A Handbook on Good Manners for Children

Oct 19, 2024 2:41 AM

Author:Erasmus

When did you last tell your children to put their hand over their mouth when they yawn? When did you last suggest that when they are introduced to someone they should shake hands firmly and look them in the eye? Do you suggest that they should wait until everyone is served before they eat rather than hoover up the best bit for themselves? Do you demand that your young daughter dress decorously lest she elicit outraged looks? Do you think that the children of today have disgraceful manners? Unlike, of course, when you were young ... Well, that's certainly what Erasmus of Rotterdam thought in 1530 when he published De Civilitate Morum Puerilium: A Handbook on Good Manners for Children. He felt that learning good manners was crucial to a child's upbringing, and that the uncouth and ill-disciplined behaviour around him demanded a new kind of book. After all, as William of Wykeham memorably said in the 1350s, 'Manners maketh man'.

A Handbook on Good Manners for Children is considered to be the first treatise in Western Europe on the moral and practical education of children. It was a massive bestseller - indeed the biggest-selling book of the sixteenth century - going into 130 editions over 300 years and being translated into 22 languages within ten years of its publication. In it, Erasmus concerns himself with matters such as how to dress, how to behave at table, how to converse with one's elders and contemporaries, how to address the opposite sex and much else.

For example: Table Manners

'It's just as rude to lick greasy fingers as it is to wipe them on your clothing, Use a cloth or napkin instead.'

'Some people, no sooner than they've sat down, immediately stick their hands into the dishes of food. This is the manner of wolves.'

'Making a raucous noise or shrieking intentionally when you sneeze, or showing off by carrying on sneezing on purpose, is very ill-mannered.'

'To fidget around in your seat, and to settle first on one buttock and then the next, gives the impression that you are repeatedly farting, or trying to fart.'

The advice is as relevant today as it was 500 years ago.

Reviews

The best title on offer this year is Keep Calm and Carry On ... There isn't a single uninteresting entry and the range - Cicero, Shakespeare, George W. Bush. Impressive.

—— Daily Express

Mortensen's drawings are quite wonderful. The yellow sticky canvas is transformed, the monsters come to life, each with their own personality. And oh, how many monsters and so many types: forest monsters, ghouls, ghost monsters, continental monsters, furry monsters, twin monsters, tentacled monsters, fish monsters, invisible monsters and a single human monster .... It is an incredibly fine concept. Each one completely individual and irrepressible. The monsters are cute at the same time as sinister, and often have a slightly Victorian vibe – tentacles and tweed

—— Naked Literature Magazine

Delightful... [a] charming and thoughtful book

—— The Oldie

Diary of a Dog-walker is a delight, combining gossipy politics and shaggy dog stories adroitly

—— Time Out

After a career setback at BBC radio, Edward Stourton took stock of his life with these imaginative meanders with Kudu his English springer spaniel, who seemed to have an angst-free life. This is the world conceived on a canine level, interpreted with intelligent humour and human interest by his affectionate owner

—— Iain Finlayson , Saga Magazine

A thoroughly enjoyable ramble through a diverse selection of topics which range from dogs of war and dog fighting to presidential pets and choosing the right name... In turn serious, funny, sad and light-hearted; it's a perfect mixture which is just right for the bedside table

—— Karen Bush , Your Dog

Stourton is a genuinely warm and engaging writer who clearly loves his canine companion, despite his (relatively few) faults, and this little book is a tasty treat for dog owners and dog lovers

—— Bookgeeks.co.uk

Delightful… Juxtaposes the lives of two figures who most shaped [Volk’s] views of what a woman could and should be. Both women were opinionated, secretive, imposing, hot-tempered, charismatic and crazy about clothes… Ms. Volk is thoroughly likeable, warm and generous, with a well-tuned ear and a vivid sense of humour.’

—— Washington Post

Pure joy... A diptych portrayal of Patricia Volk's gorgeous and infuriating mother and the great fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, this is an irresistible tour de force that puts on display Volk's intelligence, wit and sparkling prose.

—— Louis Begley

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