It is also true that the Baron, his family, domestics, and retainers, were in this era the only persons who possessed any scholarship, learning, or even good manners. The interior of the castle was graced with beauty, order, and comparative refinement. There letters and learning were sought after, if not largely acquired. Good manners and regularity prevailed. The Baron himself spent much of his time in the bosom of his family, and must have been improved in the gentler circle which there assembled. He for a time lost the bluntness and ferocity of his warlike life. A priest, or minister of religion, was also generally an appendage of the castle; and his profession, being an improving, learned, and pacific one, must have acted beneficially on those with whom he associated. The instruction and example of the inmates of the castle must therefore have been beneficial to the whole feudal society around: to which may be added the historical fact that after the introduction of the feudal system, and by the sanction and encouragement of the Barons, were compiled the only literary works of the period of which we have any account. In the solitudes of the baronial castle were composed the only chronicles of that era which have descended to us. Within the walls of the castellated abode generally dwelt the priests, bards, and other literati of the time; where they had leisure and encouragement to pursue their avocations; and thence issued forth their chronicles, poems, and productions. These influences must, therefore, have tended greatly to the civilization and improvement of the whole feudal society. On the other hand, we must not overlook the fact that the feudal state was decidedly hostile to general freedom—its very nature militated against general liberty—its existence was inconsistent with progress and the spread of freedom and intelligence. The continuance and influence of the feudal dominion depended on the passive submission of all the inhabitants of the domain. Every manifestation of discontent or uneasiness on the part of the latter was, therefore, watched by the chief with a jealous eye; every attempt at disobedience was punished with severity. The chief warded off all principles dangerous to his own monopoly of power. All struggles for general liberty were crushed with an unrelenting hand. The great and only desire of the Baron was to perpetuate the then existing system. Every attempt at amelioration was alike inimical to his wishes and power.