Whelan Fiona - The Making of Manners and Morals in Twelfth-Century England

Manuscripts containing full copies of Urbanus magnus :

• C1 MS 61/155, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
• D MS 97, Trinity College, Dublin
• W MS F.147, Worcester Cathedral Library

Manuscripts containing partial copies of Urbanus magnus :

• C2 MS 79, St Johns College, Cambridge
• L1 MS Arundel 52, British Library, London
• L2 MS Cotton Titus A. XX, British Library, London
• L3 MS Royal 10 A. X, British Library, London
• O1 MS Bodley 310, Bodleian Library, Oxford
• O2 MS Rawlinson C.552, Bodleian Library, Oxford
• O3 MS 18, Trinity College, Oxford
• P1 MS Latin 3718, BnF, Paris
• P2 MS Latin 15170, BnF, Paris

The 1939 published edition of the text used the following sigla:

• C MS 61/155, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
• D MS 97, Trinity College, Dublin
• W MS F.147, Worcester Cathedral
• T MS Cotton Titus A. XX, British Library, London

As this book discusses eight additional manuscripts, I have slightly amended Smylys sigla and created new ones.

I am indebted to my doctoral supervisor Professor Lesley Smith at the University of Oxford for her support and guidance from the initial concept of working on Urbanus magnus to this final culmination. She helped to tease out ideas in discussions and guided me when I was hitting brick walls. Many others have kindly provided useful advice along the way, including Professor Paul Brand at the University of Oxford, whose advice on medieval legal terms was invaluable, and Professor Hugh Thomas at the University of Miami, for pointing me to archival sources for Daniel of Beccles, kindly sending me an advance copy of his book on the secular clergy in England, and providing advice in turning my thesis into a monograph. I am also grateful to the members of the Oxford Medieval Diet Group for allowing me to participate and for helping to steer my research to be more interdisciplinary. The opportunities that have come from participation in this group have been invaluable and I am deeply grateful. I am further indebted to Professor Roger Stalley of Trinity College Dublin for fostering an interest in the medieval period through art and literature, and to Professor David dAvray of University College London for guiding my path into medieval history and the study of manuscripts.

This publication has been made possible by a grant from the Scouloudi Foundation in association with the Institute of Historical Research. In addition, I would like to express my thanks to the British Library, the Master and Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and the City of Bayeux for permission to reproduce their images in this book.

Finally, I would like to thank those who kindly read and assisted in the editing process of both my original doctoral thesis and its revised form, as it appears here. Dr Jed Foland, Brendan Whelan, and Neasa McGarrigle provided wonderful assistance in pulling it together. Finally, I wish to thank my family for their un- wavering support, patience, and understanding throughout this process. I would never have reached this point without them.

Quisquis es in mensa, primo de paupere pensa;
Nam cum pascis eum, pascis, amice, Deum.
Nescit homo plenus, quam vitam ducat egenus.
Nemo cibum capiat, donec benedictio fiat.
Nec capiat sedem, nisi quam vult qui regit edem.

Donec sint possita tibi fercula mandere vita,
Et mundi digiti tibi sunt unguesque polita.
In disco tacta non sit bucella redacta.
Non tangas aures nudis digitis neque nares.
Non mundes dentes ferro acuto ad comedentes.

Sal non tangatur esca quo vase locatur.
Si potes hec repeto in mensa ructare caueto.
Esse scias vetitum in mensa ponere cubitum.
Lege mandatur ne parapsis ad osque ponatur.
Qui vult potare debet prius os vacuare

Et sint illius labia tersa prius;
Nec tacere ossum, ne dentibus laceret ossum.
Non dicas verbum cuiquam quod ei si acerbum.
Ne possit quis irasci vel discordia nasci.
Vultu sis hilaris, nullam tamen irridearis.

Si pauce loqueris, gratior sodalibus eris.
Mensa submota, manus ablue, postea pota.
Privetur mensa, qui spreverit hec documenta.

Whoever eats at the table, at first, think of the poor man;
For when you feed him, you feed, with goodwill, God.
No man should know fullness, any such life should be led in want of.
No one should grasp food, while the blessing takes place.
Nor take a seat, unless he who rules the house is willing.

While plates are set for you, avoid eating,
And your fingers should be clean and nails smooth.
A morsel of food which has been touched should not be put back in the dish.
You should not touch your ears or nose with your fingers.
You should not clean your teeth with a sharp weapon when finished eating.

Nor should salt which has touched meat be placed in that vessel.
If you can, I repeat this, avoid belching at the table.
You should know, to be respected at the table, to go to bed.
With the principle commanded, the dish should not be put up to the mouth.
Anyone who wishes to drink, the mouth should first be empty

And lips should be wiped of [food] first;
Neither touch the bone, nor chew it with teeth.
You should not say a harsh word to anyone
No one should get angry or discord is born.
You should have a cheerful face, however you should not be ridiculed.