ABSTRACT

How different are we from those in the past? Or, how different do we think we are from those in the past? Medieval people were more dirty and unhygienic than us – as novels, TV, and film would have us believe – but how much truth is there in this notion? This book seeks to challenge some of these preconceptions by examining medieval society through rules of conduct, and specifically through the lens of a medieval Latin text entitled The Book of the Civilised Man – or Urbanus magnus – which is attributed to Daniel of Beccles.

Urbanus magnus is a twelfth-century poem of almost 3,000 lines which comprehensively surveys the day-to-day life of medieval society, including issues such as moral behaviour, friendship, marriage, hospitality, table manners, and diet. Currently, it is a neglected source for the social and cultural history of daily life in medieval England, but by incorporating modern ideas of disgust and taboo, and merging anthropology, sociology, and archaeology with history, this book aims to bring it to the fore, and to show that medieval people did have standards of behaviour. Although they may seem remote to modern ‘civilised’ people, there is both continuity and change in human behaviour throughout the centuries.

chapter 1|24 pages

The background to Urbanus magnus

chapter 2|28 pages

Genre and Urbanus magnus

chapter 3|18 pages

The manuscript evidence

chapter 4|7 pages

Introduction to themes

chapter 5|35 pages

The medieval household and beyond

chapter 6|38 pages

The medieval body in Urbanus magnus

chapter 7|31 pages

Medieval dining and diet

chapter 8|22 pages

New interpretations

chapter 9|2 pages

Conclusion