as not
a good smell ought to breakfast early in the morning, for good wine
gives them a very good color; and she who eats and drinks well must
heighten her color." Anise seed, fennel, and cumin were recommended
to be taken at breakfast to correct an unsavory breath, and persons so
affected were told not to breathe in other persons' faces.

A special set of rules was given for the lady's behavior while in
church, and if she could sing she was to do so when asked and not
require too much pressing. Ladies were further recommended to keep
their hands clean, to cut their nails often, and not to suffer them to
grow beyond the finger or to harbor dirt. When passing the houses of
other people, ladies were not to look into them: "for a person often
does things privately in his house, which he would not wish to be
seen, if anyone should come before his door." For the same reason
a lady was not to go into another person's house, or into another's
room, without coughing or speaking to give notice to the inmates. The
directions for a lady's behavior at the table were also very precise.
"In eating, you must avoid much laughing or talking. If you eat with
another (i.e., in the same plate, or of the same mess), 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 go into the wine, which is very unpleasant for
the person who drinks after you. But when you wipe your mouth for
drinking, do not wipe your eyes or nose with the tablecloth, and avoid
spilling from your mouth or greasing your hands too much." Added to
these directions for deportment, particular emphasis was laid on the
avoidance of falsehoods, which suggests the prevalence of the vice.

The modern "servant question" was not without its counterpart in the
Middle Ages. We find instances of advice tendered upon the subject to
the ladies of those times. An early writer on domestic economy divided
the servants who might be found in a manorial establishment into three
classes: those who were employed on a sudden and only for a certain
work, and for these a previous bargain should be made regarding their
payment; those who were employed for a certain time in a particular
description of work, as tailors, shoemakers, butchers, and others, who
a