Book of the Knight of La Tour-Landry : compiled for the instruction of his daughters : translated from the original French into English in the reign of Henry VI / [by Geoffroy de La Tour Landry] ; edited ... with an introduction and notes by Thomas Wright

CHAPTER XXI.

Now the knight saide unto his doughtres that thei shulde not beginne furst to take new gises of rayement.

FAire doughtres, y praie you that ye be not the furst to take new shappes and gises of array of women of straunge contrey, as y wiƚƚ teƚƚ you there was a debate betwene a

baronesse, that duelled in Guyen, and an other lorde that was a wise knight and a malicious. For the baronesse saide unto hym, "cousin, y come out of Bretaine, and there y haue sene my cosin youre wiff, but she nis not arrayed like as ladies of this contrey of Guyene be, nor of diuerse other plasez here aboute, for her hodes, taylles, and sleues be not furred ynowgℏ after the shape that rennithe now." And the knight ansuered, "sethe she nys not arrayed on youre gise, and that ye thenke her array and her furie to liteƚƚ, and that ye blame me for it, forsothe ye shaƚƚ haue nomore cause to blame me, For y wiƚƚ make arraye her as [fol/col 10b/2] nobly as ani of you aƚƚ, and as queintly; for ye haue but half youre hodes & cotes furred with ermyn or meneuer, and y wol do beter to her, for y woƚƚ furre her gowne, coleres, sleues, and cotes, the here outwarde; thus she shaƚƚ be beter purfiled and furred thanne other ladies and gentiƚƚ women. And suppose ye not that y wiƚƚ see that she be arraied after the state of the good women and worshipfuƚƚ of Fraunce, nor of them of this cuntre, that hatℏ not take the state of the unthrifti women that bene eueƚƚ women of her body and chambreres to Englisshe men and other men of werre that duellen with hem as her lemmannys, for thei were the furst that brought up this astate that ye use of gret purfiles and slitte cotes, for y haue of that tyme and y sawe it. And to take arraie that sucℏ women bringithe up furst, y holde hym that dotℏ it but febly conseled. And as to my wiff, she shal not; but the princesses and ladyes of Inglond̛ haue taken up the saide stat and gise, and they may weƚƚ holde it yef hem laste. But y haue herde saie that ladies and gentiƚƚ women shulde sonner take the gise after good women thanne after eueƚƚ, and not take the eueƚƚ suche noueltees." And so these wordes weren saide betwene the baronesse and the knight tofore aƚƚ the peple, and the baronnesse helde her pees for shame, for she wost not what to saie nor to ansuere; and so ther was mani that saide it hadde be beter for her to haue holde her, pees. And therfor, doughtres, ye may see by this ensaumple, hit is good to holde the mene astate of the good women, and

of [fol/col 11/1] th[e] comune astate of the rewme, that is to saie the state of the most partie that good women usithe, and in especiaƚƚ such astate as thei that weritℏ it may meintaine. Forto take array of straunge contrey hathe not be used, and leue that of his owne, that causithe mani to be mocked and scorned, as ye may see bi this knight that spake thus to his lady. And wetithe who so takithe furst a nouelte of array on hym, thei ben moche spoken of but now a dayes and a woman here of a newe gette, she wiƚƚ neuer be in pees tiƚƚ she haue the same. And the wiues saien to her husbondes euery day, "sir, suche a wyff and suche hathe suche goodly arraye that besemithe her weƚƚ, and y praie you y may haue of the same;" and yef her husbonde saie, "wiff, yef suche haue suche arraie, suche that are wiser thanne thei haue it not," she wil saie, "no force it is, for thei canne not were it, and yef y haue it ye shal see how weƚƚ it wiƚƚ become me, for y can were it." And thus with her wordes her husbonde must nedis ordeine her that she desirithe, other he shaƚƚ neuer haue pees with her, for thei wol finde so mani resones that thei wiƚƚ not be werned. But the women that dothe and saithe thus, be not most wisest nor canne not best her good, but thei haue more her herte to the plesaunce of the worlde thanne to her husbondes profit. And there is a maner now amonge seruyng women of lowe astate, the whiche is comen, for, thei furre her colers, that hangin doune into the middil of the backe, and thei furre her heles, the whiche is doubed with filtℏ, and it is sengiƚƚ about her brest; the whiche arraie y praise [fol/col 11/2] not in winter nor somer, for hem were beter take the furre that hanggithe about her helis in the winter and sette it about her stomakes, for that had more nede of hete thanne her helys, and in somer it were beter awey, for flies hidethe hem therinne; and therfor y praise not the arraye nor that nouelte in a pore man, but y saie it not be women that may susteine and meintayne it atte her lust; for y caste me not to speke nor to mediƚƚ me of no thinge of her astate nor arraie that aught to displese hem, for it longithe not to me but to worshippe and to obeye hem to my power. Nor y understonde

not to speke in this boke to none other women but to myn propre doughtres and seruauntis of myn howse, and forto shew hem how what is my luste and plesaunce that thei do. Doughtres, it is a gret perile to take stryff with folke that ben wise, or to dispraise the maners of hem. For gladly folke haue but liteƚƚ worshipe that tellithe or repreuithe ani suche folke of thaire condiciones.