Daniel Of Beccles’ Poem of Manners
We have fallen behind in teaching soft skills to our kids, or at least it feels like it. We tend to emphasize academic matters. But we are still always keen to learn how to behave, and that seems to have always been so. Witness the case of ‘Magnus Urbanus: The Book of The Civilized Man,’ generally thought to be written by Daniel of Beccles.
Genre of Writing:
Books of manners are most associated with the Victorian era, but they were actually popular in the later Middle Ages. They even had a name: ‘courtesy books.’ These are manuals on how to behave like a gentleman — and they do tend to be aimed at young men on the climb. For instance, the book ‘De Institutione Noviciorum’ was written in the 1100’s to instruct boys entering an abbey on how to behave.
Some have suggested that these courtesy books came out of an interest in ‘courtly’ behavior, as evidenced by the growing body of Arthuriana and other romances. Parents wanted their little lords and ladies to act like Guinevere and King Arthur starting in the 1200's, thus they bought these books of instruction to back up the practical lessons they could provide.
The last traditional ‘courtesy book’ was written in the 1700’s by Lord Chesterfield, called ‘A Letter to His Son,’ which covered how to be an accomplished gentleman in that era. Samuel Johnson didn’t approve, but the fact that we have Emily Post and Judith Marten now suggests that he should have minded his tongue better.
Another genre the ‘Magnus Urbanus’ is related to are the books of household estate management that really took off in the 1200’s and 1300’s. (Little did I know that, by giving my main girl a book of castle management in 1241, I was actually on trend for her time. Just seems something Brynhild would absolutely need and want, given her bookish tendencies.)
What the Heck Is Daniel’s Deal, And Who Is He?
Like the vast majority of people who are not the king or queen (and sometimes even them) we know very little about who this Daniel character was. Or even how much credit he should get for the book.
“Urbanus Magnus” is, as far as we can tell, written in the time of Henry II in England, by a guy who was probably at court there. Possibly for 30 years. A man named John Bale writing in the 1500’s claimed that he had read a chronicle of Henry II’s court that called this Daniel person a knight and a poet. Someone with that name is on the Bench Roll for the court and is described as giving up a claim on a church in order to buy a burial plot.
Considering that his name isn’t on the earliest versions of the Urbanus Magnus, and is only explicitly named in the 13th century version…eh? It’s a question.
We know more about the book itself, or at least we can glean more about its context. This is the earliest known book of instructions for people at court in English (possibly published as early as 1190.) It’s recorded as late as the 1300’s though, and, as my first section suggests, it is related (possibly an early ancestor of) two very popular genres of later centuries. This makes it historically interesting.
It clearly picked up, and might have even borrowed chunks of, another book called the ‘Regimen sanitatis Salernitatatem,’ which is all about how food effects people’s health and mood. It’s all over the place in its advice, honestly, but seems to have been generally directed at boys training to be householders and clerks.
It is a long poem in Latin that is cut up into four sections in order to direct the advice. It’s first section emphasizes that God is the final arbiter of your reputation, and thus the real focus for you should be on Godliness. The next section is on manners and hosting, and the later chapters are about keeping healthy. This makes it less a book of manners and more a ‘general advice for kids’ book.
Since the original poem was in Latin and is kind of all over the place as far as messaging, we actually get way more of this book from later people taking excerpts from the poem and adding their own intro. This they would then inflict on little boys, presumably. This let Daniel’s ideas spread way further than his actual book. Also, he seems to be the only one to write a 70-page poem in Latin on his own.
In summary: we don’t know jack about the author, but a whole bunch of tutors were influenced by him for at least three or four centuries once he died.
Particular Tips:
Of course, what you are here for is the wacky advice.
Bad news: it was never cool to have dirty hands, have an unkempt beard, or to talk with your mouth full. A good host provides water for washing your hands before you start dinner, and the host makes sure that washing water is warm in the winter.
And don’t sponge up the sauce with your fingers or bread. (I knew Johan wouldn’t do that, having been properly fostered at Zeppler with Duke Wolfram.)
However, you can blow your nose into your hand- just don’t look at the boogers afterwards.
The rules differ by rank, obviously. A guest may pee inside once everyone is retired (though only if you absolutely have to), the host may always pee in his home, but messengers and servants must leave the premises if they hear the call of nature.
Thoughts:
We are always going to need soft skills, lessons about how to get along with our fellow human beings, and, while there is a certain amount of arbitrariness involved with such rules, there are certain constants. Keep your hands clean, for instance.
The need for these books suggests that people moved up in society and were looking for pointers on how to behave. These courtesy books often covered diet and household management too, which suggests that it is hard to teach and remember all the ins and out of adulting, even without iPhones and television.
Maybe the best thing that we can take from ‘Magnus Urbanus’ is the reassurance that we dumb monkeys have always been group creatures longing for our troops to accepts us.
Sources:
Etiquipedia: Etiquette, Daniel of Beccles and The Book of Civilized Man
Translation of Urbanus magnus | 2 | The Book of the Civilised Man | Fi (taylorfrancis.com)
What Emily Post and Daniel of Beccles Teach Us About Civility | TIME
Urbanus Magnus : Daniel of Beccles : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive (Warning: it’s all in Latin. If you want to read an English translation, you’ll have to follow the taylorfrancis.com link and buy it for $50.)
Book of the Civilized Man — Wikipedia
Medieval Life Hacks: Hygiene and Manners from the 12th Century — Medievalists.net