Ideal manners for a 13th century lady

[transemacabre]

I found this interesting information about Chastoiement des dames, a mid-13th century ettiquete book by Robert de Blois, in "Courtly culture: literature and society in the high middle ages" by Joachim Bumke. Here's what was expected of a well-born lady

Comments

[gamiila]

Not a lot has changed, then.

[silverwhistle]

That cracked me up! The idea that anyone might think it was acceptable to wipe their nose on the tablecloth is just vile…

[loupnoir]

I wonder what they really meant by "veiled?"

[silverwhistle]

In 13C it covers the head, not the face as a rule.

[loupnoir]

In this listing, it says that she should "lift her veil," which certainly sounds like a partial face covering. Plus, this bit about ugly ladies should be veiled often and a beauty not at all. This also implies covering a face.

[silverwhistle]

This would be out of doors only, though. It was common for ladies to draw their veils over their faces as protection from sun/wind/dust. (In 16-17C art, I've seen a sort of fabric ski-mask used for travel wear.)

[syntinen_laulu]

Well, in 18th-century Britain it was the done thing to have a tablecloth much larger than the table so that the diners could put it over their laps and use it as we would a table napkin. (This appalled visitors from the Continent.) If you're using the tablecloth to wipe your fingers and lips, it's only a short step to using it for your nose or eyes as well.