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Chivalry and Courtesy: Medieval Manners for Modern Life Hardcover – Illustrated, 3 Oct. 2023
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“Playful, learned, and bursting with golden nuggets of information―a joyful book that shows us how medieval history still matters in surprising ways.” - Dan Jones, New York Times best-selling author and presenter of Netflix’s Secrets of Great British Castles
“Danièle Cybulskie has done it again: no one is better at bringing the medieval world to life. . . . There’s so much to learn from the Middle Ages, and this wonderful book―supremely elegant, witty, expert, and wise―is the ideal guide.” - Helen Castor, medieval historian, broadcaster, and author of She-Wolves and Joan of Arc
“A must-read for anyone who wants to brush up on the finer points of etiquette, or who just wants to be a better human being.” - Eleanor Janega, author of The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society and creator of the blog Going Medieval
“One of the most delightful guidebooks you will ever encounter. Cybulskie’s unique voice...draws the reader in and shows how much of the medieval advice literature can also be profitable for the present.” - Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski, author of The Selected Writings of Christine de Pizan and Distinguished Professor of French emerita, University of Pittsburgh
Medieval people are often portrayed as having poor hygiene and table manners ― licking their knives or throwing chicken bones on the floor. In the Middle Ages, however, such behaviour was not tolerated. Medieval society cherished order in nearly every facet of life, from regular handwashing to daily prayer. There were consequences if you didn’t adhere to the rules of good behaviour: you wouldn’t be invited to the lord’s next dinner, you wouldn’t win the battle, and you wouldn’t win the lady. Author Danièle Cybulskie explores the world of etiquette from the time of Chaucer to the court of Elizabeth I, encompassing table manners and interpersonal relationships as well as running a household and ruling a kingdom.
With wit and insight, Cybulskie draws on a wide variety of primary sources, from courtiers’ handbooks to romantic poems. Though we may no longer need best practices for things like duelling or ordering about our servants, the principles of generosity, kindness, and respect still apply today. After all, it’s a good reminder to “be companionable no matter who you are with” and to not “chew on bones because that is what dogs do.” Illustrated with original drawings by Anna Lobanova as well as 80 medieval artworks, Chivalry and Courtesy is full of good advice for everyone, whether you are a peasant or a knight, a student or a CEO, a king or a queen.
- ISBN-100789214695
- ISBN-13978-0789214690
- Edition1st
- PublisherAbbeville Press
- Publication date3 Oct. 2023
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions13.46 x 2.03 x 21.08 cm
- Print length175 pages
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Product description
Review
"A must read for anyone who wants to brush up on the finer points of etiquette, or who just wants to be a better human being." --Eleanor Janega, author of The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society and creator of the blog Going Medieval
. --.
From the Back Cover
Medieval people are often portrayed as having poor hygiene and table manners ? licking their knives or throwing chicken bones on the floor. In the Middle Ages, however, such behaviour was not tolerated. Medieval society cherished order in nearly every facet of life, from regular handwashing to daily prayer. There were consequences if you didn’t adhere to the rules of good behavi
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Abbeville Press; 1st edition (3 Oct. 2023)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 175 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0789214695
- ISBN-13 : 978-0789214690
- Dimensions : 13.46 x 2.03 x 21.08 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 70,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 58 in Etiquette Reference
- 89 in Anthropological Customs
- 281 in Medieval History
About the author

As a writer, professor, TEDx speaker, and now podcaster, Danièle has been making the Middle Ages fun, entertaining, and accessible for over ten years. She is the author of The Five-Minute Medievalist, which debuted at the top of Amazon’s Canadian charts, and through her featured articles at Medievalists.net, as well as those she’s written for several international magazines, Danièle’s work has been read over half a million times, and counting.
Danièle is the creator and host of The Medieval Podcast, a weekly interview show on which she speaks with experts on the Middle Ages on a wide variety of topics. She also currently teaches The Middle Ages and the Modern World: Facts and Fiction, which she co-created for college students across Ontario via OntarioLearn. Her forthcoming book, Life in Medieval Europe: Fact and Fiction, is being published by Pen & Sword History, and will be available in autumn, 2019.
When she’s not reading, writing, or recording, Danièle can be found drinking tea, doing Krav Maga, or sometimes building a backyard trebuchet.
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