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The great Emperor Charlemagne, who ruled from 742 a.d to 814 a.d. thought beer was essential for moderate living and even personally trained the realm's brewmasters himself. King Arthur served his Knights of the Round Table a with beer known as bragget, which was considered the finest in the land. In medieval times beer was generally brewed by women in countries such as Sumeria and Babylon. Being cooks, they also had the responsibility for providing the house beer, which was regarded as a food and drink. Following the example of the monasteries who had established the best methods of brewing, the 'ale-wives' as they were known as back in those times, took the responsibility for brewing for their houses and families. In England during medieval times a checkered flag signaled a spot where ale and beer could be bought and sold. Few people other than the clergy could read or write, so a written sign would have been a waste of time for most townspeople. Brides traditionally sold ale on their wedding day to cut down on the expenses - hence 'bride-ale' became 'bridal'. The popular Christmas term 'yule-tide' actually means 'ale-tide', which was a time when people would gather together to drink. Saint Thomas A'Becket,w ho was a martyr and the archbishop of Canterbury, was selected as patron saint of one of the London Guilds, the Brewers' Company. This shows how important and respected brewers were at that time. When he set out to France in 1158 to try for the hand of a French princess for Prince Henry of England, he took several barrels of British ale as gifts for the family and kingdom. Beer was handed out free of charge to tired travellers when the Wayfarer Dole was established in England. A Pilgrim's Dole of ale and bread can still be claimed to this day by all wayfarers at the Hospital of St Cross, Winchester, England. This is said to have been founded by William of Wykeham, and was claimed by Emerson, the American essayist, when visiting Winchester. Today, "ale" and "beer" are used as interchangeable terms. Ale, which consisted of malt and was usually made from barley water and yeast, was replaced at the beginning of the 15th century by beer. Introduced from the country of Flanders, beer was embittered with hops for preservation and kept better than English ale because of the preservative quality of the hops. By the end of the century, beer had almost completely replaced the old English sweet ale, and was being exported to Europe and poured into people's german beer steins. Records that dated back that far to the 15th century show that nearly half the ships' cargo taken across the North Sea and the Baltic Sea was barrels of beer for it's citizens.