve. Arthur married Guenevere and
established a court and retinue. Leaving Britain in the charge of
his nephew Modred, he fought battles on the continent for land to
give to his noblemen who did him service in his household and
fought with him. When Arthur returned to Britain, he made battle
with his nephew Modred who had crowned himself King. Arthur's
knight Gawain, the son of his sister, and the enemy Modred were
killed and Arthur was severely wounded. Arthur told his kinsman
Constantine to rule Britain as king in his place.

The intellectual world included art, secular literature, law, and
medicine. There were about 90 physicians.

The center of government was a collection of tenants-in-chief,
whose feudal duty included attendance when summoned, and certain
selected household servants of the King. The Exchequer became a
separate body. The payments in kind, such as grain or manual
services, from the royal demesnes had been turned into money
payments. The great barons made their payments directly to the
Exchequer. The income from royal estates was received by the
Exchequer and then commingled with the other funds. Each payment
was indicated by notches on a stick, which was then split so that
the payer and the receiver each had a half showing the notches.
The Exchequer was the great school for training statesmen,
justices, and bishops. The Chancellor managed the domestic matters
of the Crown's castles and lands. The great offices of state were
sold for thousands of pounds, which caused their holders to be on
their best behavior for fear of losing their money by being
discharged from office. One chance