| LEGEND TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE PRINT BELOW Print Specifics:
Grand Hall of a 17th Century English Mansion, The Hatfield House: A manor house, during the European Middle Ages, was the dwelling of the lord of the manor or his residential bailiff and administrative centre of the feudal estate. The medieval manor was generally fortified in proportion to the degree of peaceful settlement of the country or region in which it was located. The manor house was the centre of secular village life, and its great hall was the scene of the manorial court and the place of assembly of the tenantry. The particular character of the manor house is most clearly represented in England and France, but under different names similar dwellings of feudal overlords existed in all countries wherein the manorial system developed. With increased prosperity and the desire for more commodious dwellings, the 16th-century manor house evolved into the Renaissance country house. In England more elaborate buildings were constructed, reflecting a new era of formality. The houses were frequently of regular quadrangular plan, with the hall diminished in size and importance. Later the hall was reduced to the status of an entrance, as at Ramsbury Manor, Wiltshire (c. 1680). The defended tower-house tradition persisted in France throughout the 16th century, generally retaining corner turrets and other defensive archaisms, as in the Tourelles Manor, near Troyes. In later years the title of manor house in England lost particular significance, having been adopted by large country mansions that had no manorial foundation. Martin2001 Satisfaction Guaranteed Policy!
|