Chapter 9

THE NEW NATION.

I. Fusion of Races and Languages.--Abolition of the presentment of Englishery, 1340--Survival of the French language in the fourteenth century--The decline--Part played by "lowe men" in the formation of the English language--The new vocabulary--The new prosody--The new grammar--The definitive language of England an outcome of a transaction between the Anglo-Saxon and the French language 235

II. Political Formation.--The nation coalesces--The ties with France and Rome are loosening or breaking--A new source of power, Westminster--Formation, importance, privileges of Parliament under the Plantagenets--Spirit of the Commons--Their Norman bargains--Comparison with France 248

III. Maritime Power; Wealth and Arts.--Importance of the English trade in the fourteenth century--The great traders--Their influence on State affairs--The English, "rois de la mer"--Taste for travels and adventures. Arts--Gold, silver and ivory--Miniatures and enamels--Architecture--Paintings and tapestries--Comparative comfort of houses--The hall and table--Dresses--The nude--The cult for beauty 255