26 A MEDIAEVAL CITY

sixty monasteries, priories, hospitals, inaisons-dieu,
and chapels. The maisons-dieu, of which there were
sixteen, were smaller hospitals. They combined
generally the duties of almshouse and chantry.

Parish Churches, which were the centres of the
religious life of the laity, were everywhere. In the
fifteenth century there were forty-five churches and
ten chapels, so that there was always a place in
church for every citizen.

A church was always in use. Besides the regular
public services which took place frequently during
the day, and the special services for festivals, there
were services in chantries. Both the high altar in
the chancel and altars in other parts of a church
were used. Several altars were necessary because
the number of masses, for the celebration of which
money was liberally bequeathed, was very large.
The parish church was used for other than purely
religious purposes. It was the central meeting-
place of the parish, and might be described as the
seat of parochial government. Meetings were held
in the Nave. Parts of the church were used as
schools. The parish church was also the depot for
the equipment of those members who became
soldiers. Moreover, fire-buckets (generally of leather)
were often kept in the church, since, being of stone,
it was perhaps the safest building in the parish.
There were also long poles with hooks at the end
used to pull thatch away from burning houses.

Most, if not all, of these churches were fine
specimens of the architecture of the Middle Ages,
the so-called Gothic architecture, which is charac-
terised by pointed arches, ribbed vaulting, and
the constant use of the buttress. These churches
were, in contrast to the present condition of most
of those that remain, complete with chancel, nave