true, but thou
Hast taken a meaner leman now;
Hast left for stinking nettle the rose,
Sweet eglantine for flower more gross.'"

In the end, Our Lady forces him to leave his wife that he may dedicate
himself entirely to her service. In other _fabliaux_ and in the
chronicles, Mary is represented under the guise of the Lady Venus, who
often appears in these romances. In this adoration of the Virgin as a
maiden impelled by the same loves and hates as any mortal woman, it is
not difficult to see the spirit of chivalry in its sensual expression.
Surely, if every lady had her knight, the Blessed Virgin, also, must
have her devoted admirers; and by the height of her position and
greater worthiness as the Queen of Heaven, by so much should she rise
above any other woman in her right to command such adorers.

When we pass from the status of woman in the Middle Ages to her
occupations, the subject becomes narrowed, not only by the lesser
importance of the facts which merely illustrate rather than
demonstrate her position, but also because we shall exclude from our
general consideration the women of the manors, the nuns, and, in
their industrial capacities, the women of the guilds. These important
classes demand separate treatment.

After the middle of the twelfth century, it is easier to study the
domestic manners of the people. We can, for instance, obtain very
precise information as to the style of the dwellings in which they
lived. There was a general uniformity in the houses, however they
might vary in particulars. In the twelfth century, the hall continued
to be the main part of the dwelling. Adjoining it at one end was the
chamber, while at the other end might be found the stable. The whole
building stood in an enclosure consisting of a yard in front and a
garden in the rear, surrounded by a hedge and ditch. The house had
a door in the front, and within, one door led to the chamber, and
another to the stable. The chamber, also, frequently had a door
leading out to the garden. There were usually windows in the hall,
the stable and the chamber being lighted by openings in the partitions
between them and the hall, as well as by slits in the outer walls.
The windows themselves were commonly merely openings, which might be
closed by wooden shutters. There was usually one such window in the
chamber, besides those in the hall, so that it was better lighted than
the stable.

From the _fabliaux_ we can obtain very precise