Moral Posturing: Body Language in Late Medieval Conduct Manuals
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
MORAL POSTURING: BODY LANGUAGE, RHETORIC, AND THE PERFORMANCE OF IDENTITY IN LATE MEDIEVAL FRENCH AND ENGLISH CONDUCT MANUALS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Sharon C. Mitchell, B.A., M.A. * * * * * The Ohio State University 2007 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Lisa Kiser, Advisor Approved by Dr. Karen Winstead Dr. Ethan Knapp _________________________ Advisor Dr. Nan Johnson Graduate Program in English Copyright by Sharon Claire Mitchell 2007 ABSTRACT My dissertation argues that late medieval conduct manuals were a direct reaction to the social upheavals of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, and that their programs of self-improvement were an effort to contain and re-channel ambition and discontent. Specifically, I demonstrate that their writers sought to maintain social stability by either minimizing or exaggerating the possibility of social mobility, and packaging both programs within the attractive prospect of creating one’s own identity. In so doing, the writers of conduct manuals created their own identities, constructing personae of moral authority. In my first chapter, “Roaring Girls?” I show how the writers of three fourteenth-century French conduct manuals tried to reconcile young female readers to their arranged marriages and limited career options by painting a frightening portrait of the alternative and offering covert authority through outward submissiveness. The first, the Livre du chevalier de la tour landry, narrates harsh penalties for women who break the physical codes of virtue. The writer warns his young daughters that women who speak loudly, toss their heads, or let their gazes wander frighten away eligible bachelors or wind up in loveless or even abusive marriages. Discreet women make better marriages and win over unaffectionate husbands through their docility. The Ménagier de Paris’s tone is kinder, as he is writing for a young wife, but although he attempts to inspire pride in her position as the supervisor of a large and busy household, he still expects her to maintain a public physical decorum of restrained gaze and movement. Christine de Pisan’s Livre de Trois Virtu prescribes behavior for every rank from princesses to peasants (who could hardly ii have been expected to read it), maintaining that there is dignity in every estate if the woman fulfills her role properly. I demonstrate that in all three books, the writers depict limited opportunity for social advancement, but warn readers that women who behave badly can suffer precipitous social descents. However, women who obey the rules can gain authority over servants and households, the respect of their communities, and even the ability to influence their husbands in subtle and tactful ways. In my second chapter, “Good Knight, Sweet Prince,” I demonstrate how fourteenth- century French books aimed at male readers offer similar advice to keep one’s place and rise slowly if it all, despite the seemingly greater opportunities for men. Geoffroi de Charny’s Book of Chivalry proposes a hierarchy of chivalrous merit based on motive rather than hereditary rank: the man who practices arms for the sake of glory is superior to the man who does so to win a lady, but the second man is superior to mercenaries. Geoffroi must paint an attractive portrait of chivalry to readers who know that it is no longer an express path to knighthood (Geoffroi himself won his spurs only posthumously), and he must also remind leaders to speak with their men and inspire them with courage and trust, rather than dismissing them as cannon fodder. Christine de Pisan’s Livre du corps de policie, like her Livre de Trois Virtu, urges its putative audience (extending from rulers to rural laborers) to fill their assigned spheres in life honorably, rather than seeking to change them. She, too, wishes employers from prince to petit bourgeois to praise and value their underlings in order to foster loyalty and trust rather than resentment. I demonstrate how all the writers in my first two chapters are trying to reinforce an already shaky feudal hierarchy by positing that if individuals of all ranks play their roles, the system can still work. iii In my third chapter, “In English and in wryting of our tonge,” I show how English conduct manuals writers, far from denying the fluidity of social roles, nearly overstate it. The eponymous heroine of Capgrave’s Life of St. Katherine abandons her role as earthly leader to become a saint in heaven, but in the process displays the verbal tricks of a lawyer and the sharp tongue of a common scold. Peter Idley’s Instructions to His Son dispenses with the code of chivalry altogether, advising the reader to avoid all conflict, physical or legal, and pursue advancement and financial security through social connections and industry. Even two English translations of earlier French texts show a new English concept of nobility as something that can be acquired through noble words and thoughts, rather than a purely inherited rank that is demonstrated through physical conduct. The Body of Policye, a translation of Corps de policie attributed to Anthony Woodville, sticks to Christine de Pisan’s phrasing almost word-for-word, except on the topic of foul language, which Woodville expands and emphasizes. The Book of the Knight of the Tower, William Caxton’s translation of theLivre du chevalier de la tour landry, tones down the crudeness and sarcastic tone of the original to provide readers with a more dignified role model. I argue that both Woodville and Caxton emphasize rhetoric as a learnable noble quality over physical nobility because both have benefited from very recent advancement in the world: Woodville, from his sister’s royal marriage, and Caxton, in his spectacular rise from mercer’s apprentice to the protégé of King Edward IV and the Duchess of Burgundy. iv In conclusion, I argue that while both French and English conduct manuals were attempts to control social disorder, French writers did so by discouraging all but the most limited advancement, and English writers did so by implying that great advancement was possible if readers would only follow their rules. In both cases, if readers joined the system rather than fighting it, they were promised self-respect and the respect of others. v Dedicated to my parents, my brother, and to all the friends who were kind enough to let me discuss my research with them. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation could not have been completed without the assistance of Dr. Lisa Kiser, Dr. Karen Winstead, Dr. Ethan Knapp, and Dr. Nan Johnson. Their assistance went far beyond the research itself to such matters as: wording grant applications so that people outside one’s field will not only understand the project but find it interesting and worthy of support, gaining access to rare collections, dealing with tough questions during Q & A at academic conferences, and all the other “rhetorics” necessary in academia. I also wish to acknowledge the Graduate School for and the GSI, which made it possible for me to do my research in the British Library and the Bodleian, and the English Department, which made it possible for me attend conferences in my field where I could present my own work and benefit from the research of others. vii VITA September 6, 1960………………………………………………………Born – Chicago Illinois 1983…………………..B.A. Honors English, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. B.A. Honors Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Graduated cum laude. 1997…………………..M.A., English, Hunter College (C.U.N.Y.), New York, New York. Granted upon completion of Comprehensive Exam (High Pass), Language Proficiency Test (French), and Graduate Thesis, “A Woman Fit for Love: Medieval Women and the Ideal Body.” 1998- Present Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: English viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract.........................................................................................................................ii Dedication....................................................................................................................vi Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................vii Vita.............................................................................................................................viii Introduction...................................................................................................................1 Chapters : 1. Roaring Girls?................................................................................................20 2. Good Knight, Sweet Prince………………………………………………..125 3. In English and in wryting of our tonge……………………………………243 Sources……………………………………………………………………………...348 ix INTRODUCTION When I began this project on medieval conduct literature, I expected to find authors using different strategies to reach their male and female readers. Anna Dronzek had described how conduct manuals aimed at female readers usually emphasized physical punishment or physical signs of virtue, “something tangible, something that appeals to the physical senses that govern them” (144). Elizabeth Ann Robertson noted a similar strain in devotional works: “A woman’s essentially sensual nature requires that she come to understand God through the physical world, a requirement emphasized in this work through the use of concrete details