THE WOMEN OF THE MANORS
The limited means of travel and communication caused the lives of
the women of the early English manors to be secluded and, in a sense,
protected the wives and daughters of the titled nobility. The manor
house was a world to itself, a centre of law, of society, of industry,
and, ofttimes, of culture.
On account of the bad state of the roads and the lack of the modern
convenience of quick transmittal of information, the turmoils and
upheavals of the cities left the manors unaffected by more than
a ripple of their excitement. The manor had its own social and
administrative system, which provided for the performance of duties by
the various elements of the manorial establishment. In times of wide
social disorder, the manor, by reason of its isolation, was often
subject to attack; then the courage and fortitude of its female
occupants were called forth to the uttermost. Women whose names
might otherwise have passed into obscurity have been enrolled among
England's heroines by reason of just such circumstances; one such,
whose fame carries us back to the Wars of the Roses, was Lady Joan
Pelham, wife of Sir John Pelham, Constable of Pevensey Castle. While
Sir John was in Yorkshire with the Lancastrian Duke Henry, fighting
against Richard II., Pevensey Castle was fiercely attacked by
Yorkist forces. The continuance of the siege brought on a scarcity
of provisions; in this strait, Lady Joan addressed a letter to her
husband, which, besides displaying the courage of a noble English
lady, has the additional interest of being the earliest letter extant
written by an English woman of quality. It reads as follows:
"MY DERE LORDE:
"I recommande me to yowr his Lordeshippe wyth heart and body and all
my pore myght, and wyth all this I think zou, as my dere Lorde, derest
and best yloved of all earth lyche Lordes; I say for me and thanke
yhow me der Lorde, with all thys that I say before, off your
comfortable lettre, that ze send me from Pownefraite that com to me on
Mary Magdaleyn day; ffor by my trowth I was never so gladd as when I
herd by your lettre that ye was stronge ynogh wyth the grace off God
for to kepe you fro the malyce of your ennemys. And dere Lorde iff it
lyk to your hyee Lordeshippe that als ye myght, that smythe her off
your gracious spede whych God Allmyghty contynue and encresse. And my
dere Lorde, if is lyk zow for to know of my ffare, I am here by layd
in a manner off a sege, wyth the counte of Sussex, Sudray, and a green
parsyll off Kentte; so that I ne may nogth out, nor none vitayles
gette me, hot wyth my die hard. Wharfore my dere if it lyk zow, by the
awyse off zowr wyse counsel for to sett remadye off the salvation off
yhower castells wt. stand the malyce off ther sehures foresayde. And
also that ye be fullyehe enformede off there grett malyce wyker's in
these schyres whyche yt haffes so dispytfful wrogth to zow, and to
zowl contell, to zhowr men, and zuor tenaunts ffore this cuntree, have
yai wastede for grett whyle. Farewell my dere Lorde, the Holy Tryn zow
kepe fro zour ennemys and son send me gud tythyng off yhow. Ywryten at
Pevensey in the castell, on Saynt Jacobe day last past.
"By yhowr awnn pore,
"J. PELHAM.
"To my trew Lorde."
While her position gave her equal rank with her husband, it also laid
upon the lady of the manor the cares natural to her station. A great
lady had always her bodyguard of maidens, and the lord his following
of pages, these young people being thus provided for that they
might receive the training of gentility and courtesy which were the
essentials in the character of the noble persons of the times. These
maidens, who were intrusted to the care of the lady of the manor, had
to be trained in all domestic accomplishments as well as in polite
attainments. It is singular that this custom of sending children from
home was often interpreted by foreigners as an evidence of a lack of
parental affection; and, indeed, it did at times furnish a means of
easy riddance of daughters whose tempers were incompatible with those
of their parents, or whose self-will--or the selfish policy of the
household--made it desirable for the parents to sever the tie which
lacked the strength of affection. Thus, in 1469, Dame Margaret Paston
writes to her son, Sir John Paston, regarding his sister Margery: "I
wuld ye shuld purvey for yur suster to be with my Lady of Oxford, or
with my Lady of Bedford, or in sume other wurshepfull place, wher as
ye thynk best, and I wull help to her fyndyng, for we be eyther of us
werye of other."
It will be seen from this fashion of the times--more particularly of
the latter part of the Middle Ages--that a knight's lady performed
many of the functions of a mistress of a boarding school. Those
intrusted to her care, regardless of their rank or station, were
subjected to rigid discipline and were required to perform the arduous
duties of the household. These tasks embraced the varied forms
of plain and fancy needlework, for every lady was expected to be
proficient in such matters; all wearing apparel and fabrics of all
sorts required for household use, and the banners and altar cloths of
the churches as well, were made in the household. When the household
was a large one, the lady and her maidens were kept busily employed
in attending to its needs. It is, however, entirely probable that
the manufacture of the coarser materials and their making into
clothing were delegated to the servants, of whom every manor had
a large retinue. The designing and making of the costumes of the
wealthy--especially those that were to be worn on court and other high
occasions--were given over to professional tailors, who were called
"scissors."
The round of domestic duty made daily drafts upon the time of the
wives. In every family of the higher class, the lady of the household
had to see to the provisioning as well as to the clothing of its
members and servitors. This was not a simple matter, as the provisions
had to be supplied at the cost of great inconvenience, excepting in
the case of the products of the manor farms belonging to the estate.
The stewards' accounts are often a valuable source of information as
to the grade of living of the times.
In view of the industry of the women in the manufacture of textile
fabrics, the poet's eulogy is deserved:
"Of gold tissues, and cloth of silk;
Therefore say I, whate'er their ilk,
To all who shall this story find
They owe them all to womankind."
The limits of the manor formed the horizon of its women; the men
frequently had to make long journeys in the pursuit of their larger
concerns, and were often in foreign lands serving as soldiers or
crusaders. But the lack of variety in the lives of the women was more
than compensated for by the opportunities which were furnished them
by quiet and seclusion for the improvement of their minds and the
cultivation of those finer qualities of character which are the basis
of the refinement and good manners of the cultivated English women
of the present day. It is not too much to say of the Middle Ages that
without the peculiar circumstances of manorial living, the culture,
confidence, self-containment, and initiative of the English woman
would not have become as they are--her predominant characteristics.
So effectual, indeed, were the conditions of the times for seclusion,
and so greatly were its privileges appreciated, that it could be said
of many a fine lady, as was asserted of Lady Joan Berkeley, that she
never "humored herselfe with the vaine delightes of London and other
cities," and never travelled ten miles from her husband's houses in
Somerset and Gloucester.
The life of the manors was not, however, a round of tireless industry.
The ruddy-cheeked, simple-minded English women of the better class
were possessed of a redundant vitality and a fund of joyousness and
humor which sought and found expression in a variety of healthful
outdoor recreations, as well as indoor amusements. The pleasing art
of letter writing had come to hold a position of interest in polite
circles; for although the women may not have been skilled with the
quill, their letters were nevertheless natural, simple, and sincere,
and they were fairly proficient in the art of reading. Their religious
duties occupied a part of each day, as did their visitation of the
homes of the dependants on the estate; for it was the lady of the
manor who was looked to by the poor for herbal medicines and such
delicacies as were supplied to the sick. Great ladies sometimes
recognized their duties to the poor not only by giving individual
doles, but by founding almshouses. Nearly every lady of distinction
felt it incumbent upon her to do something for the relief of suffering
and distress. It is especially pleasing to know that it was the women
whose sensibilities were thus touched, and who were first influenced
by the idea of social responsibility for the less fortunate classes of
society. The records of the times abound with instances of benevolence
in institutional forms. When it was impracticable for her to be her
own almoner, the lady employed for the office a monk or a priest, and
so associated her charities with the Church, by the teachings of which
her impulses were trained. The saints' days were customarily observed
by especial and important contributions for the poor.
Were it not for the manors, the Middle Ages would lack almost
altogether poetry and literature other than that of the monkish
chroniclers. Literature and poetry in this period were chiefly centred
around the women of the nobility. It was probably due to the fondness
of Henry I. for letters that a literary taste was excited among his
queens. The earliest specimens existing of vernacular poetry are some
verses addressed to Henry's second spouse, Adeliza. Feminine taste
and royal patronage combined to free poetry from the pollution of
the minstrel and his circle of vulgar auditors, to cause it to be
cultivated by studious men and women, whose tastes had become refined
by the study of the Latin classics, and who were themselves emulous of
gaining a literary reputation by the cultivation of the art of serious
composition.
Vernacular poetry, having the sanction and esteem of the higher
circles of life, came to be generally appreciated; and the mind, which
is naturally responsive to matters of good taste, was willing to throw
aside the incubus of low stories, dependent for their interest upon
prurient situations, and to rise to the acceptance of literature whose
interest centred around persons and situations that made their appeal
by reason of worthiness or dignity. The patronage of letters by the
nobility led many, especially ecclesiastics, to develop their talents
in that direction. Wace, a canon of Bayeux and a prolific rhymester,
expressly states that his works were composed for the "rich gentry who
had rents and money." Even the stormy reign of Stephen seems to have
been no impediment to the cultivation of the literary taste which had
its beginning in the court of Henry I. and in the patronage of his
queens. The vernacular histories were either written or rendered into
the popular tongue, and in this way became the intellectual property
of the female world; they were not infrequently inspired by the wish
of some lady--a wish which became the law of the lay or clerical
writer.
The story of Eleanor of Aquitaine, the unhappy queen of Henry II.,
who in her later life frequently signed herself "queen by the wrath of
God," illustrates a phase of domestic infelicity which was not without
many parallels. It also serves to show that, with the perfervid
sentiment of chivalrous devotion to women, it was easy enough to
forget the higher demands of faithfulness in the real relations of
life. This queen herself was not blameless, and to an extent must
be regarded as suffering the penalties of her own indiscretions. The
story is almost too familiar to need reciting. She discovered that,
although ostensibly Henry's wife, the position was really filled by
one with whom the king had previously contracted marriage. The
family of Rosamond Clifford was as respectable as and scarcely less
illustrious than her own. During a sojourn at Woodstock, the jealous
eye of the queen had observed the king following a silk thread through
the labyrinth of trees, by which means she came to knew of her rival.
The meeting of the two women can better be imagined than described:
the queen poured out a torrent of reproaches and invectives, ending by
offering to Rosamond the cup of poison or a dagger, and did not leave
the place until the victim of her jealousy was no more.
But the tragic death of Rosamond did not serve to enlist for the queen
the affections of her consort, nor did it tend to promote her domestic
peace. Never was a family so torn by dissension and sin; her children
were arrayed against their father and one another, and all were
opposed to herself. Her husband added to her many troubles the further
shame of installing in her place the wife of his son. Seeking release
from a situation past all endurance, she eloped from a castle in
Aquitaine, intending to find an asylum in the dominions of King Louis
of France, her former husband. She was captured by Henry's myrmidons
and thrown into prison, there to remain sixteen years until liberated
by her renowned son, Richard Coeur de Lion. The sufferings of her life
tempered her spirit and brought her into reliance upon religion for
her comfort and strength.
Another example of the high courage and decision of purpose which the
life of Eleanor of Aquitaine furnished in its later history is found
at a subsequent period in another Eleanor, the daughter of Edward
II. This patient, suffering wife, roused to indignant resistance
of an unpardonable indignity, exhibited the spirit of an undaunted
character. She had been married, at the tender age of fifteen, to the
stern Reynald II., Earl of Gueldres and Zutphen. When the large dower
she brought her husband had been spent by him, he sought pretext for
a divorce from one with whom he could feel no sympathy; but for this
her blameless life furnished no excuse. Although the countess was
constantly surrounded by spies and her every act and word reported to
her lord, she moved with stately dignity in the atmosphere of intrigue
and deceit. In default of any other plea, her husband represented
to the pope that she was afflicted with leprosy. Arrayed solely in
a tunic, and enveloping herself in a capacious mantle, she made her
way with majestic mien into the council room of the palace, where the
perfidious lord was in consultation with his assembled nobles about
the details of the sinister purpose which he was seeking to effect.
With the words, "I am come, my beloved lord, to seek a diligent
examination respecting the corporeal taint imputed to me," she threw
aside the mantle, disclosing the healthy texture of her skin, while
a wave of emotion passed over her, and her eyes suffused with tears.
"These," she continued, "are my children and yours; do they too share
in the blemish of their mother? But it may come to pass that the
people of Gueldres may yet mourn our separation, when they behold
the failure of our line." Husband and nobles alike were profoundly
affected by so sublime an appeal, and the royal pair were reconciled;
but the male line of Reynald failed in his son, and the crown passed
to the female branch, as though the almost predictive words of the
noble English woman were destined to be fulfilled.
Yet another daughter of fair France became the queen of a Plantagenet.
Richard II., the last Plantagenet, from the date of his accession, was
involved in constant struggles, first with his Parliament, and then
with Henry of Lancaster. His first queen, Anne of Bohemia, died in
1394. Richard's thoughts were thereupon directed to the necessity of
choosing a second consort. He would consider only Isabelle of Valois,
daughter of Charles VI., who was less than nine years old. The
marriage was solemnized by proxy, and arrangements were made for the
king to repair to Calais and receive his child-bride at the hand of
Charles VI. The preliminaries having been completed, the ceremony is
thus recorded by Froissart:
"On the morrow, the King of England visited the King of France in his
tent, where the kings sat apart at one table. During the serving of
dinner, the Duke de Bourbon said many things to enliven the kings, and
addressed the King of England: 'Monseigneur, you ought to make good
cheer; you have all you desire and demand. You have, or will have,
your wife, she is about to be given to you.' The French king then
said: 'Bourbonnais, we could wish that our daughter were of the age of
our cousin of Saint-Pol, although it should have cost us dearly, for
our son of England would have taken her more willingly.'
"The King of England heard this and responded to the French king:
'Father-in-law, our wife's age pleases us well; we think less of that
than we do of the affection between us and our kingdoms, for with
mutual friendship and alliance, there is no king, Christian or other,
who could give umbrage to us.' The dinner was soon over, and then the
young Queen of England was brought into the king's tent, accompanied
by a great number of dames and demoiselles, and given to the King of
England, her hand being held by her father, the King of France."
This marriage brought nearly twenty years of peace between France
and England. The young queen was carefully nurtured and educated by
King Richard, whose attachment to her soon grew very deep. Turbulent
factions disturbed Richard's rule, and Isabelle had always before her
the menace of a prison rather than the prospect of a throne. Before
leaving to quell a rebellion in Ireland, Richard visited his "little
queen," for thus she was popularly styled, at Windsor Castle, to take
farewell. This interview, at which it is said the young queen first
realized how deeply she loved the king, was to be their last. Henry
of Lancaster, taking advantage of Richard's absence to gather a force
to wrest the sceptre from him, met Richard on his return, made him
captive, and finally secured his resignation of the crown in 1399.
Simultaneously, the young queen fell into Henry's power, and was moved
from castle to castle at the will of Henry. All this time she was kept
in ignorance of the fate of her husband, and tortured by suspense and
anxiety. Richard alive was too serious a danger to Henry's supremacy,
and, a plot to restore him to his throne having failed, he was killed
at Pontefract Castle soon after, in a heroic struggle against the
myrmidons of Henry.
Meantime, the "little queen" had joined in the movement against Henry,
in the hope that her husband would recover his crown and be restored
to her, but she was soon again a captive at Havering Bower. For some
time the child-widow--she was not yet thirteen--was kept in ignorance
of the death of Richard. Soon, however, she was importuned by Henry
IV. on behalf of Monmouth, his son, but, faithful to the memory of
Richard, she rejected with horror the proposed union. Finally, all
hope of the alliance being destroyed, Henry consented to Isabella's
return to her parents. She had endeared herself to the hearts of the
English by her graces, and especially by her steadfast devotion to
Richard.
After Isabelle's return to France, Henry still persisted in suing for
her hand, but it was impossible to move her determination. In 1406,
it seemed that joy might yet brighten the life of this unfortunate
princess, for in that year she was betrothed to her cousin, the young
Charles of Orleans, whom she married in 1409. The affection of husband
and wife appeared to offer every prospect of happiness, but she was
permitted to enjoy her newly found state for only a brief period, as
she died during the following year, a few hours after the birth of an
infant daughter. The memory of this sweet but unfortunate princess is
enshrined in the poetic tributes of the Duke of Orleans, nor did the
English fail to sing in ballads her praise.
The origin of the Order of the Garter is traceable to the spirit of
chivalry; it was instituted by Coeur de Lion, and in 1344 was revived
by Edward III. Froissart appears to credit the story which connects
the revival of the order to Edward's passion for the Countess of
Salisbury, whose garter he is said to have picked up and presented to
her in the presence of the court, with this exclamation: _Honi soit
qui mal y pense!_ The chronicler gives us a full account of the
attachment of Edward for the countess, and places in excellent light
the integrity of her character. When she was besieged in her husband's
castle at Wark, Edward advanced to her relief, compelling the Scots
to retreat. At the interview which followed, the king looked upon
her with such an air of profound thoughtfulness that she was led to
inquire: "Dear sire, what are you musing on? Such meditation is not
proper for you, saving your grace." "Oh, dear lady!" replied the
monarch; "you must know that since I have been in this castle, some
thoughts have oppressed my mind that I was not before aware of." "Dear
sire, you ought to be of good cheer, and leave off such pondering; for
God has been very bountiful to you in your undertakings." Whereupon
the king replied with more directness: "There be other things, O sweet
lady, which touch my heart, and lie heavy there, beside what you talk
of. In good truth, your beauteous mien and the perfection of your face
and behavior have wholly overcome me; and my peace depends on your
accepting my love, which your refusal cannot abate." "My gracious
liege," the countess exclaimed, "God of his infinite goodness preserve
you, and drive from your noble heart all evil thoughts; for I am, and
ever shall be, ready to serve you; but only in what is consistent with
my honor and your own."
The first chapter of the Garter was graced by another queen who
adorns the history of England's women of rank--Queen Philippa. She was
attended by the principal ladies of the court, who, with herself, were
admitted dame-companions of the order, and the wives of the knights
continued to enjoy this dignity during several succeeding reigns.
In even the best homes of the Middle Ages we must not expect to find
the refinements which are regarded as the commonplaces of modern
life. The essence of refinement is the same in all ages, and, while it
involves manners, these change with the standards and conventions of
different times. Much that is amusing, absurd, or even disgusting, as
we regard manners to-day, was entirely in good form during the Middle
Ages. It will be of interest to notice some of the things which were
regarded as commendable in the deportment of the young ladies of the
aristocratic class of mediaeval society, and what they were cautioned
to avoid. A _trouvere_ of the thirteenth century, named Robert de
Blois, compiled a code of etiquette which he put in French verse under
the title, _Chastisement des Dames_. The young ladies who would deport
themselves in an irreproachable manner must avoid talking too much,
and especially refrain from boasting of the attentions paid to them
by the other sex. They were recommended to be discreet, and, in
the freedom of games and amusements, to leave no room for adverse
criticism of their actions. In going to church, they were not to trot
or run, but to walk with due seriousness, with eyes straight before
them, and to salute _debonairely_ all persons they met. They were
enjoined not to let men kiss them on the mouth, as it might lead to
too great familiarity; they were not to look at a man too much unless
he were an acknowledged lover; and when a young woman had a lover,
she was not to talk too much of him. They were not to manifest too
much vanity in dress, and to be entirely delicate in the matter of
costume; nor were they to be too ready in accepting presents from the
other sex. The ladies are particularly warned against scolding and
disputing, against swearing, against eating and drinking too freely at
the table. They were exhorted not to get drunk, a practice from which,
they were advised, much mischief might arise. That the restrictions
were, on the whole, sensible is apparent from our statement of them,
and the good sense of the times receives special point from the rule
of society which recommended the ladies not to cover their faces when
in public, as a handsome face was made to be seen. An exception is
made in the case of ugly or deformed features, which might be covered.
Another rule was as follows: "A lady who is pale-faced or who has not
a good smell ought to breakfast early in the morning, for good wine
gives them a very good color; and she who eats and drinks well must
heighten her color." Anise seed, fennel, and cumin were recommended
to be taken at breakfast to correct an unsavory breath, and persons so
affected were told not to breathe in other persons' faces.
A special set of rules was given for the lady's behavior while in
church, and if she could sing she was to do so when asked and not
require too much pressing. Ladies were further recommended to keep
their hands clean, to cut their nails often, and not to suffer them to
grow beyond the finger or to harbor dirt. When passing the houses of
other people, ladies were not to look into them: "for a person often
does things privately in his house, which he would not wish to be
seen, if anyone should come before his door." For the same reason
a lady was not to go into another person's house, or into another's
room, without coughing or speaking to give notice to the inmates. The
directions for a lady's behavior at the table were also very precise.
"In eating, you must avoid much laughing or talking. If you eat with
another (i.e., in the same plate, or of the same mess), turn the
nicest bits to him and do not go picking out the finest and largest
for yourself, which is not courteous. Moreover, no one should eat
greedily a choice bit which is too large or too hot, for fear of
choking or burning herself.... Each time you drink, wipe your mouth
well, that no grease go into the wine, which is very unpleasant for
the person who drinks after you. But when you wipe your mouth for
drinking, do not wipe your eyes or nose with the tablecloth, and avoid
spilling from your mouth or greasing your hands too much." Added to
these directions for deportment, particular emphasis was laid on the
avoidance of falsehoods, which suggests the prevalence of the vice.
The modern "servant question" was not without its counterpart in the
Middle Ages. We find instances of advice tendered upon the subject to
the ladies of those times. An early writer on domestic economy divided
the servants who might be found in a manorial establishment into three
classes: those who were employed on a sudden and only for a certain
work, and for these a previous bargain should be made regarding their
payment; those who were employed for a certain time in a particular
description of work, as tailors, shoemakers, butchers, and others, who
always came to work in the house upon materials provided there, or the
harvest men for the gathering of the crops; and domestic servants who
were hired by the year, these latter being expected to pay an absolute
and passive obedience to the lord and lady of the household and any
others who were set in authority over them.
Naturally, it was the female servants who came under the supervision
of the lady of the house, and minute directions are given for their
ordering. She was to require her maids to repair early in the morning
to their work; the entrance to the hall and all other places by which
people enter, or places in the hall where they tarry to converse, were
to be swept and made clean, "and that the footstools and covers of the
benches and forms be dusted and shaken, and after this that the other
chambers be in like manner cleaned and arranged for the day." After
this, the pet animals were to be attended to and fed. At midday the
servants were to have their first meal, which was to be bountiful, but
"only of one meat and not of several, or of any delicacies; and give
them only one kind of drink, nourishing but not heady, whether wine
or other; and admonish them to eat heartily, and to drink well and
plentifully, for it is right that they should eat all at once, without
sitting too long, and at one breath, without reposing on their meal
or halting, or leaning with their elbows on the table; and as soon
as they begin to talk or to rest on their elbows, make them rise
and remove the table." After their "second labor" and on feast days
also--when seemingly the workday was not so long as usual--they were
to have another lighter repast, and in the late evening, after all
their duties were performed, another abundant meal was served. It
then devolved upon the lady of the house or her deputy to see that the
manor was closed, and to take charge of the keys, preventing anyone
from going in or out; and then, having had all the fires carefully
"covered," she sent the servants to bed and saw that their candles
were extinguished to prevent the risk of fire. The lady was always
careful as to whom she received into her house as servitors; female
servants who came to her as strangers were not well regarded, and were
not given trusts of importance, and their characters, so far as was
possible, were looked into, as well as the circumstances of their
leaving their former place of employment.
The term "spinster," which is now confined to unmarried women, was a
term of consideration applied to all women of the better class during
the Middle Ages. It was indicative of her superior rank, and was
especially adhered to by gentlewomen who married out of their station,
as a sign of their good birth and gentle breeding.
The term "gentle blood," as now understood, means only that some
persons have the fortunate circumstance of refined parentage or
ancestry; but in the Middle Ages, when the pride of gentle blood
was one of the most distinguishing characteristics of the prevailing
feudal society, it was seriously believed that through the
whole extent of the aristocratic classes there ran one blood,
distinguishable from the blood of all other persons. So strongly was
this view entertained, that it was commonly thought that if a child of
gentle blood should be stolen or abandoned in infancy, and then bred
up as a peasant or a burgher, without knowledge of its origin, it
would display, as it grew toward manhood, unmistakable proofs of its
gentle origin, in spite of education and example. Whatever the fallacy
of this belief, its effect upon the ladies of superior birth was to
make them prize their station highly; but it also created a spirit of
haughtiness toward those who were below their station, and a harshness
in their relation to their domestics which was not always conformable
to the graciousness and consideration which these very ladies often
displayed where there was no question involving their caste.
In considering the dress of the women of the Middle Ages, we remarked
upon the censure and sarcasm which were passed upon the vanities into
which women were led by their devotion to the changing fashions of
the day. Every class of society was pervaded by a love of dress, which
expressed itself in the greatest extravagances and absurdities. A
knight of the fourteenth century compiled for three young ladies, the
daughters of a knight of Normandy, a manuscript which contains advice
and directions for the regulation of their conduct through life.
It contains several very curious passages relative to dress: "Fair
daughters," says their mentor, "I pray you that ye be not the first to
take new shapes and guises of array of women of strange countries." He
then inveighs against the wearing of superfluous quantities of furs
as edging for their gowns, their hoods, and their sleeves. After
commenting upon the sinfulness of useless fashions and their effect
upon the lower classes, he proceeds to portray the absurdities into
which the latter were led by aping their betters, and suggests that
the furs which they wore in profusion had better at least be dispensed
with in summer, as they served only "for a hiding place for the
fleas." The knight whose daughters are thus counselled is unable
to deter them from falling into extravagances of attire, and has
recourse to the legend of a chevalier whose wife was dead and who made
application to a hermit to know if her soul had gone to Paradise or
to punishment. The holy man, after long praying, fell asleep, and saw
the soul of the fair lady weighed in the balance; with Saint Michael
standing on one side and the Devil on the other. The latter addressed
Saint Michael and claimed the woman as his own on the score that she
had ten diverse gowns, and a less number than that would have sufficed
to lose her soul; besides which, with what she had wasted she might
have clothed two or three persons who for the lack of her charity
died of want. So saying, the fiend gathered up all her gay attire,
ornaments, and jewels, and cast them in the balance with her evil
deeds, which determined the balance against her, and he bore her away
to the lake of fire. The same night, in order to deter his daughters
from painting their faces, the knight recounts a horrible legend of a
fine lady who was punished in hell because she had "popped and painted
her visage to please the sight of the world."
It is not by such incidentals as dress, but by the enduring qualities
of character, that the women of the higher circles of the English
Middle Ages were able to make an indelible impress upon the life and
character of the nation. And more especially may this be said of the
women whose lives were largely spent in the sheltered circle of a pure
domesticity,--the women of the manors.