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Do you fear Britain has lost its way and become a cesspool of bad manners and loose morals?
If the answer is yes, then you’ll be very glad the British Library has digitised an ancient medieval book of etiquette which is a time-honoured guide to living a decent, civilised life.
It’s called the Little Children’s Book and is quite clear on the importance of being moderate in your cheese consumption, keeping your dirty fingers out of those nostrils and trying to avoid burping ‘as if you have a bean in your throat’.
‘Don’t pick your nose. Don’t burp. Wash your hands. Take your elbows off the table. Does this sound familiar?’ the British Library asked.
‘This manuscript is full of rules like these, written more than 500 years ago.
‘The Little Children’s Little Book taught children table manners, so that they would know how to behave in noble or royal households.
‘By listing all the many things that medieval children should not do, it also gives us a hint of the mischief they got up to.’
Seven rules for life: A medieval guide to good manners
- ‘Pyke notte thyne errys nothyr thy nostrellys’: Don’t pick your ears or nose.
- ‘Pyke not thi tothe with thy knyffe’: Don’t pick your teeth with your knife.
- ‘Spette not ovyr thy tabylle’: Don’t spit over your table.
- ‘Bulle not as a bene were in thi throote’: Don’t burp as if you had a bean in your throat.
- ‘Loke thou laughe not, nor grenne / And with moche speche thou mayste do synne’: Don’t laugh, grin or talk too much.
- ‘And yf thy lorde drynke at that tyde, / Dry[n]ke thou not, but hym abyde’: If your lord drinks, don’t drink. Wait until he’s finished.
- ‘And chesse cum by fore the, be not to redy’: Don’t be greedy when they bring out the cheese.
The guide to manners was known as a ‘courtesy book’ and was popular in Europe from the 13th to 18th century.
‘It was useful for children and families who aspired to join the nobility or find work serving at the royal court,’ the Library added.
‘This author links manners to religion as well as social rank, saying that “courtesy” comes directly from “heaven”.’
The copy that’s been digitised and published online is written in Middle English, which is different from the English spoken today.
Many of the words have different meanings. For instance, ‘meat’ was used to mean ‘food’ and ‘thou’ meant ‘you’.
The LIbrary added: ‘At that time, there were no definite rules for English spelling, so one word (such as ‘little’) was written in different ways.
‘Printing had only recently been introduced to England by William Caxton. It would help to fix spellings in the centuries to come.
‘There are three different copies of the Little Book at the British Library, and at least three more in other collections.
‘This copy is part of a larger manuscript, probably meant for children and other household members.
‘The manuscript includes texts on hunting and carving meat, medicine, blood-letting and English kings.’
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