[1] One or more houses might constitute a town. A single farmhouse is
still so called in Scotland.

104. The Hall.

The buildings in these towns were of wood. Those of the lords or
chief men were called "halls," from the fact that they consisted
mainly of a hall, or large room, used as a sitting, eating, and often
as a sleeping room,--a bundle of straw or some skins thrown on the
floor serving for beds. There were no chimneys, but a hole in the
roof let out the smoke. If the owner was rich, the walls would be
decorated with bright-colored tapestry, and with suits of armor and
shields hanging from pegs.

105. Life in the Hall.

Here in the evening the master supped on a raised platform at one end
of the "hall," while his followers ate at a lower table.

The Saxons were hard drinkers as well as hard fighters. After the
meal, while horns of ale and mead were circulating, the minstrels,
taking their harps, would sing songs of battle and ballads of wild
adventure.

Outside the "hall" were the "bowers," or chambers for the master and
his family, and, perhaps, an upper chamber for a guest, called later
by the Normans a sollar, or sunny room.

If a stranger approached a town, he was obliged to blow a horn;