Medieval Etiquette2˚ESO Fall 2014

Medieval Etiquette

• Etiquette (from the Greek word meaning "custom") is a set of rules relating to the visual manifestations of attitude towards people, namely behavior in public places, forms of address and greetings, manners and dress code.

• It acquired it’s classic form during the Middle Ages.

• Books on the rules of etiquette started to appear during the Middle Ages.

Medieval Etiquette

• Many of the modern rules of behavior have their origins in the distant past, and often initially had a different meaning.

• Some etiquette rules of the past have changed almost beyond recognition, while the others have disappeared.

• All the rituals adopted in the society left their mark on the development of Western culture.

Medieval Etiquette

• Knights, court artists, diplomats had their own social status and followed strict rules and codes of conduct.

• The court etiquette established rules and regulations of gallant behavior and were preserved and used as the basis of our etiquette today.

Medieval Etiquette

• At that time, valor and virtue were not that you had to be a moral person, harmonious, unique and different from others, rather, you had to correspond to strict patterns, standards, authorities, subordinate your individuality to typical, and personal behavior to the strict rules of etiquette and customs, which became more formalized.

Medieval Etiquette

• Various books on etiquette, which had become so complex that the courts needed special people who knew all the subtleties and ensured their observance, appeared at this time.

• Those people were called masters of ceremonies and their only occupation was to keep in mind the numerous details of court etiquette, starting from the number and style of buckles on shoes and bows in hairstyles up to the ceremony of guests reception.

Medieval Etiquette

• Everything had to be done easily, naturally, as though accidentally.

• A court person was assessed by his contribution to the court culture, with its focus on feasting and entertainment.

• Tournaments, competitions, and hunting filled the morning hours.

• Masquerades and balls took place in the evening.

• The main incentive was the desire to show off, to look pompous.

Medieval Etiquette Examples

• Etiquette regulated all the spheres of life of the upper class, even the minor things of the court’s everyday life.

• Members of the monarch’s family had to get up at a certain hour.

• It was stated who had to be present at the dressing of the monarch, who had to hold and give him the clothing, toiletries, etc.

• It was determined in advance who had to accompany the monarch, how the ceremonies, audiences, dinners, walks, dances had to be conducted.

Medieval Etiquette Examples

• A court woman, who had to leave the royal person, had to move with her back turned to the door, casting away the train of dress with her foot not to get entangled in it.

• Etiquette regulated what court ladies had to walk hand in hand, stated the number and configuration of the lines that had to be drawn by the court ladies while making a curtsy.

Medieval Etiquette Examples

• There was a correct way of doing everything, from the laying out of cloths, to the cutting of trenchers and carving of meat.

• The solid parts of soups and stews were eaten with a spoon, the broth sipped.

• Meat was cut up with a knife and eaten with fingers.

• Two persons shared a dish, the lesser helping the more important, the younger the older, the man the woman. The former in each case broke the bread, carved the meat, and passed the cup.

Medieval Etiquette Examples

• Etiquette books admonished diners not the leave the spoon in the dish or put elbows on the table, not to belch, not to drink or eat with their mouths full, not to stuff their mouths or take overly large helpings.

• In light of the finger-eating and dish-sharing, stress was laid upon keeping hands and nails scrupulously clean, wiping spoon and knife after use, wiping the mouth before drinking, and not dipping meat in the salt dish.

Medieval Etiquette

• Violation of the rules of etiquette was regarded as a crime.

• The court norms were an expression of interest to your personality in the eyes of others.

• A person must tell the truth just because "a man accustomed to telling the truth seems brave and free“.

• A person must be polite not because he could not violate the norms, but because politeness shows that they were not of a low rank.

Ceremonious, as a Spaniard

• There was a saying in the Middle Ages, namely "Ceremonious, as a Spaniard".

• The supremacy concerning the rules of behavior belonged to the Spaniards.

• The first treatise on the rules of behavior was written in 1204 by a Spanish priest Pedro Alfonso, and was called "Disciplina clericalis."

• The treatise contained the rules of table manners, taught how to talk, receive visitors, and the like.

• It was used as the basis for all the subsequent books on etiquette.

Ceremonious, as a Spaniard

• Despite the fact that the population of medieval Spain was illiterate, including the noblest people, and the book could be read by very, very few, Pedro Alfonso created such a code of court etiquette, which cannot be excelled by anyone even now.

• It described in detail how food had to be served at the royal table, who of the court people had to bring the royal person a part of their attire, and even how many weeks and in what castle the royal family could spend.

Ceremonious, as a Spaniard

• After that, etiquette was perceived not just as a standard of behavior, but as a certain ritual of communication, especially with people of a higher rank.

• Even people equal to each other in ranks, had to comply thousands of conventions, or they were crushed by the public contempt.

• In the early and middle Medieval Ages etiquette was created by the Church.

• In the Late Middle Ages the royal courts of Paris, London and other European countries formed it.

Etiquette for a Knight

• The Age of Chivalry was brought about by knights becoming their own social class.

• The knights had their own code of honor, of chivalry, that they had to follow.

• A noble had a long lineage (genealogy).

• Knights therefore had long lineages and would praise the heroic deeds of past ancestors, real or imagined.

• Beauty and attractiveness were knightly virtues.

Etiquette for a Knight

• Special attention was paid to the rituals, attributes, symbolism of colors, objects, manners.

• Expensive clothes, richly decorated with gold and precious stones, pointed to the social category and the position of the wearer.

• If a person wore the wrong clothing that did not fit a man of his rank, it meant he committed the sin of pride or, conversely, degradation.

• A particular attention was paid to accessories, namely gloves and head gear that indicated the ranks accurately.

Etiquette for a Knight

• A knight had to be courteous, able to write or at least to read poetry, play a musical instrument.

• He had to be in a good physical form, because he constantly needed a lot of physical strength to wear armor that weighed 60 - 80 kg.

Etiquette for a Knight

• A distinctive feature of any knight was an unconditional loyalty to his obligations concerning people equal to him, that’s why different knightly vows, oaths, agreements, which were accompanied by certain gestures, were popular.

• Chivalrous oaths and vows were public.

Etiquette for a Knight

• Courage, boldness, contempt for death, military loyalty and luck are the qualities that were glorified in the folk tales about knights.

• A secular French feudal knight had to have seven knight’s 'virtues': his own spear, fencing, hunting, riding, swimming skills, as well as ability to play chess and compose verses for his beloved lady.

Etiquette for a Knight

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70oWR8DDZZM