Thank-God
the attitudes betrayed in these quotes died out long ago . . .
Tirant:The
queen's beauty is unsurpassed, as she is courteous, friendly, chaste,
and more generous than any lady alive, for generally women incline to
avarice.
Tirant:
I
shall try to keep from responding to your slanderous lies, which
cannot harm me, for everyone knows that a woman's strength is all in
her tongue.
Stephanie:
I
shall now tell you of the three articles of faith, for God graced
women with such natures that, if men understood us, they would have
far less trouble inducing us to do their bidding. We all possess
three inborn qualities which, as I have them myself, I can recognise
on others; first, we are greedy; second, we love sweets; and third,
we are lustful. The first article is that any man who courts a woman
should discover which quality governs her. If she is greedy, for
example,and has another lover, you must give her money, for only thus
will she forsake your rival, and once you have her you can get yours
back and hers too. If she has a sweet tooth, send her candy, exotic
fruits, or whatever she prefers, and if she is lustful, just tell her
how much you need what she likes best. There is something still
better, however, which is that when married women fall in love, it is
always with men who are lower than her husband, though every woman is
born with the word 'Chastity' engraved on her brow in gold.
Tirant:
I once read that faith and truth are united, faith being the trust in
things unseen, which concern God and should be believed as the Church
believes them, since reason is insufficient to explain Christianity's
divine mysteries. We can only be saved through the Holy Scriptures,
and as God is truth, everything that issues from his lips must be
obeyed. Thus are faith and truth linked.
The
Friar:
"Now I shall speak of the qualities damsels need: first, they
should learn to read: second, they should be devout and prayerful;
third, they should observe all fast days; fourth, they should be
chaste and modest; fifth, they should speak little and calmly; sixth,
all their behaviour should be founded on honour; seventh, they should
be humble; eighth, they should be moderate in eating and drinking;
ninth, they should be meek and obedient; tenth, they should spurn
laziness; eleventh, they should not be haughty; twelfth, they should
be simple and humble; and thirteenth, they should cultivate womanly
skills and abhor sloth. This is how they should be but they are quite
the opposite, as may be seen from their virtues, which I shall now
enumerate: first, they are wilful; second, they chatter and stroll
about too much; and third, they are fickle in both love and
judgement. [For
men]
The
following virtues proceed from love: frankness; ardour; courtesy;
humility; genteel eloquence; gaiety; self-control; modesty; prowess;
patience; wisdom; discretion; good judgement; and bold spirit. A
knight's virtues should be these: first, to be truthful; second to be
loyal; third, to be bold; fourth, to be generous; and fifth, to love
justice.
Pleasure-of-my-life:
(On
a deceiving fellow maid):
I
pray God to punish her. My only wish is to see her dragged naked
through the town, while they beat her ribs, eyes and face with cow's
lungs.
The
Albanian:
A knight who does not help, a priest who does not give, a Jew who
does not lend and a peasant who does not serve are worthless.
Tirant:
My Lord, though I know but little, I shall share what I learned as a
boy: Christian doctrine tells us to believe not by reason but by
faith, for these matters are so lofty that the more you delve into
them, the less you understand. Though I bear arms I know something of
spiritual matters, but even if I were learned enough to discuss the
Holy Trinity, you would still have to elevate your understanding to
fathom it.
The
Author: Valencia
is a blessed and most noble Spanish port endowed with valiant knights
and abundant in everything but spices. It exports more merchandise
than any other port and is inhabited by virtuous, peaceful and
well-spoken men. Though its women are not very fair, they are wittier
than elsewhere and captivate men's fancies with their charming ways
and sweet discourse. In the future, Valencia's wickedness will be the
cause of its downfall, for it will be populated by people of cursed
seed and men will come to distrust their own father. According to
Elias, it will have to bear three scourges: Jews, Saracens and
Moorish converts.
[Valencian
women are
pretty nice looking these days. Presumably, they got fairer after the
infusion of Jewish, Saracen and Morisco genes.]
The
Author:
The Easygoing Widow spent the whole night imagining things and
battling within herself, uncertain of what to do and whom to ask for
advice, but finally she acted in the manner of most women, whose
fickleness makes them err when their need is greatest. She decided to
poison herself so subtly that no one would detect her deed.
Finally
. . . A recognition of the principle of conflict of interest,
still absent in Spanish professions even now.
Knight: I
shall gladly arrange the terms, though I cannot be the judge, for no
knight, king-of-arms, or herald who gives advice can also judge. Not
even the King of England.
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