Page:A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England During the Middle Ages.djvu/439

 and Sentiments. 419 quoted (vol. v. p. 5) a fliort poem entitled, "The Debate between the Damoifelle and the Bourgeoife," in which the exclufive rights of gentle blood are ftrongly claimed and dilputed. We have feen the fame ambi- tion of the wives of burghers and yeomen to ape the gentlewoman as far back as the days of Chaucer, and it now often becomes a fubje6t of popular fatire. Yet we muft not forget that this defire to imitate higher fociety aflifted much in refining the manners of the middle clafles. M. de Montaiglon (vol. ii. p. 18) has printed a lliort piece in verfe of the latter part of the fifteenth century, entitled the " Do£trinal des Filles," containing the fentiments which teachers fought to implant in the minds of young ladies, and it will fuit England at that time equally with France. The young ladies are here recommended to be bafliful ; not to be for- ward in falling in love j to pay proper attention to their drefs, and to courteoufnefs in behaviour 3 and not to be too eager in dancing. From all that we gather from the writers of the time, the love of dancing appears at this period to have been carried to a very great degree of extravagance, and to have often led to great dilfolutenefs in Ibcial manners, and the more zealous moralills preached againfi: the dance with much earneftnefs. The author of our " Dottrinal" admonilhes the young unmarried girl to dance with moderation when the is at the "carol" (the name of the ordinary dance), left people who fee her dancing too eagerly fhould take her for a dillblute woman — F'lUe, quant jcre% en karolU, Danjez gentment par mejure. Car, quant fille je defmejure, Tel la ■voit qui la tient pour folk. The young lady is next cautioned againft talking fcandal, againft believing in dreams, againft drinking too much wine, and againft being too talkative at table. She was to avoid idlenefs, to refpeft the aged, not to allow herfelf to be kiffed in fecret (killing in public was the ordinary form of falutation), and not to be quarrelfome. She was efpecially to avoid being alone with a prieft, except at confellion, for it was dangerous to let priefls haunt the houfe where there were young females — Fille,