Caxton's Book of Curtesye

by Unknown

PREFACE

Though no excuse can be needed for including in our Extra Series a reprint of a unique Caxton on a most interesting subject, yet this Book of Curtesye from Hill's MS. was at first intended for our original series, I having forgotten lately that Caxton had written to 'lytyl Iohn,' though some months back I had entered the old printer's book for my second collection of Manners and Meals tracts for the Society. After the copy of Hill—which Mr W.W. King kindly made for his fellow-members—had gone to press, Mr Hazlitt reminded me of the Caxton, and its first and last lines in Mr Blades's admirable book showed that Hill's text was the same as the printed one. I accordingly went to Cambridge to copy it, and there, before tea, Mr Skeat showed me the copy of The Vision of Piers Plowman which the Provost and Fellows of Oriel had been good enough to lend him for his edition of 'Text B.' Having enjoyed the vellum Vision, I turned to the paper leaves at its end, and what should they contain but an earlier and better version of the Caxton that I had just copied part of?[1] I drank seven cups of tea, and eat five or six large slices of bread and butter, in honour of the event;[2] and Mr Skeat, with his never-failing kindness, undertook to copy and edit the Oriel text for the Society. With three texts, therefore, in hand, I could not well stick them at the end of the Postscript to the Babees Book, &c.,[3] and as I wanted Caxton's name to this Book of Curtesye to distinguish it from what has long been to me THE Book of Courtesy,—that from the Sloane MS. 1986, edited by Mr Halliwell for the Percy Society, and by me for our own E.E.T.S.—and as also Caxton's name is one 'to conjure withal,' I have, with our Committee's leave, made this little volume an Extra Series one, and called it Caxton's, though his text is not so good as that of the Oriel MS.

[Footnote 1: Mr Bradshaw was kind enough to copy the rest, and to read the whole of the proof with Caxton's original.]

[Footnote 2: I must be excused for not having found the poem before, as it is not in the Index to Mr Coxe's Catalogue. In the body of the work it is entered as "A father's advice to his son; with instructions for his behaviour as a king's or nobleman's page. ff. 88, 89, 78. Beg.

"Kepeth clene and leseth not youre gere.">[

[Footnote 3: The Treatises in The Babees Book, &c., and the Index at the end, should be consulted for parallel and illustrative passages to those in Caxton's text.]

On this latter point Mr Skeat writes:

"The Oriel copy is evidently the best. Not only does it give better readings, but the lines, as a rule, run more smoothly; and it has an extra stanza. This stanza, which is marked 54, occurs between stanzas 53 and 54 of the other copies, and is of some interest and importance. It shows that Lidgate's pupil, put in mind of Lidgate's style by the very mention of his name, introduces a ballad of three stanzas, in which every stanza has a burden after the Lidgate manner. The recurrence of this burden no doubt caused copyists to lose their place, and so the stanza came to be omitted in other copies. Its omission, however, spoils the ballad. Both it and the curious lines in Piers Ploughmans Crede,

"For aungells and arcangells / all Þei whijt vseÞ
And alle aldermen / Þat ben ante tronum,

"i.e. all the elders before the throne, allude to Rev. iv. 10. This Crede passage has special reference to the Carmelites or White Friars.

"The first two leaves of the Oriel copy are misplaced inside out at the end; but this is not the only misarrangement. The poem has evidently been copied into this MS. from an older copy having a leaf capable of containing six stanzas at a time; which leaves were out of order. Hence the poem in the Oriel MS. is written in the following order, as now bound up, Stanzas 11 (l. 5)-18, 25-30, 37-42, 19-24, 49-54, 31-36, 43-48, 55-76, 8-11 (l. 4), 4 (l. 5)-7, 1-4 (l. 4)."

As an instance of a word improved by the Oriel text, may be cited the 'brecheles feste' of Caxton's and Hill's texts, l. 66, and l. 300,

ffor truste ye well ye shall you not excuse ffrom brecheles feste, & I may you espye Playenge at any game of rebawdrye.—Hill, l. 299-301.

Could it be 'profitless,' from A.-Sax. bréc, gain, profit; or 'breechless,' a feast of birch for the boy with his breeches off? The latter was evidently meant, but it was a forced construction. The Oriel byrcheley set matters right at once.

Another passage I cannot feel sure is set at rest by the Oriel text. Hill's and Caxton's texts, when describing the ill-mannered servant whose ways are to be avoided, say of him, as to his hair, that he is

Absolon with disheveled heres smale,
lyke to a prysoner of saynt Malowes,[1]
a sonny busshe able to the galowes.—Hill, l. 462.

[Footnote 1: An allusion to the strong castle built at St Malo's by
Anne, Duchess of Bretayne.—Dyce.]

For the last line the Oriel MS. reads,

a sonny bush myght cause hym to goo louse,

and Mr Skeat says,—"This is clearly the right reading, of which galowes is an unmeaning corruption. The poet is speaking of the dirty state of a bad and ill-behaved servant. He is as dirty as a man come out of St Malo's prison; a sunny bush would cause him to go and free himself from minute attendants. A 'sunny bush' probably means no more than a warm nook, inviting one to rest, or to such quiet pursuits as the one indicated. That this is really the reading is shown by the next stanza, wherein the poet apologizes for having spoken too bluntly; he ought to have spoken of such a chase by saying that he goes a-hawking or a-hunting. Such was the right euphemism required by 'norture.'"

If this is the meaning, we may compare with it the old poet's reproof to the proud man:

Man, of Þi schuldres and of Þi side
Þou mi3*te hunti luse and flee:
of such a park i ne hold no pride;
Þe dere nis nau3*te Þat Þou mighte sle.

Early English Poems, ed. F.J.F., 1862, p. 1, l. 5.

and remember that one of the blessings of the early Paradisaical Land of Cokaygne is:

Nis Þer flei, fle, no lowse,
In cloÞ, in toune, bed, no house.

Ib., p. 157, l. 37-8.

We may also compare the following extract about Homer's death from
"Pleasant and Delightfull Dialogues in Spanish and English: Profitable
to the Learner, and not vnpleasant to any other Reader. By John
Minsheu, Professor of Languages in London. 1623," p. 47.

"F … a foole with his foolishnesse framed in his owne imagination may giue to a hundred wise men matter to picke out.

"I, So it hapned to the Poet Homer, that as he was with age blinde, and went walking by the sea shoare, & heard certaine Fishermen talking, that at that time were a lowsing themselues, and as he asked them, what fish they caught, they vnderstanding that he had meant their lice, they answered, Those that we [1]haue, we seeke for, and those that we [2]haue not wee finde, but as the good Homer could not see what they did, and for this cause could not vnderstand the riddle, it did so grieue his vnderstanding to obtaine the secret of this matter, which was a sufficient griefe to cause his death."

[Footnote 1: i. Haue in their clothes. i. lice.]

[Footnote 2: i. Haue not in hand.]

But the subject is not a very pleasant one for discussion, though the occupation alluded to in the Oriel Text must have been one of the pastimes of many people in Early England.

The book itself, Lytill Johan, is by a disciple of Lydgate's—see l. 366, p. 36-7—and contains, besides, the usual directions how to dress, how to behave in church, at meals, and when serving at table, a wise man's advice on the books his little Jack should read, the best English poets,—then Gower, Chaucer, Occleve, and Lydgate,—not the Catechism and Latin Grammar. It was very pleasant to come off the directions not to conveye spetell over the table, or burnish one's bones with one's teeth, to the burst of enthusiasm with which the writer speaks of our old poets. He evidently believed in them with all his heart; and it would have been a good thing for England if our educators since had followed his example. If the time wasted, almost, in Latin and Greek by so many middle-class boys, had been given to Milton and Shakspere, Chaucer and Langland, with a fit amount of natural science, we should have been a nobler nation now than we are. There is no more promising sign of the times than the increased attention paid to English in education now.

But to return to our author. He gives Chaucer the poet's highest gift,
Imagination, in these words,

what ever to say he toke in his entente,
his langage was so fayer & pertynante,
yt semeth vnto manys heryng
not only the worde, but veryly the thyng. (l. 343.)

And though the writer has the bad taste to praise Lydgate more than Chaucer, yet we may put this down to his love for his old master, and may rest assured that though the cantankerous Ritson calls the Bury schoolmaster a 'driveling monk,' yet the larking schoolboy who robbed orchards, played truant, and generally raised the devil in his early days (Forewords to Babees Book, p. xliv.), retained in later years many of the qualities that draw to a man the boy's bright heart, the disciple's fond regret. We too will therefore hope that old Lydgate's

sowle be gon
(To) the sterred paleys above the dappled skye,
Ther to syng Sanctus insessavntly
Emonge the mvses nyne celestyall,
Before the hyeste Iubyter of all. (l. 381-5.)

In old age the present poem was composed (st. 60, p. 42-3); 'a lytill newe Instruccion' to a lytle childe, to remove him from vice & make him follow virtue. At his riper age our author promises his boy the surplusage of the treatise (st. 74, p. 50-1); and if a copy of it exists, I hope it will soon fall in our way and get into type, for 'the more the merrier' of these peeps into old boy-life.

On one of the grammatical forms of the Oriel MS., Mr Skeat writes:

"It is curious to observe the forms of the imperative mood plural which occur so frequently throughout the poem in the Oriel copy. The forms ending in -eth are about 31 in number, of which 17 are of French, and 14 of A.S. origin. The words in which the ending -eth is dropped are 42, of which 18 are of French, and 24 of A.S. origin. The three following French words take both forms; avyse or avyseth, awayte or awayteth, wayte or wayteth; and the five following A.S. words, be or beth, kepe or kepeth, knele or knelyth, loke or loketh, make or maketh. Thus the poet makes use, on the whole, of one form almost as often as the other (that is, supposing the scribe to have copied correctly), and he no doubt consulted his convenience in taking that one which suited the line best. It is an instance of what followed in almost every case of naturalization, that A.S. inflections were added to the French words quite as freely as to those of native origin. Both the -eth and -e forms are commonly used without the word ye, though. Be ye occurs in l. 58. In the phrase avise you (l. 78), you is in the accusative."

Commenting also on l. 71 of Caxton and Hill, Mr Skeat notices how they have individualised the general 'child' of the earlier Oriel text:

"71. Here we find child riming to mylde. In most other places it is Johan. The rime shows that the reading child is right, and Johan is a later adaptation. The Oriel MS. never uses the word Johan at all; it is always child."

I may remark also, that on the question lately raised by Mr Bradshaw, 'who before Hampole,[1] or after him, used you for the nominative as well as the correct ye,' Hill uses both you and ye, see l. 47, 51, 52, &c., though so far as a hasty search shows, Lydgate, in his Minor Poems at least, uses ye only, as do Lord Berners in his Arthur of Lytil Brytayne, ab. 1530, the Ormulum, Ancren Riwle, Genesis and Exodus, William of Palerne, Alliterative Poems, Early Metrical Homilies, &c.[2]

[Footnote 1: Pricke of Conscience, p. 127, l. 4659; and p. xvii.]

[Footnote 2: Mr Skeat holds that in the various reading 3*ow drieth from the Univ. Coll. Oxford MS. (of the early part of the 15th century) to the Vernon MS. þou drui3*est, l. 25, Passus 1, of the Vision of Piers Plowman, the 3*ow is an accusative, "exactly equivalent to the Gothic in the following passage—'hwana þaursjai, gaggai du mis, i.e. whom it may thirst, let him come to me.' John vii. 37. I conclude that 3*ow is accusative, not dative. The same construction occurs in German constantly, 'es dürstet mich' = it thirsts me, I thirst.">[

The final d, f, t, of Hill's MS., often have a tag to them. As they sometimes occur in places where I judge they must mean nothing, I have neglected them all. Every final ll has a line through it, which may mean e. Nearly every final n and m has a curly tail or line over it. This is printed e or [=n], though no doubt the tail and line have often no value at all. The curls to the _r_s are printed e, because ther with the curly r, in l. 521, Hill, rimes to where of l. 519.

At the end of Caxton's final d and g is occasionally a crook-backed line, something between the line of beauty and the ordinary knocker. This no doubt represents the final e of MSS., and is so printed, as Mr Childs has not the knocker in the fount of type that he uses for the Society's work. Caxton's [=n] stands for _u_n in the -aunce, -aunte, of words from the French. No stops or inverted commas have been put to Caxton's text here, but the stanzas and lines have been numbered, and side-notes added.

"The Book of Curtesye," says Mr Bradshaw, "is known from three early editions. The first, without any imprint, but printed at Westminster by Caxton ab. 1477-78,[1] the only known copy of which is here reproduced. The second (with the colophon 'Here endeth a lytyll treatyse called the booke of Curtesye or lytyll John. Emprynted atte Westmoster') is only known from a printer's proof of two pages[2] preserved among the Douce fragments in the Bodleian. It must have been printed by Wynkin de Worde in Caxton's house ab. 1492. In the third edition it was reprinted at the end of the Stans puer ad Mensam by Wynkin de Worde ab. 1501-1510. The Cambridge copy is the only one known to remain of this edition."

[Footnote 1: In his type No. 2, Blades, ii. 63.]

[Footnote 2: In Caxton's type No. 5, Blades, ii. 235 (not 253 as in
Index).]

I have no more to say: but, readers, remember this coming New Year to do more than last for what Dr Stratmann calls "the dear Old English." Think of Chaucer when his glad spring comes, and every day besides; forget not Langland or any of our early men:

reporte
& revyue _th_e lawde of the_m_ th_a_t were
famovs i_n_[1] owr_e_ langage, these faders dere,
whos sowles i_n_ blis, god et_er_nall avaunce,
_th_at lysten so[2] owr_e_ langage to enhavnce!

(Hill, l. 430-4.)

[Footnote 1: Founders of, Oriel MS.]

[Footnote 2: some, Hill; so, Oriel.]

_3, St George's Square, N.W.

15 Dec., 1867._

The Book of Curtesye.

[The Book of Curtesy.]

[From the Oriel MS. lxxix.]

[1]

Lytle childe, sythen youre tendre infancie
Stondeth as yett vndir yndyff[e]rence,
To vice or vertu to moven[1] or Applie, 3
[Sidenote 1: MS. coorven]
And in suche Age ther is no prouide_n_ce,
Ne comenly no sadde intelligence,
But ryght as wax receyueth printe and figure,
So chylder ben disposed of nature,

[2]

Vice or vertu to Folowe and ympresse
In mynde; and therfore, to stere and remeve
You from vice, and to vertu thou[1] dresse, 10
[Sidenote 1: Read you]
That on to folow, and the other to eschewe,
I haue devysed you this lytill newe
Instrucc_i_on according to your_e_ age,
Playne in sentence, but playner in langage. 14

(Richard Hill's Commonplace Book, or Balliol MS. 354, ffl C lx.)

[Sidenote: Hill's Text.]

Here begynnyth lytill[e] Ioh_a_n.

¶ Lytell[e] Iohan, sith yo_u_r tender_e_ enfancye
Stondyth as yet vnder_e_ Indyfference
To vyce or vertu to mevyn or applie,
& in suche age ther[1] ys no p_ro_vydence, 4
Ne come_n_ly no sage Intelygence,
But as wax receyvith prynt or fygure,
So chyldren bene disposed of nature

[Footnote 1: The th is the same as the y.]

¶ Vyce or vertu to folowe, & enpresse 8
In mynde; & _ther_for to styre & remeve
you frome vice, & to vertu addresse,
That on to folow, & _tha_t o_ther_ to eschewe,
I haue devysed you this lytill[e] newe 12
Instrucc_i_on[1] accordyng vnto yo_u_r age,
playn In sentence, but playner_e_ In langage.

[Footnote 1: The mark of contraction is over the n: t.i. the n has its tail curled over its back like a dog's.]

[The Book of Courtesye.]

[Caxton's Text.]

[1]

[Sidenote: Leaf 1 a.]

Lytyl Iohn syth your tendre enfancye
Stondeth as yet vnder / in difference
[Sidenote: As Infancy is indifferent]
To vice or vertu to meuyn or applye 3
[Sidenote: whether it follows vice or virtue,]
And in suche age ther is no prouidence
Ne comenly no sad_e_ Intelligence
But as waxe resseyueth prynte or figure
So children ben disposid_e_ of nature 7

[2]

Vyce or vertue to folowe and_e_ enpresse
In mynde / and_e_ therfore / to styre & remeue
You from vice / and_e_ to vertue addresse 10
That one to folowe / and that other teschewe
I haue deuysed you / this lytyl newe
[Sidenote: I have written this new treatise to draw you from vice, and
turn you to virtue.]
Instrucc_i_on / acordyng_e_ vnto your age
Playne in sentence / but playner in la_n_gage 14

* * * * *

THE ORIEL TEXT.

[3]

Taketh hede therfore and herkyn what I say,
And yeueth therto hooly your_e_ adu_er_tence,
Lette not your_e_ eye be here and your_e_ hert away, 17
But yeueth herto your_e_ besy diligence,
And ley aparte alle wantawne insolence,
Lernyth to be vertues and well thewid;
Who wolle not lere, nedely must be lewid. 21

[4]

Afore all thyng, fyrst and principally,
In the morowe when ye[1] shall vppe ryse,
[Sidenote 1: MS. he.]
To wyrship god haue in your_e_ memorie; 24
Wyth cristis crosse loke ye blesse you thriese,
Youre pater-nosteir seyth in devoute wyse,
Aue maria wyth the holy crede,
Than alle the after the bettir may ye spede. 28

[5]

And while ye be Abouten honestely
To dresse your_e_-self and don on your_e_ aray,
Wyth your_e_ felawe well and tretably 31
Oure lady matens Avyseth that you say,
And this obseruaunce vseth eu_e_ry day,
Wyth prime and owris, and wythouten drede
The blyssed lady woll graunte you your_e_ mede. 35

[Sidenote: Hill's Text.]

¶ Take hede _ther_for, & harken what I saye,
& geve _ther_to yowr_e_ good advertence, 16
lette not yo_u_r ere be here, & yo_u_r herte awaye,
But pute you _ther_to besy delygence,
Laying a-p_ar_te all[e] wanton Insolence,
lernyd to be v_er_tuvs & well[e] thewed; 20
who will[e] not lerne, nedely he must be lewed.

¶ Afore all[e] thyng, & pryncypally
In the mornyng wha_n_ ye vp ryse,
To worship god haue in memory; 24
w_i_t_h_ cryst_is_ crosse loke ye blesse ye thryse,
yo_u_r pater_e_ nost_er_ say i_n_ devoute wyse,
Aue maria / w_i_t_h_ the holy crede;
The_n_ all[e] _th_e day the bett_er_ shall ye spede. 28

¶ And while ye dresse yo_u_r selfe, honestly
To dresse yo_u_r selfe & do on yo_u_r araye,
w_i_t_h_ yo_u_r felowe well[e] & tretably
Owr_e_ lady matens loke _tha_t you say; 32
And this obs_er_vance vse ye eu_er_y day,
w_i_t_h_ pryme & owers w_i_t_h_-owt drede.
_th_e blessyd lady will quyte you yo_u_r mede.