We admire the man who embodies victorious efforts, the man who never wrongs his neighbor, who is prompt to help a friend, but who has those virile qualities necessary to win in the stern strife of actual life.
He fought his battles gently-shying away from the adversarial style he experienced as a student at Cambridge-but with rigorous precision and an unfailing sense of social justice.
This period was one of inter-elite rivalry, in which nobles sought to increase their influence by funding the construction of churches and other buildings.