''Book of the Civilized Man'' ( la, Urbanus Magnus Danielis Becclesiensis, also known as ''Liber Urbani'', ''Urbanus Magnus'', or ''Civilized Man''), by Daniel of Beccles, is believed to be the first English

courtesy book A courtesy book (also book of manners) was a didactic manual of knowledge for courtiers to handle matters of etiquette, socially acceptable behaviour, and personal morals, with an especial emphasis upon life in a royal court; the genre of courtesy ...

(or book of manners), dating probably from the beginning of the 13th century. The book is significant because in the later

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

dozens of such courtesy books were produced. Because this appears to be the first in English history, it represented a new awakening to etiquette and decorum in English court society, which occurred in the 13th century. As a general rule, a book of etiquette is a mark of a dynamic rather than a stable society, one in which there is an influx of "new" men, who have not been indoctrinated with the correct decorum from an early age and who are avid to catch up in a hurry.

The poem

''Civilized Man'' is a 3000-line

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

verse poem that gives proper advice on a wide range of social situations that the typical medieval person might have encountered in day-to-day life. Examples include: *If you wish to belch, remember to look up to the ceiling. *Do not attack your enemy while he is squatting to defecate. *If there is something you do not want people to know, do not tell it to your wife. *Say thank you to your host. *Don't mount your horse in the hall. *If visitors had already eaten, give them drink anyway. *Loosen your reins when riding over a bridge. *Receive gifts from great men with gratitude. *If you are a judge, be just. *Eating at the table of the rich, speak little. *The book ends with "Old King Henry first gave to the uncourtly the teaching written in this book."

The poet

Historians believe that Daniel of Beccles may have been a member of Henry II's court.

John Bale John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed ...

(16th century) wrote that he had seen a document showing Daniel in Henry's court for over 30 years. This, the fact that a Henry is mentioned in the text, and some of the manuscripts can be dated to the early 13th century, make it very probable the poem dates from that period. There a reference to a Daniel of Beccles in the "Seventh Regnal Year of King John" (circa 1206) secretly being given the patronage (advowson) of the church of Endgate in Beccles by the Abbot of Bury St Edmund's.

Three themes

There are three major recurrent themes in the poem: social hierarchy, self-control and sexual morality. The first theme is the emphasis on

social hierarchy Social stratification refers to a society's categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and political). As ...

and how to behave around those of higher or lower status (lords and servants). The poem takes the general tone of addressing the reader as someone who is a "householder". This can be seen in the opening lines of the poem "Reader, if you wish to be adorned with good manners, if you wish to be respected and lead a civilized life as a noble householder...". In other words, it addresses a very minor upper percentage of the general population who own households and have servants, the class that from the 16th century might be identified as "country

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...

". The second recurrent theme is self-control, in general holding oneself inward when it comes to speaking, eating and bodily emissions. When it comes to speaking, "Be careful to whom, what, why and when you speak". He suggests it is better to keep your thoughts to yourself. When it comes to eating, he suggests small bites, not overeating, not playing with food, no using fingers to clean bowls. Also, guests and servants should not urinate in the dining hall, but the host may. The third recurrent theme is

sexual morality Sexual ethics (also known as sex ethics or sexual morality) is a branch of philosophy that considers the ethics or morality or otherwise in sexual behavior. Sexual ethics seeks to understand, evaluate and critique interpersonal relationships and ...

. The ''Civilized Man'' was clearly written for men. It offers advice on prostitutes: "If you are overcome with erotic desire when you are young and your penis drives you to go to a prostitute, do not go to a common whore; empty your testicles quickly and depart quickly." He offers advice on how to pick a wife, which includes looking at her property value and personal traits. Following a tradition inherited from antiquity, Daniel describes women as lustful and untrustworthy. The poem describes a woman lying in bed with her husband, with her thoughts on to her secret lover: "The lascivious woman throws herself around the neck of her lover, her fingers give him those secret touches that she denies to her husband in bed; one wicked act with her lover pleases the lascivious adulteress more than a hundred with her husband; women's minds always burn for the forbidden." He says she is always ready to fornicate "with a cook or a half-wit, a peasant or a ploughman, or a chaplain... what she longs for is a thick, leaping, robust piece of equipment, long, smooth and stiff... such are the things that charm and delight women". Despite this he says "Whatever your wife does, do not damage your marriage" and he goes on to say "if you are jealous, do not whisper a word about it... when you are jealous, learn to look up at the ceiling." The message is clearly in the same theme of holding inward and avoiding any embarrassments at all cost. Daniel's advice comes to a climax in what is perhaps the most difficult situation of all: the wife of one's lord makes a sexual proposition. It is a combination of the three problems: hierarchical relationships, control of bodily emissions, and sexual morality. Daniel's solution is to pretend to be ill.

References

*''Urbanus Magnus Danielis Becclesiensis'', ed. J. Gilbart Smyly (Dublin, 1939). *Whelan, Fiona, ''The Making of Manners and Morals in Twelfth-Century England: The Book of the Civilised Man'' (Routledge, 2017). *Whelan, Fiona, 'Administering the Medieval Household 1180–1250: From Daniel of Beccles to Robert Grosseteste', in ''The Great Household, 1000-1500: Proceedings of the 2016 Harlaxton Symposium'' (Harlaxton, 2018) *Danziger, Danny & Gillingham, John, 1215 - The Year of the Magna Carta (Coronet Books: Hodder and Stoughton, c2003), sub verbum Daniel of Beccles, p. 313. *Gillingham, John, "From ''Civilitas'' to Civility: Codes of Manners in Medieval and Early Modern England", Transactions of the Royal Historical Society (2002), 6:267-289 Cambridge University Press. *Kerr, Julie "The Open Door: Hospitality and Honour in Twelfth/Early Thirteenth-Century England.", ''History'' 87 (287), 322-335. (2002) *Robert Bartlett. ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings, 1075-1225''. Chapter 11.4: "Manners." Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. *''Daniel of Beccles'', pub A D Frith {{DEFAULTSORT:Book Of The Civilized Man 13th-century Latin books British poems Etiquette

The poem

The poet

Three themes

See also

References