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
About this Item
Title
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
Author
La Tour Landry, Geoffroy de, 14th cent.
Editor
Wright, Thomas, 1810-1877
Publication
London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., Ltd.
1906
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"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." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/KntTour-L. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 28, 2025.
Pages
CHAPTER LXIII.
[Of proud women.]
Now woƚƚ y touche of sum women that haue be proude of the
worshippes and goodes that God hathe sent vnto them, and might not
suffre ne endure in ese, as it is conteined in the Bible, where he
telles of Apemena, doughter of a symple knight that was called
Verar. This Apemena was yonge, and of gret beauute, in so moche that
the king of Surre, that was mighti and of gret nobelnesse, had take
her in suche manere of loue that thorugℏ the said folious loue he
toke her into his wiff, and so was she quene of Surry. And whanne she
see her selff
descriptionPage 84
exalted into gret puissaunce and worshipe, she preised no [fol/col 27b/2]
more her owne lynage, but had despite and
indignacion of hem, and become so folyously proude that she deigned
not to do reuereuce and worshippe unto the kinge as
[MS. "and"] she aught for to
do, for because he was symple and debonaire; nor also to his lyneage,
in so moche that aƚƚ manere of peple had her in hate. And the
king toke wrathe vnto her in suche manere that she was shent and
driuen awey bi the counsaile of the kingges lynage, and she lost the
worship that she was in. For mani women may not suffre whanne thei
haue worshipe and be wel atte ease, unto the tyme that thorugh her
orguylleus port ben throwen doune of her worshippe and astate, as dede
this quene that come from pore lynage to gret astate. And therfor
euery woman that seithe her husbonde esy and symple unto her withoute
malice, in so moche she aught to do hym the more reuerence, and to
fulfeƚƚ the sonner his wiƚƚ, and to kepe his loue; and
therein she worshippes her selff, for she may not do to her husbonde
to mohe worshipe. And but yef she do so, it may happe to make her
husbondes herte to turne from her and hate her, the whiche were gret
harme and pereƚƚ, that there shulde be suche diuision betwene hem
that shulde be one.
I Woƚƚ teƚƚ you an ensaumple of the gret kinge Heroudes
wyff he loued merueylously. So it happed he went to Rome, and duryng
the tyme of his [fol/col 28/1]
being there,
the pepiƚƚ of his housholde purposed to finde a wey to hynder his
sayd wiff ayenst hym, for they loued her not, bycause she was to
crueƚƚ and to fers; and reported unto hym that she hadd̛ a
priui loue bisyde hym, and in this wise dishonoured her ; of the
whicℏ the saide Herode was greuously wrothe, and of this reproued
her. And she ansuered hym fersely and proudely, and demened her not
in fairesiesse and curtesye, nor so mekely as she shulde do ; so that
the sayd Herode was crueƚƚ and dispitous to her [for] her
orguilleux langage, and toke a kniff aud slow her, of the whiche he
was afterwarde fuƚƚ sory, for he fonde that she was untruly
accused. And so bi her presumptuous port of langage she made
descriptionPage 85
her selff to be slayne. And therfor it is a good eusaumple to
euery woman to be meke and curteis, and to ansuere mekely,
curtaisly, and softely ayenst of couroux of her husbonde. For
the wyse Salamon saithe that, by curtesye and softe wordes, good
women shulde abate the yre of thaire husbondes. For the wiff
of right owithe to honoure her husbonde, though his speche be
right or wronge, and in special in hys yre tofore the pepiƚƚ.
And whanne his yre is passed, she may weƚƚ shew unto hym
that he had wronge. And so shal she kepe the pees and the
loue of her husbonde, and of her housholde, and shaƚƚ not
make her selff blamed nor slayne, as dede the furst wyff of king
Herodes.
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