Of course the propensity to over-indulgence was not universal, even in the race of warriors who had quartered themselves upon the forest lands of Britain. The Normans were always more polished in their manners than the Anglo-Saxons, and their dwellings were much more commodious. This we learn not only from the appearance of the remains of those buildings, but also from the statements of the learned men of the period. William of Malmesbury, who wrote about the year 1130, says that “the Saxon nobility passed entire nights and days in drinking, and consumed their whole substance in mean and despicable houses; that they had their hair cropped, their beards shaven, their arms laden with golden bracelets, and their skin adorned with punctured designs; that they were accustomed to eat till they became surfeited, and to drink till they were sick. And these latter qualities,” adds the candid Norman historian, “they imparted to their conquerors.”[230] In well-regulated Norman households, the dinner, which was partaken of early in the forenoon, was not accompanied by excessive drinking. After it was removed, and the ceremony of washing performed, the wine-cup was passed round once, and the guests retired. Sometimes wine and sweetmeats were served in an adjoining apartment, and on grand occasions the after-dinner entertainment comprised not only drinking, but story-telling and performances by jongleurs, which, we are told, were often very obscene, even in the presence of the ladies. It was customary, by the way, for the lady of the house, however high her rank might be, occasionally to fill the cups of the guests, and on the chessmen of the twelfth century the “queen” usually carries a drinking horn. Some of these chessmen are still preserved. We need not be surprised that the performances of the jongleurs before ladies were indecent, for the ladies themselves were by no means refined. There has been no attempt, that we know of, to edit the English “_Jus potandi_” of the Middle Ages, but it is certain that about the thirteenth century a genuine code of rules for good behaviour was published for the guidance of the fair sex. They were cautioned to avoid certain offences against morality which we could not even venture to repeat here; and in regard to drinking, they were warned not to get drunk, “that being a practice from which much mischief might arise.” “Each time you drink,” wrote their mentor, “wipe your mouth well, that no grease may go into the wine, which is very unpleasant to the person who drinks after you.”[231] From this it would appear that there was a partnership in cups in those days—at least, that each guest was not provided with a drinking vessel for his sole use.