How different are we from those in the past? Or, how different do we think we are from those in the past? Medieval people were more dirty and unhygienic than us – as novels, TV, and film would have us believe – but how much truth is there in this notion? This book seeks to challenge some of these preconceptions by examining medieval society through rules of conduct, and specifically through the lens of a medieval Latin text entitled "The Book of the Civilised Man" – or "Urbanus magnus" – which is attributed to Daniel of Beccles.
"Urbanus magnus" is a twelfth-century poem of almost 3,000 lines which comprehensively surveys the day-to-day life of medieval society, including issues such as moral behaviour, friendship, marriage, hospitality, table manners, and diet. Currently, it is a neglected source for the social and cultural history of daily life in medieval England, but by incorporating modern ideas of disgust and taboo, and merging anthropology, sociology, and archaeology with history, this book aims to bring it to the fore, and to show that medieval people did have standards of behaviour. Although they may seem remote to modern 'civilised' people, there is both continuity and change in human behaviour throughout the centuries.
Author(s): Fiona Whelan
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2017
Language: English
Pages: XVIII+226
List of illustrations vii
Acknowledgements ix
Abbreviations xi
Manuscript sigla xiii
Introduction xv
1. The background to 'Urbanus magnus' 1
Content 1
Introduction to the manuscripts 8
Composition 12
Authorship 16
2. Genre and 'Urbanus magnus' 25
Scholarship on 'Urbanus magnus' 25
The genre of courtesy literature 28
The origins of courtesy literature 33
Other sources 41
3. The manuscript evidence 53
Twelfth-century satire 53
An educational tool 57
Religious use 61
A medical text 66
4. Introduction to themes 71
5. The medieval household and beyond 78
Administering the household 79
Householder, home, and hospitality 79
Children and wives 86
Staff and servants 90
Outside the household 94
Social mobility and appropriate courtesy 98
6. The medieval body in 'Urbanus magnus' 113
Bodily moderation and restraint 115
Speech and laughter 120
Bodily vices 125
The body and sex 127
Bodily emissions 131
Disgust 135
7. Medieval dining and diet 151
The archaeological evidence 152
The medieval meal 158
Preparation and consumption 158
Manners 164
Continuity and change 169
Diet and health 172
8. New interpretations 182
The impetus for and precursors to 'Urbanus magnus' 182
Origins 185
Social habitus 185
The court of Henry II 189
'A monument to anxiety' 193
Use 196
The impact of 'Urbanus magnus' 197
9. Conclusion 204
Appendix: 'Contenances de table' poems 206
Bibliography 210
Index 223
