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The School of Manners, Or Rules for Childrens Behaviour: At Church, at Home, at Table, in Company, in Discourse, at School, abroad, and among Boys. With some other short and mixt Precepts
This is a late version of the 'courtesy book' of the Middle Ages: a type familiar to pages in a medieval castle, as they began their climb up the ladder to knighthood by learning how to comport themselves in society. Such old courtesy books went out of fashion in England after the Reformation, when more emphasis was placed on the state of the child's soul than on his public behaviour. In describing how a 17th century boy should behave this volume opens up a window on an unusually intimate and appealing aspect of his daily life.
This 1701 edition was unillustrated, and the pictures inserted in the text have been selected from a variety of sources, all of which, like 'The School of Manners' itself, can be found in the Library of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Most date from the last quarter of the 18th century.
NOTE: The book was initially published with no author's name, only 'By the Author of the English Exercises'. The author was later identified as John Garretson.
This 1701 edition was unillustrated, and the pictures inserted in the text have been selected from a variety of sources, all of which, like 'The School of Manners' itself, can be found in the Library of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Most date from the last quarter of the 18th century.
NOTE: The book was initially published with no author's name, only 'By the Author of the English Exercises'. The author was later identified as John Garretson.
64 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1701
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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July 17, 2021Honestly this is a DNF. I really tried, and I normally love a reproduction of a historic book. But I’m dyslexic and the text/font was so hard for my brain to work with that I really couldn’t understand what I was reading or retaining it.
January 30, 2013
There is really no doubt that the author of 'The School of Manners' was a schoolmaster as his rules that are outlined most obviously pay homage to that profession. And he wrote the book in two languages, English and Latin, so that it might reach as wide a range of pupils as possible ... I wonder how many more readers the Latin version found!
Initially published anonymously, the author turned out to be John Garretson, the book expounds rules for children's behaviour and is a direct descendant of the 'courtesy books' of the Middle Ages. But unlike those, this one was aimed not purely at the upper classes but the middle classes.
Mind you, how they reacted to the rules within these pages ia anyone's guess. There are rules for school, at church, at the table, for behaviour in company, for when one is abroad, for behaviour in discourse and for behaviour among boys.
Some are simply very strict, others quite bizarre. Of the first one of the rules of the table is 'Be sure thou never sit till grace be said, and then in thy due place'. And there is one which brings back childhood memories to me, 'Find not fault with anything that is given thee'. When I was perhaps seven or eight my dear Mum put a steak pudding in front of me and I said, "I'm not eating that. I don't like it" upon hearing which my Mum simply said, "Oh, you're not are you not" and pushed my face into the steak pudding! She must have had a stressful day or I was being particularly awkward! I had obviously not read 'The School of Manners'!
As for the bizarre rules, one of the rules for when one is in company reads 'Put not thy hand in the presence of others to any part of thy body, not ordinarily discovered'. Blimey, the mind boggles ... perhaps it means not to pick one's nose, but there again the nose is surely a discovered place!!!
Very dated but quite a fun book to see how 17th century children were expected to behave and how their moral and educational welfare should be treated.
Initially published anonymously, the author turned out to be John Garretson, the book expounds rules for children's behaviour and is a direct descendant of the 'courtesy books' of the Middle Ages. But unlike those, this one was aimed not purely at the upper classes but the middle classes.
Mind you, how they reacted to the rules within these pages ia anyone's guess. There are rules for school, at church, at the table, for behaviour in company, for when one is abroad, for behaviour in discourse and for behaviour among boys.
Some are simply very strict, others quite bizarre. Of the first one of the rules of the table is 'Be sure thou never sit till grace be said, and then in thy due place'. And there is one which brings back childhood memories to me, 'Find not fault with anything that is given thee'. When I was perhaps seven or eight my dear Mum put a steak pudding in front of me and I said, "I'm not eating that. I don't like it" upon hearing which my Mum simply said, "Oh, you're not are you not" and pushed my face into the steak pudding! She must have had a stressful day or I was being particularly awkward! I had obviously not read 'The School of Manners'!
As for the bizarre rules, one of the rules for when one is in company reads 'Put not thy hand in the presence of others to any part of thy body, not ordinarily discovered'. Blimey, the mind boggles ... perhaps it means not to pick one's nose, but there again the nose is surely a discovered place!!!
Very dated but quite a fun book to see how 17th century children were expected to behave and how their moral and educational welfare should be treated.
December 12, 2017
surprisingly up-to-date for a book of manners written in the 1600s. Almost hilariously so.
Obviously, some of the rules are dated (when to stand, when to sit, when to take off your hat, and the lovely rule 12 "what happens at school, stays at school") but a lot of this is just solid, good advice. I was not expecting that.
the facsimile leaves a little to be desired, and some letters are quite hard to make out, but in no case was I unable to decipher a word, and it's a short little tome, so not too difficult to work through.
Obviously, some of the rules are dated (when to stand, when to sit, when to take off your hat, and the lovely rule 12 "what happens at school, stays at school") but a lot of this is just solid, good advice. I was not expecting that.
the facsimile leaves a little to be desired, and some letters are quite hard to make out, but in no case was I unable to decipher a word, and it's a short little tome, so not too difficult to work through.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews