‘E credo che fa male
Colui che taglia essendo a suo maggiore:
Chè non v’ è servitore
S’ el non dimanda prima la licenza.’
Indeed, I think that the tone prevalent throughout Barberino’s maxims
of courtesy on all sorts of points is fairly to be called exquisite.
Our extract from him brings us (it may be well to remember) into the
closest contact with the social usages which Dante in his youth must
have been cognisant of and conforming to; for, in passing from Bonvicino
to Barberino, we have passed from Lombardy to Tuscany—the latter poet
being a native of the Val d’Elsa, in the same district as Boccaccio’s
birth-place, Certaldo. The date assigned to Barberino’s work, the
_Documenti d’Amore_, is just about the same as that of Bonvicino’s, or
from 1290 to 1296. Yet I apprehend we must receive this early date with
some hesitation. In 1290 Barberino was but twenty-six years of age;
whereas the _Documenti d’Amore_, a lengthy and systematic treatise on all
kinds of moral and social duties and proprieties, seems to be rich with
the hoarded experience of years. That so young a man should even have
sketched out for himself a work of such axiomatic oracularity seems _à
priori_ unlikely, though one has to accept the fact on authority: that
he should towards that age have completed the poem as we now possess it
appears to me barely compatible with possibility. His other long poem,
still more singular on the like account, is referred to nearly the same
date. I observe in it, however, one passage (Part 6) which _must_ have
been written after 1308, and probably after 1312. It refers to a story
which had been narrated to Barberino ‘one time that he was in Paris.’ Now
his journey on a mission to Provence and France began in 1309, and ended
in 1313.
I shall here give place to my brother, and extract _verbatim_ the notice
of Barberino contained in his book of translations, _The Early Italian
Poets_.[30]
‘Francesco da Barberino: born 1264, died 1348.
‘With the exception of Brunetto Latini (whose poems are neither
very poetical nor well adapted for extract), Francesco da
Barberino shows by far the most sustained productiveness among
the poets who preceded Dante, or were contemporaries of his
youth. Though born only one year in advance of Dante, Barberino
seems to have undertaken, if not completed, his two long poetic
treatises some years before the commencement of the _Commedia_.
‘This poet was born at Barberino di Valdelsa, of a noble
family, his father being Neri di Ranuccio da Barberino. Up to
the year of his father’s death, 1296, he pursued the study
of law chiefly in Bologna and Padua; but afterwards removed
to Florence for the same purpose, and became one of the many
distinguished disciples of Brunetto Latini,[31] who probably
had more influence than any other one man in forming the youth
of his time to the great things they accomplished. After this
he travelled in France and elsewhere; and on his return to
Italy in 1313, was the first who, by special favour of Pope
Clement V., received the grade of Doctor of Laws in Florence.
Both as lawyer and as citizen, he held great trusts, and
discharged them honourably. He was twice married, the name of
his second wife being Barna di Tano, and had several children.
At the age of eighty-four he died in the great plague of
Florence. Of the two works which Barberino has left, one bears
the title of _Documenti d’Amore_, literally _Documents[32]
of Love_, but perhaps more properly rendered as _Laws of
Courtesy_; while the other is called _Del Reggimento e dei
Costumi delle Donne_,—_of the Government and Conduct of Women_.
They may be described, in the main, as manuals of good breeding
or social chivalry—the one for men, and the other for women.
Mixed with vagueness, tediousness, and not seldom with artless
absurdity, they contain much simple wisdom, much curious
record of manners, and (as my specimens show) occasional
poetic sweetness or power—though these last are far from
being their most prominent merits. The first-named treatise,
however, has much more of such qualities than the second, and
contains moreover passages of homely humour which startle by
their truth, as if written yesterday. At the same time, the
second book is quite as well worth reading, for the sake of its
authoritative minuteness in matters which ladies now-a-days
would probably consider their own undisputed region, and also
for the quaint gravity of certain surprising prose anecdotes
of real life with which it is interspersed. Both these works
remained long unprinted; the first edition of the _Documenti
d’Amore_ being that edited by Ubaldini in 1640, at which time
he reports the _Reggimento_ &c. to be only possessed by his age
“in name and in desire.” This treatise was afterwards brought
to light, but never printed till 1815. I should not forget to
state that Barberino attained some knowledge of drawing; and
that Ubaldini had seen his original MS of the _Documenti_,
containing, as he says, skilful miniatures by the author.
‘Barberino never appears to have taken a very active part
in politics, but he inclined to the Imperial and Ghibelline
party. This contributes with other things to render it rather
singular that we find no poetic correspondence or apparent
communication of any kind between him and his many great
countrymen, contemporaries of his long life, and with whom he
had more than one bond of sympathy. His career stretched from
Dante, Guido Cavalcanti, and Cino da Pistoia, to Petrarca and
Boccaccio: yet only in one respectful but not enthusiastic
notice of him by the last-named writer (_Genealogia degli Dei_)
do we ever meet with an allusion to him by any of the greatest
men of his time. Nor in his own writings, as far as I remember,
are _they_ ever referred to. His epitaph is said to have been
written by Boccaccio, but this is doubtful. On reviewing the
present series, I am sorry, on the whole, not to have included
more specimens of Barberino; whose writings, though not very
easy to tackle in the mass, would afford an excellent field for
selection and summary.’
Thus far my brother. I will only add to his biographical details that,
at the very end of Francesco da Barberino’s life, he and one of his sons
were elected the Priori, or joint chief-magistrates of the Florentine
Republic; and that the Barberini who came to the papal chair in 1623
as Urban VIII. was of the same family. His patronymic is enshrined to
many loose memories in the epigram ‘_Quod non fecere Barbari fecere
Barberini_.’ To all that my brother has said of the qualities, and
especially the merits, of Francesco, I cordially subscribe. The
_Documenti d’Amore_ is really a most capital book,—I should suppose,
unsurpassed of its kind, and also in its interest for students of the
early mediæval manners, and modes of thought. Its diction is remarkably
condensed—(Italian scholars say that it shows strong traces of the
author’s Provençal studies and predilections)—and it is proportionately
stiff work to hasty readers. Those who will peruse it deliberately, and
weigh its words, find many niceties of laconism, and much terse and
sententious good sense as well—lengthy as is the entire book. This is
indeed no slight matter—twelve sections, and something like 8500 lines.
It is exactly the sort of work to elicit and to account for editorial
enthusiasm.
[Sidenote: THE DOCUMENTI D'AMORE.]
I extract in full the stanzas bearing directly upon that which (following
the impulsion of Fra Bonvicino) has become our more immediate subject—the
Courtesies of the Table. The tone of society which we find here is
visibly in advance of the Lombard Friar’s, though the express precepts of
the two writers have a good deal of general resemblance: the superiority
in this respect is very much the same as in the language. Barberino’s
diction seems quite worthy of a Tuscan contemporary of Dante, and his
works are still drawn upon as a ‘_testo di lingua_.’
‘The third point of good manners
Which thou art to observe at table
Thou mayst receive thus;
Thinking out for thyself the other details from these few.
And, in entering to table,
If he who says to thee “Go in” is a man of distinction,
On account of his dignity
It behoves thee not to dispute the going.
With thine equals, it beseems to decline
For awhile, and then to conform to their wish:
With superiors, affect
Just the least demur, and then acquiesce.
With inferiors, keep silence,
And take the place which they give thee: and reflect
That, by resisting here,
Thou, by thy default, wouldst be making _them_ rude.
In thine own house, remain
Behind, if they are thy superiors or equals:
And, if thine inferiors, thou shalt seem
No other than correct if thou dost the same.
Understand the like, if thou givest
To eat to any persons out of thine own home:
Also remain behind when it happens
That thou art entertaining women.
Next consider about placing
Each person in the post that befits him.
Between relatives it behoves
To place others midway sometimes.
And, in this, honour the more
Those who are strangers, and retain the others by thyself:
And keep cheerful
Thy face and demeanour, and forbear with all.
Now I speak for every one.
He who is helping, let him help in equal portions.
He who is helped, let him not manœuvre
For the best, but take the less good.
They must not be pressed;
For this is their own affair, and choice is free,
And one forces the preference
Of him who was abstaining, perhaps purposely.
He makes a fool of himself who prematurely lays aside
His plate, while the others are still eating;
And he who untidily
Turns the table into a receptacle for scraps;
And he who sneers
At what he does not like; and he who hurries;
And he who picks and chooses
Out of the viands which are in common;
And those who seem more hungry
At the end than at the beginning;
And also he who sets to
At fortifying himself,[33] or exploring the bottom of the platter.
Nor do I think it looks quite well
To gnaw the bone with the teeth, and still worse
To drop it into the saucepan;[34]
Nor is salt well deposited on the dish.
And I think that he does amiss
Who carves, being at the table of his superior;
For none can perform service
If he does not first ask leave.
With thine equal, begin,
If the knife lies at thy right hand:
If not, leave it to him.
With fruit, thou canst not fitly help thy companion.
With women, I need not tell thee:
But thou must help them to everything,
If there is not some one who undertakes
Both the carving and other details.
But always look to it
That thou approach not too close to any of them.
And, if one of them is a relative of thine,
Thou wilt give more room to the other.
And, in short, thou wilt then
Do and render honour to thine utmost:
And here always mind
That thou soil not their dress.
Look them in the face but little,
Still less at their hands while eating,
For they are apt to be bashful:
And with respect to them, thou mayst well say “Do eat.”
When sometimes there come
Dishes or fruits, I praise him who thinks of avoiding
To take of those
Which cannot with cleanliness be handled.
Ill does the hand which hurries
To take a larger help out of a dish in common;
And worse he who does not well avoid
To loll, or set leg upon leg.
And be it observed
That here thou shouldst speak little and briefly:
Nor here must there be speech
Of aught save elegant and cheerful pleasantness.
I have shown thee above
Concerning the respect due to [thy lord], and saluting him.
I will now tell thee
More than I before said concerning service.
Take care that, in every operation
Or service that thou dost before him,
Thou must think steadily
Of what thou art about, for it goes ill if thou art absent-minded.
Thou shouldst keep thine eye,
When thou servest him, on that which he likes.
The silent tongue is aright,
Always without questioning, during service;
Also that thou keep thyself,
Thou who hast to serve, clean in dress and hands.
And I would have thee also serve strangers,
If they are at the meal with him.
Likewise have an eye to it
That thou keep things clean before him thou servest.
And thou dost well if thou keepest
The slice entire, if thou canst, in carving;
And amiss if neglectfully
Thou makest too great a lump of the carved viands;
And worse if thou art so long about it
That they have nothing to eat.
And, when there may be
Viands which make the hands uncleanly,
In some unobtrusive way
Get them washed by the time the next come on.
Thou shalt always be observant of the same
In bringing forward the fruits:
For to offer these about,
As I said before, befits not the guests.
Also I much complain
Of thee who wouldst then be correcting others:
For the present it must suffice thee,
In this case, to do right for thyself only.
He puts me out who has
So awkward a manner in cutting
That, in peeling a pear,
He takes up from three to nine o’clock;
And also he who keeps not good guard
Over his hand, and slips in cutting;
For he is prevented from serving,
And his lord sometimes has no one to serve him.
I dislike that he who serves
Should, in serving, speak of the doctor;
Unless maybe by way of obeying,
When he has it in command from him.
In giving water thou shalt be careful,
Considering the time and place:
Where there is little, little;
In the cold time, less cold—and, if very cold, warm.
When the sun is very hot,
Bring it abundantly, but mind the people’s clothes.
Observe the station and the ages,
With regard to whom thou shalt begin with, if there is none to tell
thee.[35]
At table it behoves
Not to give bad or offensive news;
Unless delay might produce
Danger—and then only to the person concerned.
Be thy mouth abstinent
From eating while the first table is set.
In drinking do likewise,
So far as gratification goes, but thirst excuses thee:
Which if thou feelest, accustom thyself
Not to drink underhand, nor of the best.
Neither is a servant liked
Who afterwards is long over his eating,
If he is where he _can_ do this;
And still less he who sulks if he is called
When he has not yet done eating;
For he serves best who serves other than his gullet.’
Before parting from the _Documenti d’Amore_, I will summarize a few more
of Barberino’s dicta on points of courtesy and demeanour in general.
There are seven offences in speaking: 1. Prolixity; 2. Curtness; 3.
Audacity; 4. Mauvaise Honte; 5. Stuttering; 6. Beating about the bush;
7. Restlessness of gesture, and this is the least supportable of all.
Remedies against all these evils are assigned. For the 6th, as we are
told, the (then) modern usage is to speak out what you have to say with
little or no proem. As to the 7th, the moving about, as a child would do,
the hands, feet, or head, or the using action in speech, shows deficient
firmness. See that you stand firm. Yet all this is to be modified
according to place, time, and the auditory. (It is amusing to find the
dignified Tuscan of the thirteenth to fourteenth century reprobating
that luxuriance of gesture which is one of the first things to strike an
English eye in Italy down to our own day—more especially in the southern
parts of the country. To have striven to obey Barberino’s precept, under
pain of being pronounced bad company, must have proved hard lines to some
of his contemporaries and catechumens.)
If you chance into uncongenial company, take the first opportune occasion
for getting away, with some parting words that shall not bewray your
antipathy.
To casual companions speak on their own respective subjects; as of God
to the clergy, health to doctors, design to painters. ‘With ladies of
refinement and breeding, laud and uphold their honour and state by
pleasant stories not oftentimes told already. And, if any one is contrary
and froward, reply in excuse and defence; for it is derogatory to contend
against those the overcoming of whom is loss.’
If you come into the company of a great lord, or of persons who are all
your superiors, and if they invite you to speak, inquire what the topic
shall be. If you find nothing to say, wait for some one else to start
you; and at worst be silent. In such company, be there no gesturing
(again!).
If you are walking with a great lord in any country, conform in a measure
to the usages there prevalent.
Following your superior, be respectful; to your equal, complaisant, and
treat him as superior; and, even with your inferior, tend towards the
same line of conduct. This, however, does not apply to your own servant.
Better exceed than fall short in showing respect to unknown persons. If
your superior, in walking with you, wants to have you by his side, go to
his left as a general rule, so that he may have the full use of his sword
hand. If it rains, and he has no cloak, offer him yours; and, even if he
declines, you must still dispense with it yourself. The like with your
hat. Pay similar attentions to your equal, or to one that is a little
your inferior: and even to your positive inferiors you must rather overdo
courtesy than fall short. Thus also with women: you must explore the way
for them, and attend on them, and in danger defend them with your life.
In church, do not pray aloud, but silently.
Wait not to be saluted. Be first in saluting; but do not overdo this, and
never reiterate a salutation. Your own lord you must not salute, unless
he comes from afar. You should uncover to him: then, if he is covered,
cover again. Do not exceed in saluting an intimate, but enter at once
into conversation; and do not hug him, unless he and you are indeed
one.[36] Bow to ladies without much speaking: and in towns ascertain the
ordinary practice in such cases, and observe it. If you see a female
relative in your own town, she being alone, or in company with only one
person, _and if she is handsome_, accost her as though she were not your
relative, unless your relationship is a fact known to the bystanders,
(This is a master-touch: and here is another, of a nearly similar sort)—
In serving a man of distinction, if you meet his wife, affect not to
observe her; and, if she gives you any commission to fulfil, don’t show
that it gratifies you.
The 16th ‘_Documento_’ sets forth ‘the method of making presents so
that the gift be acceptable.’ It is so admirable in point of both sense
and expression that I quote the original in a note, secure that _that_
will be a gift acceptable to all such readers of these pages as may be
readers of Italian also.[37] What can be more perfect than the censure
awarded to those who are in a chafe until, by reciprocating any service
rendered to them, they shall have wiped it out?
‘Be all aware
That it is no small flaw to mislike
Remaining under an obligation:
Nay, it then seems that one is liberal by compulsion.’
[Sidenote: THE REGGIMENTO DELLE DONNE.]
Barberino’s second work, _Del Reggimento e dei Costumi delle Donne_,
furnishes, strange to say, hardly any express rules for conduct, at
table; but some details may, for our general purpose, be picked out of an
emporium whose abundance can be surmised from the following programme.
‘I will divide this work into 20 parts:
And each part
Shall present certain distinct grades,
As the foregoing reading shows,
The 1st will relate how a girl
Should conduct herself
When she begins to appreciate right and wrong,
And to fear shame.
2nd, How, when
She comes to a marriageable age.
3rd, How, when she has passed.
The period for marriage.
4th, if, after she has given up the hope of ever
Obtaining a husband, it happens
That yet she gets one, and remains
At home awhile before going to him.
The 5th, How, after she is married;
And how the first, and how
The second and third,
Up to fifteen days; and the first month,
And the second and third;
And how on to her end:
Both before having children, and afterwards, and if she
Has none: and how in old age.
The 6th, How, if she loses her husband:
And how if she is old;
And how if she is of middle age;
And how if she is left young;
And how if she has children;
And how if she is a grandmother;
And how if she still
Remains mistress of her husband’s property;
And if she, being a widow, takes
The garb of religion.
The 7th sets forth
How she should comport herself
If she marries again;
And how if to a better [husband],
And how if to a worse
And less wealthy one;
And how if she yet goes to a third;
And how, after she has become a widow,
And has again taken a husband,
She remains awhile at home
Before going to him;
And how far re-marrying is praised or blamed.
8th, How, she
Who assumes the habit
Of a religious order at home;
And how this is praised or no.
9th, How, being shut up in a monastery
In perpetual reclusion;
And how the Abbess, Superior, and Prioress,
And every other Portress or Nun.
10th, How she
Who secludes herself alone
Is named a Hermitess; and wherein this is to blame.
11th, How
The maid who is
In companionship with a lady;
And how if she is alone,
And how if one among others in the like office.
12th, How
Every serving-woman shall conduct herself,
Whether serving a lady alone, or a lady along
With the master; and also if any, by herself,
Serves a master; and how
This is to be praised, and how not.
13th, How,
A nurse in the house, and how apart.
14th, How,
The female serf or slave;[38]
And how, being a serf,
She may afterwards, through her conduct, obtain her liberty.
15th, How
Every kind of woman
Of the common sort should behave,
And of a lower and poorer sort; and all
Save the bad ones of dissolute life
Who sell their honour for money,—
Whom I do not purpose
To put in writing,
Nor to make any mention of them,
For they are not worthy to be named.
16th treats
Of certain general precepts
To all women; and of their ornaments,
And their adventures.
17th, of their consolations.
18th, because sometimes
They must know how to speak and converse
And answer, and be in company,
Here will be treated upon questions of love
And courtesy and breeding.
19th treats
Of certain motetts and messages[39]
Of ladies to knights,
And of other sorts
Of women and men.
The 20th treats
Of certain orisons.
And in this part is the conclusion
Of the book; and how I carry this book
To the Lady who is above-named,[40]
And how she receives it;
And how the Virtues
Come before her.’
The promise here is rich indeed, and the performance also is rich; though
it may fairly be said that various sections fall considerably below
one’s expectations, and some of them are jejune enough. But, after every
deduction has been made, the work fills a niche of its own, and without
competitor.