There was a very imperfect separation
of the sexes at any time. Men and women ate with their fingers, and
threw the refuse of their meal on the table, or amidst the straw on the
floor, to be devoured by the cats and dogs which swarmed about. Read
the directions for ladies' table manners given by Robert de Blois: "If
you eat with another (_i.e._, in the same plate), turn the nicest bits
to him, and do not go picking out the finest and largest for yourself,
which is not courteous. Moreover, no one should eat greedily a choice
bit which is too large or too hot, for fear of choking or burning
herself. * * * Each time you drink wipe your mouth well, that no grease
may go into the wine, which is very unpleasant to the person who drinks
after you. But when you wipe your mouth for drinking, do not wipe your
eyes or nose with the table-cloth, and avoid spilling from your mouth
or greasing your hands too much."[12] The same authority on manners and
etiquette warns ladies against scolding and disputing, against swearing
and getting drunk, and against some other objectionable actions which
betray a great lack of feminine modesty. The "Moral Instructions" of
the Chevalier de la Tour Landry present a picture of coarseness and
immorality among both men and women, which shows how incompatible was
the barrack-like existence of feudal times with the practice of any
sort of self-restraint or purity of life.
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