Early English Meals and Manners Part 88

-- Now must I telle in shorte, for I muste so, Youre observau{n}ce that ye shall{e} done at none; 128 Whe{n}ne that ye se youre lorde to mete shall{e} goo, Be redy to fecche him water sone; Su{m}me h.e.l.le[1] water; su{m}me holde to he hath{e} done The cloth{e} to him; And from him yee nat pace 132 Whils he be sette, and haue herde sayde the grace.

[Sidenote: At Noon, when your lord is ready for dinner, some pour water on him, some hold the towel for him till he has finished, and don't leave till grace is said.]

-- Byfore him stonde whils he komau{n}de yow sytte, With{e} clene handes Ay Redy him to serve; Whe{n}ne yee be sette, yo{ur} knyf with{e} alle yo{ur} wytte 136 Vnto youre sylf both{e} clene and sharpe conserve, That honestly yee mowe yo{ur} owne mete kerve.

Latte curtesye and sylence with{e} yow duelle, And foule tales looke noone to other telle. 140

[Sidenote: Stand by your lord till he tells you to sit, then keep your knife clean and sharp to cut your food. Be silent, and tell no nasty stories.]

-- Kutte with{e} yo{ur} knyf yo{ur} brede, and breke yt nouht{e}; A clene Trenchour byfore yow eke ye lay, And whe{n}ne yo{ur} potage to yow shall{e} be brouht{e}, Take yow sponys, and soupe by no way, 144 And in youre dysshe leve nat yo{ur} spone, I pray, Nor on the borde lenynge be yee nat sene, But from embrowyng the cloth{e} yee kepe clene.

[Sidenote: Cut your bread, don't break it. Lay a clean trencher before you, and eat your broth with a spoon, don't sup it up.

Don't leave your spoon in your dish. Don't lean on the table, or dirty the cloth.]

-- Oute ou{er}e youre dysshe yo{ur} heede yee nat hynge, 148 And with{e} fulle mouth{e} drynke in no wyse; Youre nose, yo{ur} teeth{e}, yo{ur} naylles, from pykynge,

[Sidenote: [Fol. 89.]]

Kepe At your mete, for so techis the wyse.

Eke or ye take in youre mouthe, yow avyse, 152 So mekyl mete but that yee riht{e} well{e} mowe Answere, And speke, whe{n}ne men speke to yow.

[Sidenote: Don't hang your head over your dish, or eat with a full mouth, or pick your nose, teeth, and nails, or stuff your mouth so that you can't speak.]

-- Wha{n}ne ye shall{e} drynke, yo{ur} mouthe clence with{e} A cloth{e}; Youre handes eke that they in no manere 156 Imbrowe the cuppe, for tha{n}ne shull{e} noon{e} be loth{e} With{e} yow to drynke that ben with{e} yow yfere.

The salte also touche nat in his salere With{e} nokyns mete, but lay it honestly 160 On youre Trenchoure, for that is curtesy.

[Sidenote: Wipe your mouth when you drink, and don't dirty the cup with your hands. Don't dip your meat in the salt-cellar,]

-- Youre knyf with{e} mete to yo{ur} mouthe nat bere, And in youre hande nor hold? yee yt no way; Eke yf to yow be brouht{e} goode metys sere, 164 Luke curteysly of ylke mete yee a.s.say, And yf yo{ur} dysshe with{e} mete be tane away And better brouht{e}, curtesye wole certeyne Yee late yt pa.s.se and calle it nat ageyne. 168

[Sidenote: or put your knife in your mouth. Taste every dish that's brought to you, and when once your plate is taken away, don't ask for it again.]

-- And yf st{ra}ungers with{e} yow be sette at mete, And vnto yow goode mete be brouht{e} or sente, With{e} parte of hit goodely yee theym Rehete, For yt ys nouht{e} ywys convenyent 172 With{e} yow at mete, wha{n}ne other ben present, Alle forto holde that vnto yow ys brouht{e}, And as wrecches on other vouchesauf nouht{e}.

[Sidenote: If strangers dine with you, share all good food sent to you with them. It's not polite to keep it all to yourself.]

[Sidenote: [Fol. 89b.]]

-- Kutte nouht{e} youre mete eke as it were Felde men, 176 That to theyre mete haue suche an appetyte That they ne rekke in what wyse, where ne when, Nor how vngoodly they on theyre mete twyte; But, swete children, haue al-wey yo{ur} delyte 180 In curtesye, and in verrey gentylnesse, And at youre myht{e} eschewe boystousnesse.

[Sidenote: Don't cut your meat like field labourers, who have such an appet.i.te they don't care how they hack their food. Sweet children, let your delight be courtesy, and eschew rudeness.]

-- Wha{n}ne chese ys brouht{e}, A Trenchoure ha ye clene On which{e} with{e} clene knyf [ye] yo{ur} chese mowe kerve; 184 In your fedynge luke goodly yee be sene.

And from Iangelyng yo{ur} tunge al-wey conserve, For so ywys yee shall{e} a name deserve Off gentylnesse and of goode governau{n}ce, 188 And in vertue al-wey youre silf avau{n}ce.

[Sidenote: Have a clean trencher and knife for your cheese, and eat properly. Don't chatter either, and you shall get a good repute for gentleness.]

-- Wha{n}ne that so ys that ende shall{e} kome of mete, Youre knyffes clene, where they ouht{e} to be, Luke yee putte vp{pe}; and holde eke yee yo{ur} seete 192 Whils yee haue wa.s.she, for so wole honeste.

Whe{n}ne yee haue done, looke tha{n}ne goodly that yee With{e}-oute lauht{e}r{e}, Iapynge, or boystous worde, Ryse vp{pe}, and goo vnto youre lordis borde, 196

[Sidenote: When the meal is over, clean your knives, and put them in their places; keep your seats till you've washed; then rise up without laughing or joking, and go to your lord's table.]

-- And stonde yee there, and pa.s.se yee him nat fro Whils grace ys sayde and brouht{e} vnto an ende, Tha{n}ne so{m}me of yow for water owe to goo, So{m}me holde the clothe, so{m}me poure vpn his hende. 200

[Sidenote: [Fol. 90.]]

Other service tha{n}ne this I myht{e} comende To yow to done, but, for the tyme is shorte, I putte theym nouht{e} in this lytyl Reporte,

[Sidenote: Stand there till grace is said. Then some of you go for water, some hold the towel, some pour water over his hands. Other things I shall not put in this little Report,]

-- But ou{er}e I pa.s.se, prayyng with{e} spyrit gladde 204 Of this labour that no wiht{e} me detray, But where to lytyl ys, latte him more adde, And whe{n}ne to myche ys, latte him take away; For thouh{e} I wolde, tyme wole that I no more say; 208 I leve therfore, And this Book I directe To eu{er}y wiht{e} that lyste yt to correcte.

[Sidenote: but skip over, praying that no one will abuse me for this work. Let readers add or take away: I address it to every one who likes to correct it.]

-- And, swete children, for whos love now I write, I yow beseche with{e} verrey lovande herte, 212 To knowe this book that yee sette yo{ur} delyte; And myht{e}full{e} G.o.d, that suffred peynes smerte, In curtesye he make yow so experte, That thurh{e} yo{ur} nurture and youre governau{n}ce 216 In lastynge blysse yee mowe yo{ur} self auau{n}ce!

[Sidenote: Sweet children, I beseech you know this book, and may G.o.d make you so expert therein that you may attain endless bliss.]

[Footnote 1: _helde_, pour out; A.S. _hyldan_, to incline, bend.]

-- Lerne or be Lewde.

[Sidenote: [Fol. 90b.]]

To Amerous, to Au{n}terous, ne Angre the nat to muche; To Bolde, ne to Besy, ne Bourde nat to large; To Curteys, to Cruell{e}, ne Care nat to sore; To Dulle, ne to Dredefull{e}, ne Drynke nat to offte; 4 To Elenge, to Excellent, ne to Carefulle neythur; To Fers, ne to Famuler, but Frendely of Chere; To gladde, ne to Glorious, and Gelousy thow hate; To Hasty, to Hardy, ne to Hevy in thyn Herte; 8 To Iettyng, ne to Iangelyng, and Iape nat to ofte; To Kynde, ne to Kepyng, and warr{e} Knavis tacches; To Loth{e}, ne to Lovyng, ne to Lyberall{e} of goode; To Medlous, to Mury, but as goode Maner askith{e}; 12 To noyous, ne to Nyce, ne to Newfangyll{e}; To Orped, to Overtwert, and Othes, s{ir}, thow hate; To Preysyng, to Preve with{e} Prynces and Dukes; To Queynt, to Querelous, and Queme well{e} thy maistre; 16 To Riotous, to Revelyng, ne Rage nat to muche; To Strau{n}ge, ne to Steryng, ne Stare nat abroode; To Toyllous, to Talevys, for Temp{er}au{n}ce it hat.i.th{e}; To Vengable, to Envious, and waste nat to muche; 20 To Wylde, to Wrathefull{e}, and Wade nat to depe; A Mesurable Mene way ys beste for vs alle;

-- Yitte. Lerne. or. Be. Lewde.

[Sidenotes: Don't be too loving or angry, bold or busy, courteous or cruel or cowardly, and don't drink too often, [E] or be too lofty or anxious, but friendly of cheer. [G] Hate jealousy, be not too hasty or daring; joke not too oft; ware knaves' tricks. Don't be too grudging or too liberal, too meddling, [N] too particular, new-fangled, or too daring. Hate oaths and [P] flattery.

[Q] Please well thy master. Don't be too rackety, [S] or go out too much. [V] Don't be too revengeful or wrathful, and wade not too deep.

The middle path is the best for us all.]