It was usual in the North to detach each house at the upper story, even when it was not practicable to allow a narrow passage or space between. This was not merely a concession to the vanity of the citizen, to his desire to make his independent gable a feature of the street. It was also a precautionary measure against fires, which were frequent and disastrous in cities built mainly of wood, and possessing but very rudimentary appliances wherewith to meet such a catastrophe. [Illustration: 217. HÔTEL LALLEMAND AT BOURGES (END OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY)] The fifteenth and notably the sixteenth centuries were marked by the building of a new class of dwellings, the _maisons nobles_, or town-houses of the nobles, who, down to this period, had lived entirely in their fortified castles. These great seignorial mansions differ essentially from the houses of the citizens. The _hôtel_ occupied a considerable space, in which a courtyard and even gardens were included. The house of the citizen or merchant was built flush with the street, whereas the _hôtel_ was placed in an inner court, often richly decorated, and the street-front was devoted to stables, coach-houses, servants' lodgings, and the great entrance which gave access to the court and the main building. [Illustration: 218. JACQUES CŒUR'S HOUSE AT BOURGES. VIEW FROM THE PLACE BERRY (FIFTEENTH CENTURY)] The names at least of some famous Parisian _hôtels_ of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries have survived, such as the _hôtels_ des Tournelles, de St. Pol, de Sens, de Nevers, and de la Trémoille, the last destroyed in 1840. The Hôtel de Cluny, which dates from 1485, is a very curious example, and of remarkable interest, as having been preserved almost intact. Several great houses of the same period still exist at Bourges. Among others, the Hôtel Lallemand, built towards the close of the fifteenth century, the inner court of which is especially noteworthy, and the still more famous _hôtel_ or _château_ of Jacques Coeur. This beautiful structure dates from the second half of the fifteenth century, and is built in part on the ramparts of the town. It is so well known that it will be unnecessary to describe or illustrate the famous portals and inner court. But the façade on the Place Berry, though less sumptuous, is hardly less interesting. Here we have the two great towers of the fortified _enceinte_, with their Gallo-Roman bases, and between them the _corps de logis_ or main buildings of the mansion, which retain many features of the feudal castle, and bear witness to the wealth and power of Charles VII.'s ill-used favourite, the famous banker, whose splendid fortunes suffered such undeserved eclipse. CHAPTER II TOWN-HALLS, BELFRIES, PALACES