October 12, 2006

And keep your knees together

Carolyn Smith-Kizer posts an excerpt from some 13th-century advice to bourgeois housewives. My favourite part comes at the end: "She should keep herself from falling asleep at the table; it is really improper, and . . . many who do so end up falling to one side or the other, or backwards, and break their arm or ribs or crack their head."

Scribbled at October 12, 2006 12:13 PM AST | Permanent link to this post | More? early modern
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Hmmm?

Makes you wonder what they were doing that made them fall asleep at the table. Were they so worn out from daily life that it was common? Were there other rules that dictated that bourgeois housewives were not allowed to leave the table till their menfolk left, too?

Scribbled by Another Damned Medie at October 12, 2006 9:40 PM | Permalink

mj -- I just noticed the source -- did you? The Roman de la Rose. I'd always thought of it as allegory and chivalry, but don't think I ever saw this part.

Scribbled by Another Damned Medie at October 12, 2006 9:44 PM | Permalink

Yes, I did notice. I haven't read it in, literally, decades, and certainly don't remember anything about how to behave at the table.

Scribbled by mj at October 13, 2006 8:10 AM | Permalink