The babees book, Aristotle's A B C, Urbanitatis, Stans puer ad mensam, The lvtille childrenes lvtil boke, The bokes of nurture of Hugh Rhodes and John Russell, Wynkyn de Worde's Boke of keruynge, The booke of demeanor, The boke of curtasye, Seager's Schoole of vertue, &c. &c. with some French and latin poems on like subjects, and some forewords on education in early England. Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall ...

The botery.

Thy cuppes / þy pottes, þou se be clene boþe with-in & owt; [T]hyne ale .v. dayes old er þow serue it abowt,

for ale þat is newe is wastable with-owten dowt: And looke þat alle þynge be pure & clene þat ye go abowt. Line 180 Be fayre of answere / redy to serue / and also gen|telle of chere, and þan men wille sey 'þere gothe a gentille officere.' be ware þat ye geue no persone palled [Stale, dead. Pallyd, as drynke (palled, as ale). Emortuus. P. Parv. See extract from A. Borde in notes at end.] drynke, for feere hit myȝt brynge many a man in dissese / durynge many a ȝere. Line 184

Son, hit is tyme of þe day / þe table wold be layde. [folio 173b] Furst wipe þe table with a clothe or þat hit be splayd, þan lay a clothe on þe table / a cowche [See Dict. de L'Academie, p. 422, col. 2, ed. 1835. 'Couche se dit aussi de Toute substance qui est étendue, appliquée sur une autre, de manière à la couvrir. Revêtir un mur d'une couche de plâtre, de mortier, &c.'] it is called & said: take þy felow oon ende þerof / & þou þat othere that brayde, Line 188 Than draw streight þy clothe, & ley þe bouȝt [Fr. repli: m. A fould, plait, or bought. Cotgrave. cf. Bow, bend.] on þe vttur egge of þe table, take þe vpper part / & let hyt hange evyn able: þann take þe .iij. clothe, & ley the bouȝt on þe Inner side plesable, and ley estate with the vpper part, þe brede of half fote is greable. Line 192 Cover þy cuppeborde of thy ewery with the towelle of diapery; take a towelle abowt thy nekke / for þat is curtesy, lay þat oon side of þe towaile on þy lift arme manerly,

an on þe same arme ley þy soueraignes napkyn honestly; Line 196 Þan lay on þat arme viij. louys bred / with iij. or iiij. trenchere lovis; Take þat oo ende of þy towaile / in þy lift hand, as þe maner is, and þe salt Sellere in þe same hand, looke þat ye do this; þat oþer ende of þe towaile / in riȝt hand with spones & knyffes y-wis; Line 200 Set youre salt on þe right side / where sittes youre soverayne, on þe lyfft Side of youre salt / sett youre trencher oon & twayne, on þe lifft side of your trenchoure lay youre knyffe synguler & playn; and on þe .... [[a space in the MS.]] side of youre knyffes / oon by on þe white payne; Line 204 youre spone vppon a napkyn fayre / ȝet folden wold he be, besides þe bred it wold be laid, son, y telle the: Cover your spone / napkyn, trencher, & knyff, þat no man hem se. at þe oþer ende of þe table / a salt with ij. trench|ers sett ye. Line 208

Sir, [[? MS.]] ȝeff þow wilt wrappe þy soueraynes bred stately, Thow must square & proporcioun þy bred clene & evenly, and þat no loof ne bunne be more þan oþer pro|porcionly, and so shaltow make þy wrappe for þy master manerly; Line 212 þan take a towaile of Raynes, [Fine cloth, originally made at Rennes, in Bretagne.] of ij. yardes and half wold it be,

take þy towaile by the endes dowble / and faire on a table lay ye, þan take þe end of þat bought / an handfulle in hande, now here ye me: wrap ye hard þat handfulle or more it is þe styffer, y telle þe, Line 216 Þan ley betwene þe endes so wrapped, in myddes of þat towelle, viij loves or bonnes, botom to botom, forsothe it wille do welle, and when þe looffes ar betwen, þan wrappe hit wisely & felle; and for youre enformacioun more playnly y wille yow telle, Line 220 ley it on þe vpper part of þe bred, y telle yow [folio 174a] honestly; take boþe endis of þe towelle, & draw þem straytly, and wrythe an handfulle of þe towelle next þe bred myghtily, and se þat thy wrappere be made strayt & evyn styffely. Line 224 when he is so y-graithed, [A.S. gerædian, to make ready, arrange, prepare.] as riȝt before y haue saide, þen shalle ye open hym thus / & do hit at a brayd, open þe last end of þy wrappere before þi souerayne laid, and youre bred sett in maner & forme: þen it is honestly arayd. Line 228

Son, when þy souereignes table is drest in þus array, kouer alle oþer bordes with Saltes; trenchers & cuppes þeron ye lay; þan emperialle þy Cuppeborde / with Siluer & gild fulle gay,

þy Ewry borde with basons & lauour, watur hoot & cold, eche oþer to alay. Line 232 loke þat ye haue napkyns, spones, & cuppis euer y-nowe to your soueraynes table, youre honeste for to allowe, also þat pottes for wyne & ale be as clene as þey mowe; be euermore ware of flies & motes, y telle þe, for þy prowe. Line 236

The surnape [See the mode of laying the Surnape in Henry VII.'s time described in H. Ord., p. 119, at the end of this Poem.] ye shulle make with lowly curtesye with a clothe vndir a dowble of riȝt feire napry; take thy towailes endes next yow with-out vilanye, and þe ende of þe clothe on þe vttur side of þe towelle bye; Line 240 Thus alle iij. endes hold ye at onis, as ye welle may; now fold ye alle there at oonys þat a pliȝt passe not a fote brede alle way, þan lay hyt fayre & evyn þere as ye can hit lay; þus aftur mete, ȝiff yowre mastir wille wasche, þat he may. Line 244 at þe riȝt ende of þe table ye must it owt gyde, þe marchalle must hit convey alonge þe table to glide; So of alle iij clothes vppeward þe riȝt half þat tide, and þat it be draw strayt & evyn boþe in lengthe & side. Line 248 Then must ye draw & reyse / þe vpper parte of þe towelle, Ley it with-out ruffelynge streiȝt to þat oþer side, y þe telle; þan at euery end þerof convay half a yarde or an elle,

þat þe sewere may make [make is repeated in the MS.] a state / & plese his mastir welle. Line 252 whan þe state hath wasche, þe surnap drawne playne, þen must ye bere forþe þe surnape before youre souerayne, and so must ye take it vppe withe youre armes twayne, and to þe Ewery bere hit youre silf agayne. Line 256 a-bowt youre nekke a towelle ye bere, so to serue youre lorde, þan to hym make eurtesie, for so it wille accorde. vnkeuer youre brede, & by þe salt sette hit euyn on þe borde; looke þere be knyfe & spone / & napkyn with|outy[n] any worde. Line 260 Euer whan ye departe from youre soueraigne, looke [folio 174b] ye bowe your knees; to þe port-payne ["A Portpayne for the said Pantre, an elne longe and a yerd brode." The Percy, or Northumberland Household Book, 1512, (ed. 1827), p. 16, under Lynnon Clothe. 'A porte paine, to beare breade fro the Pantree to the table with, lintheum panarium.' Withals.] forthe ye passe, & þere viij. loues ye leese: Set at eiþur end of þe table .iiij. loofes at a mese, þan looke þat ye haue napkyn & spone euery persone to plese. Line 264 wayte welle to þe Sewere how many potages keuered he; keuer ye so many personis for youre honeste. þan serve forthe youre table / vche persone to his degre, and þat þer lak no bred / trenchoure, ale, & wyne / euermore ye se. Line 268

Line 268 be glad of chere / Curteise of kne / & soft of speche, Fayre handes, clene nayles / honest arrayed, y the teche; Coughe [Mark over h.] not, ner spitte, nor to lowd ye reche, ne put youre fyngurs in the cuppe / mootes for to seche. Line 272 yet to alle þe lordes haue ye a sight / for grog|gynge & atwytynge [A.S. ætwítan, twit; oðwítan, blame.] of fellows þat be at þe mete, for þeire bakbytynge; Se þey be serued of bred, ale, & wyne, for com|playnynge, and so shalle ye haue of alle men / good loue & praysynge. Line 276