Caxton's Book of Curtesye

In Short

Presented as a fatherly address to a young "Little John," this didactic poem serves as a blueprint for noble conduct in late medieval England. It provides exhaustive instructions on everything from proper prayer and church attendance to table manners and the cultivation of eloquent speech. The text has endured because it captures a specific, vanished social code with startling intimacy, blending practical etiquette with a sincere, almost reverent appreciation for the great English poets of the age, including Chaucer and Lydgate.

The Story

The narrative begins with a call for attention, as the speaker demands that his young charge, "Little John," apply his heart and diligence to the lessons that follow. The arc of the instruction starts with the spiritual foundation of the day: rising in the morning, the boy must bless himself with the cross and recite his prayers, including the Pater Noster and the Creed. From this internal discipline, the instruction moves outward to the physical world, emphasizing the importance of personal cleanliness—combing the hair, washing the face, and maintaining a dignified appearance—as these are the outward signs of an inward virtue.

As the boy enters the public sphere, the poem shifts its focus to the crucible of social life: the table. The instructions are granular and demanding. The youth is told to remain silent in the hall, to listen attentively to superiors, and to avoid the "wanton insolence" of loud chatter. He must learn to eat with moderation, keeping his lips closed, handling his food with grace, and resisting the urge to pick his teeth with his knife or lean slovenly upon the table. The speaker warns that such "taches," or blemishes of manners, reveal a lack of breeding and an undisciplined mind.

The middle portion of the poem expands from the physical to the intellectual. The speaker shifts from warning against bad habits to prescribing the company of the wise. He urges the boy to read the great poets—Gower, Chaucer, Occleve, and Lydgate—not as a dry academic exercise, but to drink from the "lusty liquor" of their eloquence. He laments the death of "Father Chaucer," whom he considers the founder of English poetic beauty, and encourages the boy to study these masters to gain the "sentence" or wisdom that elevates a man above the rabble.

In the final movement, the poem addresses the dangers of the social climber, whom the author derisively calls the "ruskyn gallant." This figure is the antithesis of the well-mannered youth; he is loud, overdressed, presumptuous, and physically restless. The author warns the boy against imitating these fops, who serve at the table with unbuckled belts and interrupt the speech of others. The poem concludes by grounding the youth’s ultimate success in the pursuit of "humanyte." He is told to observe those who are truly learned and to serve women with honor and reverence. Finally, the speaker dismisses his "little book" into the world, warning it to avoid the company of the envious, and with that, the pedagogical mission ends, leaving the boy with a final charge to carry these lessons in his heart as he enters his riper age.

How It Unfolds

The Morning Ritual The instruction opens by anchoring the boy’s day in religious devotion, requiring him to clear his mind and spirit before he even begins to dress. He is warned that to be "lewed," or ignorant, is a failing of the will, and that diligence is the only path to a virtuous life.

The Sanctity of the Hall The poem pivots to the etiquette of the dinner table, which serves as a testing ground for self-control and social awareness. The boy must watch his master’s face to anticipate his needs and remain silent, as "busy report" is described as the chief nurse of mischief.

The Intellectual Inheritance The speaker pauses his list of prohibitions to offer a heartfelt tribute to the masters of English poetry. He argues that reading the works of Chaucer and Lydgate is the surest way for a young man to acquire the "aureate sentence" and grace of expression required by his station.

The Rejection of Vanity The final movement sharpens the contrast between true nobility and the affectations of the "ruskyn gallant." The boy is urged to reject the superficial, feminine-seeming fashions of the day in favor of a quiet, steady, and humble bearing that commands respect.

The People

Little John is the primary recipient of the instruction, a young boy on the cusp of adulthood. He represents the vessel of potential, standing between the innocence of childhood and the responsibilities of a nobleman’s page. His success depends entirely on his ability to discipline his own "wanton" impulses and submit to the wisdom of his elders.

The Speaker, an older, unnamed mentor, acts as the voice of tradition. He is a man of letters who deeply admires the great poets, revealing a soul that values both the rigid hierarchy of his society and the beauty of the English language. He is not merely a taskmaster; he is an advocate for a specific kind of character—one that is both "debonair" and intellectually sharp.

The Ruskyn Gallant serves as the cautionary foil. He is the "counterfeter of unconnyng curtoisye," a man whose clothes are too tight, whose manners are too loud, and whose presence is an affront to those of genuine "humanyte." He stands as the inevitable failure of a young man who chooses vanity over virtue.

In Its Own Voice

The author emphasizes that personal character is inextricably linked to the physical discipline of one’s own body:

"Handle your mete so wel and so clenly / That ye offende not the company / Where ye be sette / as ferforth as ye can / Remembryng wel / that manners make man."

The author expresses his profound admiration for Geoffrey Chaucer, whom he views as the essential source of English eloquence:

"O Fader and Founder of eternate eloquence / That eluminede all this oure britaigne / To sone we lost his lauriate presence / O lusty licoure of that fulsome fountaigne."

What It's Really About

The work is a meditation on the idea that the internal state of a man is revealed through his external actions. It argues that there is no meaningful distinction between "manners" and "morality"; to be rude is to be spiritually unrefined, and to be disciplined in one’s eating or speech is to be disciplined in one’s soul. The book grapples with the tension between the fleeting nature of social fashion and the enduring value of traditional wisdom. It asks how a young person can navigate a world of changing customs without losing the grounding of his own "humanyte." Ultimately, it posits that virtue is something learned through the imitation of the best, rather than the invention of the new.

Why Read It Today

Reading this work today feels like stepping into a cold, quiet room in a medieval manor. Readers who enjoy the history of social customs will find it fascinating, though the text does not attempt to be "accessible" in the modern sense. The Middle English dialect, even when rendered with modern care, requires patience and a willingness to sit with the cadence of an older, more formal world. The poem is not a light read; it is a rigid, prescriptive manual that reflects the anxieties of a society obsessed with status and self-presentation.

Modern readers may find the constant lecturing—and the specific, often jarring prohibitions against things like picking one's teeth or breaking wind—to be either amusingly quaint or needlessly severe. Yet, beneath the archaic rules, there is a touching, deeply human desire to hand down something of value to the next generation. The author’s genuine, almost tearful love for Chaucer provides a surprising warmth that offsets the coolness of his etiquette lessons. If you are interested in the roots of Western social decorum, or if you simply want to experience the earnest, instructional voice of a long-dead mentor trying to steer a boy toward a life of "goodly governance," you will find this a uniquely rewarding, if demanding, piece of history.