Medieval Conduct Literature: An Anthology of Vernacular Guides to Behaviour for Youths with English Translations

355 Pages·2009·4.17 MB·English

by  Mark D. Johnston (ed.)

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: Teach Your Children Well:
Medieval Conduct Guides for Youths ix
ROBERTAL.KRUEGER
1 The French Enseignemenz a Phelippe and Enseignement
a Ysabel of Saint Louis 3
KATHLEENASHLEY
2 The Occitan Enssenhamen de l’escudier and Essenhamen
de la donzela of Amanieu de Sescás 23
MARKD.JOHNSTON
3 The German Winsbecke,Winsbeckin, andWinsbecke
Parodies (Selections) 61
ANNMARIERASMUSSENANDOLGATROKHIMENKO
4 The Italian Reggimento e costumi di donna (selections)
and Documenti d’amore (selections) of Francesco da Barberino 127
ELEONORASTOPPINO
5 The Castilian Castigos del rey don Sancho (selections)
andCastigos y dotrinasque un sabio dava a sus hijas 185
EMILYC.FRANCOMANO
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vi Contents
6 The English How the Good Wijf Taughte Hir Doughtir
andHow theWise Man Taught His Sonne 285
CLAIRESPONSLER
Bibliography 305
Index 315
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The project of this anthology, like so many other felicitous collaborative
endeavours in medieval studies, had its genesis in discussions among col-
leagues at the annual International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western
Michigan University. At the 2003 Congress, members of the Medieval
Academy of America’s Publications Board suggested the initial concept of
an anthology of representative vernacular conduct texts, presented in pairs to
illustrate the different teachings offered for youths of each sex. That original
concept evolved into the plan of this anthology, which includes selections
diverse not only in the sex of their intended readers, but also in the social
class and nationality of those readers, as well as in the era, language, length,
style, and format of the texts themselves. Any selection of this kind – espe-
cially in a field as vast as vernacular conduct literature – is necessarily arbi-
trary, but the editors hope that their choice of texts will appeal to a wide
audience of both specialist and non-specialist readers, in particular those for
whom most of these texts would remain unknown or inaccessible in their
original language.
For each pair of texts, a brief introduction provides essential background
information about their authorship, manuscript tradition, and contents. Of
course, all of these texts deserve (and have often attracted) much more exten-
sive scholarly analysis; the bibliography lists the relevant scholarship cited in
the introduction as well as works recommended for further reading. Where
necessary, notes to the texts explain historical references and the known bibli-
cal, classical, or other medieval works occasionally cited by their authors. To
the colleagues and their students who find this volume useful, the editors offer
these texts for the pleasure of their continued study.
The Universitaetsbibliothek of Heidelberg graciously granted permission to
reproduce the illuminations from the famous Codex Manesse that adorn this
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viii Acknowledgments
German text. Preparation of the German texts received support from the Duke
University Arts and Sciences Faculty Research Council. Selections from the
Castigos del rey Don Sancho and the text of the Castigos y dotrinas que un
sabio dava a sus hijas appear by kind permission of Iberoamericana Editorial
Veuvuert and the Fundación Universitaria Española, respectively, with support
from Georgetown University.
The successful completion of this project would have been impossible with-
out the ongoing encouragement of Dr Richard K. Emmerson, formerly direc-
tor of the Medieval Academy of America. The editors thank him for his
enthusiasm – and above all, for his patience – throughout this project. Other
colleagues contributed valuable advice, suggestions, or support to the design
and preparation of this anthology: Anne Clark Bartlett, Gary Cestaro, David F.
Johnson, Roberta L. Krueger, Regina Psaki, and Paul Szarmach. The editors
especially thank several colleagues who reviewed English versions of the Cas-
tilian, German, Italian, and Occitan texts, making many and detailed sugges-
tions for improving these translations: Clara Pascual Argente, Steven Botterill,
Marion E. Gibbs, William D. Paden, and Regina Psaki. The editors alone are
responsible for any infelicities or errors that remain in their work.
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INTRODUCTION:
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL:
MEDIEVAL CONDUCT GUIDES
FOR YOUTHS
Roberta L. Krueger
Men are obliged to instruct, rule, and supervise their children, and to give and bequeath
to them teachings of good habits and rules by which they may consequently live and
know God and themselves and set an example of good living for others.
– Sancho IV, Castigos (Prologue, 10)
The guides to conduct in this collection are part of the vast outpouring of didac-
tic literature for lay readers written in the vernacular literatures of Europe
throughout the Middle Ages. Within chapters presenting selections from French,
Occitan, German, Italian, Castilian, and English literature ranging from the mid-
thirteenth to the late fifteenth centuries, instructions for each sex are paired
together here. Such didactic works were arguably even better known by medi-
eval readers than the more aesthetically refined genres of courtly lyric and
romance. From the thirteenth century onward, vernacular guides to conduct
flourished in courts and elite households throughout Europe, as manuscripts
were passed among family members and new books were composed and con-
veyed through the generations in ever-widening circles of readers. Transmitting
the precepts of classical ethics, Christian piety, and savvy behaviour in a variety
of forms, these books conserved and rewrote the rules for good living to reflect
changing socio-historical realities and to reach new audiences within different
linguistic, geographical, and social contexts. As their production moved from
royal and aristocratic courts to bourgeois households, conduct books played a
major role in the spread of literacy, in cultural education, and in social mobility.
PERCEVAL’S LESSONS
To exemplify the rising fortune of guides to conduct in thirteenth-century
culture, let us turn to an apparently unlikely source, Arthurian romance: Le
Conte du Graal, written by Chrétien de Troyes in the 1180s, and Beaudous,
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