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 LIII.]

[Of a lady who was punished for painting herself.]

TO conferme these ensaumples, doughtres, y wiƚƚ teƚƚ you a tale that was tolde me of a lady that y knewe, that folke [fol/col 24/1] saide she popped and farded her. And ["And" repeated in MS.] y sawe hym that folke saide that toke her the thinge that she dite so her selff with. And a gret while she was a lady of gret auctorite, worshipped and [made] moche of. And she had sum tyme more thanne .iiij. ^xx. gownes, but atte the laste endyng of her lyff she had lasse, for her lorde deyed, and she had not wherwith to susteine her astate and arraye, and she deyed in pouertee. And whanne she was dede, y haue herde saie that her uisage become so hideous, and in suche a foule wise, that no maner of man might know that euer she had uisage, nor that no body wost what thinge it was like there her uisage shulde haue ben, that no body wyst what it was, nor none might endure to loke theron for obribelnesse. And y suppose, and so dede other that God gaue on her that ensaumple and punission for because she popped, painted, plucked, and far[d]ed [Fr. le fardement de la painture.] her hede. Wherfor, faire doughtres, takithe ensaumple, and holde it in youre herte that ye putte no thinge to poppe, painte, and fayre youre uisages the whiche is made

after Goddes ymage, other wise thanne your creatoure and nature hathe ordeined; and that ye plucke no browes, nother temples, nor forhed; and also that ye wasshe not the here of youre hede in none other thinge but in lye and water. For ye shaƚƚ finde of miracles that hathe be done ["done" repeated in MS.] in the chirche of oure lady of Rochmadame, diuerse tresses of ladies and gentiƚƚ women that had be wasshe in wyne and in other thinges forto make the here of coloure other wise thanne God made it, [fol/col 24/2] the whiche ladies and gentil women that aught the tresses were comynge thedirward̛ on pilgrimage, but they may neuer haue pouere to come withinne the chirche dore unto the tyme that thei hadde cutte of the tresses of her here, the whiche is hanged there afore the ymage of oure lady; and this is trewe and thinge proued, as diuerse that haue ben there sayen. And this was a gret loue of oure lady, that she wolde late thilke ladyes and gentyl women that aught that here, haue that knowlage, that it was for that synne that they might not come into the chirche, and that she wolde not late hem reyne euer in that synne, to be loste perdurably, but she wolde thei woste wherein they folied, and that they might amende hem, and bring hem oute of the weye of dampnacion. And therfor, doughtres, takithe here youre myrrour and ensaumple to leue aƚƚ suche lewde folyes and counterfeting, poppinge, and peintinge. And [it] engenderithe pride and lecherye thorugℏ aƚƚ the worlde, the whiche was stroyed saue .viij. persones for that horrible synne of lechery.