For a long time, _markets_ were usually kept on _Sundays_, in or near some _church_, but that being found somewhat inconvenient, as interfering with the religious service of the day, they were afterwards changed to Saturdays. The _fairs_ of those times were also generally kept within the precincts of some great churches, or monasteries, on some notable day, generally the anniversary of the patron saint, and it was customary to oblige every comer to the fair, at the gate, before he entered, to _swear_ that he would neither _lie_, _steal_, nor _cheat_: which might be very useful, if the people had then a proper sense of the sacredness of oaths, otherwise it would be of but little avail, as it is to be feared it would also be in the present day, when, from the multiplicity or commonness of oaths, a disposition to trifle with, or make light of them is notoriously prevalent. For holding these fairs, bishops and abbots obtained charters from the crown, with a view to increase their own revenues by the tolls which such charters would authorise them to levy on such occasions. Thus every thing contributed to the aggrandizement of the church. Before the end of this period, the clergy had possession of more than a third part of all the land in the kingdom, with the tithes of all the rest. Much attention was then bestowed on the decoration of churches and religious houses. Organs and bells were introduced toward the latter part of this period. The famous _Saint Dunstan_ gave a fine organ, in the reign of Edgar, to the abbey of Glastonbury. Bells became very common about the 10th century, and were hung in the towers of churches, which were then all of wood: only the altars were, it seems, built of stone. The first _set_ of bells in this kingdom, that we hear of, was at _Croyland_, in Lincolnshire, in the reign of Athelstan, a gift of the abbot _Turketul_ to that celebrated monastery. {275} There had, however, been _single_ bells in England long before that period, and even as early as the 7th century, as is attested by _Bede_. In the time of M. Paris, bells were not allowed to ring at funerals, as inspiring too gay and unsuitable ideas. Clocks also began to be introduced here toward the close of this period. About the same time, the English began to be expert and noted manufacturers of woollen cloth; the value of a sheep’s fleece, of course, was then well understood, and rated at two fifths of the animal’s whole price. Silk, though now beginning to be imported, was not woven here until some centuries afterwards: linen, in the mean time, was extremely scarce. It is very remarkable, but seemingly an unquestionable fact, that highly finished works in gold and silver, were the production even of our darkest ages. The monks, in those times, were the best artists, and the famous St. Dunstan inferior to none of them. Yet the means of supplying life with necessaries, appear to have been but imperfectly known and cultivated.