Part 10

MS. Lambeth 853, p. 102, about 1430, written without breaks. Other MSS. are Trinity College, Cambridge, R. 3, 19, and Ashmole 61, p. 7 (printed in _Queene Elizabethes Achademy_), a later and inferior text, which contains, however, a fresh and interesting stanza:

“And if it thus thee betide, That friends fail thee on every side, And God from thee thy child take, Thy wreak (vengeance) on God thou must not take, For thyself it will undo And all thews (virtues) that thee ’longs to. Many a one for her own folly, Spills (destroys) themselves unthriftily.”

MS. Porkington 10, p. 135 back, about 1460-70 contained a variant form _The Good Wife Would a Pilgrimage_, _i.e._, before she sets out for the Holy Land, she leaves instructions for her daughter. This version (printed in _Queene Eliz. Achad._) is interesting for its proverbs:

“The loth (hated) child behoves lore, And lief child much more.”

“Seldom mosseth the stone, That oft is turned and wend.”

“A fool’s bolt is soon shot And doth but little good.”

“When deed is done, it is too late; Beware of ‘Had I wist.’”

A third version was printed in 1597 under the title, _The Northern Mother’s Blessing_. Written nine years before the death of G. Chaucer. Together with it a short poem: _The Way to Thrift_. This contains several different and interesting stanzas.

It begins:

“God would that every wife that dwelleth in this land, Would teach her daughter as ye shall understand, As a good wife did of the North countré How her daughter should learn a good wife to be: For lack of the mother’s teaching Makes the daughter of evil living, My lief dear child.”

Another is:

“In other men’s houses make thee no mastery, Nor blame thou nothing thou sees with thine eye; Daughter, I thee pray, bear thee so well That all men may say thou art true as steel; For wise men and old Say good name is worth gold, My lief dear child.

Sit not at even too long at gaze with the cup, For to wassail and drink all up; So to bed betimes, at morn rise belive, And so may thou better learn to thrive. He that will a good house keep, Must oft times break a sleep, My lief dear child.

If it betide, daughter, thy friend from thee fall, And God send thee children that for bread will call, And thou have mickle need, help little or none, Thou must then care and spare, hard as the stone— For evil that may betide, A man before should dread, My lief dear child.”

The order of the stanzas is different from that here printed.

The rhyme-scheme is normally aabbccd; but the first, second, seventeenth, and last stanzas are irregular—abcddc, ababcdcdeef, aabbccdde, and aaaa, thus varying in both number and arrangement of lines. The first four verses contain roughly the same number of accents, the fifth and sixth vary greatly in length, while the seventh is a constant refrain to all stanzas except the first and last.

The poem is distinctly popular in tone; and I have seldom attempted to improve its rough metre, holding that the effect is racier as it is.

p. 31. _Kirk._ Text has _church_, but the rhyme is _work_.

p. 32. _Thrive ... life._ The corresponding couplets are usually proverbial in character.

p. 33. _Whatsoever he be._ Apparently on the basis that “e’er a man is better than ne’er a man.”

p. 33. _Atterling._ Literally, one who deals in poisons (O. E. _ator_); hence, a witch; hence, a shrew.

p. 34. _Maze._ Without the help of the N.E.D., the word is puzzling; but the context seems to demand _maze_, connected with _amaze_, rather than _maze_ = _labyrinth_.

p. 35. _Shooting at the cock._ The popular old English pastime of throwing missiles to bring down a cock tied by the leg.

p. 37. _Deed ... speed._ The meaning is that a deed finished quickly helps on another by giving place to it.

p. 38. _Term-day._ Servants were hired by the year at special times which varied according to the district, being usually coincident with the big fairs of that part. Michaelmas was a usual time.

p. 40. _As a wren hath veins._ The wren is so small that but little blood can be let from her veins. Put more strongly: “You cannot squeeze blood out of a stone.”

HOW THE WISE MAN TAUGHT HIS SON

Found in various MSS. The version in _The Babees’ Book_ is printed from Lambeth 853, fol. 186. Another is given in _Queene Eliz. Achad._ from Ashmole 61, fol. 6. Ritson, in his _Ancient Popular Poetry_, printed Harl. 4596, and Hazlitt, in his _Early Popular Poetry_, MS. Camb. Ff. ll. _Luytel Caton_

(Part II., Minor Poems of the Vernon MS., published by Dr. Furnivall, 1902) says:—

“Now whoso will, he may hear In English language, How the Wise Man taught his Son, That was of tender age” (ll. 5-8).

It is doubtful whether this poem was written in imitation of the preceding, or that of this, but the _Wise Man_, through its connection with Cato, has the longer pedigree. A poem in the _Exeter Book_ begins: “Thus a wise father (_frodfæder_) instructed his dear son, a parent wise in mind, old in virtues, sagacious in words,” &c. Although I have not been able to compare the different versions in detail, I incline to believe that there are recognisable links between them all. _The Good Wife_ is, however, much the more vivid and amusing of the two.

The metre is ababbcbc, but the poem loses little by being turned into prose.

p. 47. _All that there is._ This passage suggests one in the _Blickling Homilies_ (No. VIII. _Soul’s Need_, ed. Morris), which goes back to St. Augustine.

JOHN RUSSELL’S BOOK OF NURTURE

First printed by Dr. Furnivall from MS. Harl. 4011, fols. 171-89, dated about 1460. Other copies are in Sloane 1315, fols. 49-67 and 2027, fols. 1-15b, supposed to be slightly earlier in date; also, Royal 17 D xv., article 5.

Nothing is known of the author beyond what he himself says, that he was usher and marshal to Duke Humphrey of Gloucester (regent during the minority of Henry VI.). He was seemingly an old man and a widower before the death of Duke Humphrey, who was murdered in 1447. This seems to be suggested by the fact that he asks the reader’s prayers for Duke Humphrey (as the King is prayed for to-day) and then for the souls of his wife and his parents. If then he was forced to retire from court by old age (as he says in another place, see p. 77, above) some time before 1447, he might have been born even before 1360, and studied his courtesy under Edward III., or at the very latest under Richard ll.

The device of wandering in the country and there meeting with some one who furnishes the subject of the poem was extensively used by Chaucer and his school, derived by them in turn from French poets of the thirteenth century.

The long lines and pompous metre which he uses I have employed occasionally, where the subject permitted that form, to show the effect. The whole production done that way would become insufferably tedious.

p. 49. “Is thy governance good?” Practically, “Do you behave well?”

p. 50. _Smooth and square the trenchers with._ At this time, still made of stale wholemeal bread; later, of wood.

p. 51. _Linen clouts._ To stop up holes?

p. 52. _Couleur de rose._ A red wine, classified under malmsey (and therefore Greek?), mentioned in the _Interlude of the Four Elements_.

p. 52. _New ale is wasteful_, _i.e._, people can drink so much of it because it is not intoxicating.

p. 52. _Stale drink._ Perhaps an allusion to the lead poisoning which is known to result from drinking ale that has stood in a pewter pot for some time.

p. 52. _Cowche._ Any sort of cover. Used perhaps as nowadays to lessen the noise and save the board.

p. 53. _Lay a second cloth._ I understand this to mean that one linen cloth was not wide enough to cover the table and to hang down sufficiently; hence, that two were used, overlapping in the middle, and hanging down on each side. By following the directions, literally, it is possible to see what is meant. The _outer_ edge, I take to be that nearest the centre of the room, the _inner_, next to the wall.

p. 53. _State._ A fold or some other ornamental arrangement of the table-cloth. The usher or sewer seems to have twisted or curled it with his rod.

p. 53. _Put a towel round your neck._ The achievement described in the following lines is quite possible, if the loaves are small, and makes quite a “mannerly” appearance.

p. 54. _Rennes cloth._ Made at Rennes in Brittany, and frequently mentioned in the romances.

p. 54. _Fold it lengthwise_, &c. This performance was possibly to give an appearance of cleanliness. The best way to understand the process is to take a towel and try; it is not so complicated as it sounds.

p. 55. _Surnape._ This again becomes simple by experiment. The pleat or doubling about a foot from the end of the table, is probably to avoid letting the long cloth fall to the door. When the triple thickness of cloth has been pushed and pulled across the table by the butler and marshal, the pleat is smoothed out and the cloth hangs from eighteen to thirty inches over each end.

p. 55. _Sewer._ Fr. _esculier_, Lat. _scutellarius_, whence also is derived _scullery_. The sewer’s office was practically to bring and arrange the dishes.

p. 57. _Winking and watering._ More or less difficult in the days of primitive chimneys, or no chimneys at all.

p. 60. _Upper crust._ In the old ovens, which were heated by faggots withdrawn before the bread was put in, this was even more distinctly the best part.

p. 60. _Carving of flesh_, &c. This more properly belongs in a book given over to recipes and the like, as the description of the dishes is more interesting than the special knack of serving each one.

p. 62. _Need not fear_, &c. Almost the only suggestion of any indignity in the service.

p. 63. _He ... and look you._ The change of person is Russell’s.

p. 63. _As brown as a water-leech._ Is the allusion possibly to shoes of dark-brown colour? Leeches are usually described as black.

p. 65. _Bankers._ Translated _bench-covers_; but the context suggests rather _bolsters_. The bench-covers were doubtless cushions; hence the transition from the one meaning to the other is easy.

p. 67. _By the license of his estate._ This seems to point to a Sumptuary Law. In 1483, it was decreed that none under the rank of a lord might wear cloth of gold, none under a knight, velvet, &c.

p. 67. _Wound._ A sort of turban?

p. 67. _Paris-candle_ or _percher_. A big candle of the sort commonly used on altars.

p. 68. _Medicinable Bath._ A sort of Turkish bath with herbs added. Some of those mentioned were known for their curative properties, even in Saxon times, as hollyhock, mallow, centaury, fennel, heyriff, daisy, brooklime, ribwort, flax, willow. Mallow was supposed to be good for wounds. Wall pellitory contains nitrate of potash. Fennel is still used as a home remedy. Heyhove is bitter and aromatic, abounding in a principle similar to camphor. Heyriff used to be applied externally for scurvy, and is said to be still used in France (taken internally) for epilepsy. Scabious was once thought valuable for various diseases, primarily the itch, but also coughs, pleurisy, &c. Danewort was traditionally thought to have sprung up whenever there had been an encounter between the English and the Danes; it is a dwarf elder valued for its purgative properties. Centaury was so named from the legend that by it Chiron the Centaur was cured. It is gentianaceous and valuable as a bitter. Herb-bennet, _herba benedicta_, the blessed herb, was supposed to be particularly efficacious in keeping away the devil. It was perhaps hemlock, or wild valerian. St. John’s wort seems to have been a neutral element, although it may have been added for some special reason. Bresewort or bruisewort is the common daisy, once highly valued for its general medicinal properties. Bugloss (text, _bilgres_) was valued as a blood-purifier. Camomile is still used in home medicine.

p. 70. _Mayor of Calais._ Because this was the one French port that continued to be held by the English after the Hundred Years’ War until the reign of Queen Mary. This officer was also called “Mayor of the Staple,” because of the wool-trade carried on through Calais. See p. 71, above.

p. 71. _Golden royal rod._ A prince who was crowned in his father’s life-time? In 1343, the Black Prince was invested with a gold circlet and ring, and silver rod, by Edward III.; so, likewise Henry V., in 1399, received a coronet, ring and golden rod.

p. 72. _Bishop of Canterbury_, &c. This means only that neither archbishop had jurisdiction over the see of the other.

p. 73. _Groom_, _i.e._, receive each as if he were one degree higher than his actual estate.

p. 74. _Queenborough._ A small port near the mouth of the Thames, on the island of Sheppey.

p. 74. _Abbot of Westminster._ The yearly rental, as quoted by Dr. Furnivall from _Valor Ecclesiarum_ I., pp. 410-24, was £4470, 0s. 2d.; of Tintern, £258, 5s. 10d. (_Val. Ecc._ IV., 370-71).

p. 74. _Prior of Dudley._ The value of this quoted by Dr. Furnivall was £34, 1s. 4d. over against Canterbury at £163, 1s. 9d. (_Val. Ecc._ III., pp. 4-5, and I., 27-32).

p. 75. _Whether the cook be lief or loth._ A hint that the cook was not always duly subordinate.

p. 78. “_Go forth, little book_,” &c. The _Envoi_ presents a problem which at present I cannot solve. The question is, how much of the “copy” here is the same as the treatise used by Russell in his youth, and whether another writer adds an _Envoi_ explaining how he has improved Russell’s work, while the latter is referring to a still earlier work. There is every probability that Russell’s own work ends with the request for prayers, which includes the mention of the author’s name, and concludes with _Amen_. And in support of this view is the fact that neither of the Sloane MSS., which seem earlier than the one translated, contains either the _Envoi_ or Russell’s name. As I have not studied the relation of the MSS. I hesitate to conjecture; but from the facts at my disposal, I think it probable that the writer of the _Envoi_ alludes to Russell as the “fore writer,” and casts the blame for whatever faults may be found, upon the treatise on which Russell himself declared his work to be based. It would appear also that the writer of the _Envoi_ did not recognise Russell’s source. This may possibly have been the _Book of Courtesy_, which (especially in its third book) often corresponds to Russell. Moreover, as it was written by a man who talked familiarly of John of Gaunt (see p. 112, above), who died in 1399, it agrees well enough with the date of the book used by Russell in his youth; but, needless to say, there is no proof that they were the same.

THE BOOK OF COURTESY

MS. Sloane 1986, about 1460. The text is either very corrupt, or the style is as rough as possible, lacking even the essentials of grammar. It contains many Scotch words, and has certainly suffered in its rhymes, and probably in its sense through English copyists. The author apparently remembered the institution of a custom at the court of John of Gaunt; hence it seems likely that he wrote before 1420.

p. 81. _Bakes._ Perhaps rolls into a ball or moulds, as this is a stage of baking.

p. 81. _Wallowing_, _i.e._, rolling the morsel about.

p. 83. _Chare._ From the O. E. verb _to turn_; hence, a turn either at play as here (trick) or at work, as in the compound _charwoman_.

p. 85. _Cross-Christ thee speed._ The same oath occurs in _Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight_, l. 762; but I do not remember it elsewhere. The order of the first two words is commonly _Christ-cross_, as in “Christ-cross-row” (alphabet). The inversion is possibly a sign of translation from the French.

p. 86. _On both knees._ So in _Liber Faceti_.

“Quando Deo servis utrumque genu sibi flecte; Ast homini solum reliquum teneas sibi recte.”

p. 88. _The adder._ “The nedder,” as the text puts it quaintly, in the old, correct form. The serpent in _Genesis_.

p. 88. _Mysloset._ Apparently from the root _lose_; hence, to lose amiss, _i.e._, to lead astray; but the form appears to be passive, not active. Perhaps the idea is that the serpent himself was _lost_ for his wickedness; but this seems far-fetched.

p. 89. _Solace ... makes._ One of the many traces of Scotch. The original rhyme must have been _mas_.

p. 90. _St. Ambrose._ Archbishop of Milan, 340-97. He wrote an ethical treatise _De Officiis Ministrorum_, in imitation of Cicero’s _De Officiis_; but whether or not this injunction is found therein, it occurs in almost the same words in _Liber Faceti_:—

“Si videas aliquem casurum siue cadentem, Non ride: sed ei te prebe compatientem.”

p. 90. _More and less._ If _at_ means _that_, the sense is, that everybody understands it; but the context seems to call for the meaning: that you yourself do not fully understand.

p. 91. _Opens his lip._ Text:—

“Lest men say to gossip or couth (friend), Yonder is a man without mouth.”

p. 91. _To staunch_, &c. So in _Liber Faceti_:

“Si videas fratres inter se bella gerentes, Neutri confer opem; sed eorum corrige mentes.”

p. 92. _Three oxen_, &c. Another proverbial voicing of “Two’s company, three’s none.”

p. 93. _Red man_, _i.e._, red-haired. Presumably this distrust of red-haired people as treacherous was based on the old tradition that Judas was red-haired.

p. 93. _His courtesy_, &c. The meaning is: he must needs be discourteous who stirs fingers and toes, &c.

p. 96. _Stocks with him._ Doubtless, because the castle gate would be the most conspicuous place of punishment.

p. 96. _What he will deem._ What judgment he will pronounce by law.

p. 96. _Wesselle clothes._ The meaning is not clear. Dr. Furnivall suggests _vessel-cloths_; but the phrase is still doubtful unless it alludes to ecclesiastical coverings, which, however, would not be in the porter’s keeping, and which would certainly not be sold. Possibly, _wassail-clothes_, _i.e._, garments kept perhaps for occasions of special revelry; or, it may be, the sense is that the porter must keep a look-out that vessels _and_ clothes, in general, be not stolen and sold by servants or others.

p. 96. _Sits with him_, &c., _i.e._, he chooses his own companions.

p. 97. _Four pence apiece._ Dr. Furnivall found statutes against excessive prices, but no stipulation of the sum mentioned. Perhaps it was the fixed price in the author’s shire. It is cheap enough, only four shillings, at the outside.

p. 97. _Cupboard._ Probably that in which the canopies and curtains were stored when not in use.

p. 98. _Liveries._ Not uniforms, but _deliveries_, _i.e._, of rations, or, as in this case, fuel for their own rooms.

p. 98. _Holly keen_, _i.e._, it filled the fireplace like an arbour from Good Friday until All Hallows Day.

p. 99. _On his yard score_, _i.e._, make notes by a sort of tally on the wood.

p. 99. _Six pence_, about five shillings to-day. According to Russell, four ordinary persons made up a “mess.”

p. 99. _The cause he has it in score_, _i.e._, if the cook quarrels about the expense, or the panter wants extra bread (reward) brought on. In cases of dispute, the steward was referred to.

p. 100. _Shall harbour_, _i.e._, the marshal has charge of all other officers, except the usher in the chamber. John Russell combined the two functions.

p. 100. _Gentleman_, _yeoman-usher_, _i.e._, two, of different social standing.

p. 100. _Make litter._ The making of a pallet-bed I understand as follows. The mattress is nine feet by seven, made of loose straw, for the most part; but with a sort of framework on all four sides, made of bundles (wisps) of straw to keep the sides firm and the great mass of straw in its place; and the whole is to be kept level. Text: _On legh unsunken_, which seems to mean, not in hills and dales.

p. 101. _As a man by the neck_, _i.e._, the button was put into a loop resembling a noose. The end of the line is not clear. Perhaps (1) the man hangs light as the flesh drops from his bones on the gallows; (2) the button hangs light because it has no body; (3) the adjective was dragged in for the rhyme.

p. 102. _Boards_, _trestles_, &c. For the chamber only, as I understand it, the hall having its own groom.

p. 104. _In strong stead_ (text, _styd_) _on pallet he lay_. The line is certainly corrupt, and I can make no sense of it. From the context I gather that _lay_ is the present optative of the verb meaning to place, not the past tense of _lie_. _He_ seems to refer to the servant, as in the next line, and not to the master who is already “winking.” In that case _In_ (Sc., _ane_?) _strong stead_ must represent something that he places on the pallet—what, I do not know.

p. 105. _Many are false._ So often in the romances of the time.

p. 105. _Wax so green._ Seemingly the steward’s accounts were kept first on tablets, and afterwards copied into books.

p. 106. _Surveyor._ His duty was to examine the dishes and see that everything was right before it went to the table.

p. 112. _Duke John’s house._ As his father was king, the man referred to must be John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who died 1399.

p. 112. [_Wide_]. The passage seems corrupt. The text says:—

“The selvage to the lord’s side within, And down shall hang that other may win.”

p. 118. _Starven._ Starved is still used, dialectically, to mean, nearly dying of cold.

p. 119. _Will eat._ Russell, in his directions to the carver, specifies choice bits, as the wings (first left, then right) of capon or hen; the legs of quail, lark or pigeon; of fawn, kid, lamb, first the kidney, then the rib; shoulder, then rib of pork, sides of rabbit or hare, &c.

p. 119. _Lief and dear._ This seems to mean only that he might, if he liked, keep a choice bit for a stranger.

SYMON’S LESSON OF WISDOM FOR ALL MANNER CHILDREN

MS. Bodley 832, fol. 174, about 1500. It seems to be unique, and of the author or copyist I know nothing.

p. 123. _Wall._ The passage suggests Lydgate’s poem, giving an account of his school-days, especially:—

“Ran into gardens, apples there I stole, To gather fruits spared hedge nor wall, To pluck grapes in other men’s vines Was more ready than for to say matins.”

p. 124. _Schate._ The context seems to demand the meaning fence; but the nearest to the form given here seems to be the Scotch _skathie_.

p. 125. _When he is passed._ The allusion seems to be to a middle-class boy in a cathedral school, who, as a chorister perhaps, would be familiar with the bishop’s presence, to whom therefore the reference would be pertinent and vivid.

HUGH RHODES’S BOOK OF NURTURE

_The Boke of Nurture, or School of Good Manners for Men, Servants, and Children, with Stans Puer Ad Mensam, newly corrected, being necessary for all youth and children._ The British Museum contains three early editions, of 1550 [?], 1568, and 1577; and Dr. Furnivall mentions two others as printed between 1551 and 1586.