The Parisian Household Book

The Parisian Household Book

This late-14th century work combines practical instructions for young brides concerning having a happy marriage and running a noble household with some historical facts, moralizing allegories and an exploration of the seven deadly sins and counter-virtues as well as containing the oldest treatise on cooking written in the French language. The text is addressed to a newly wed 15-year-old girl and narrated in the voice of her husband, an aging wealthy Parisian bourgeois. Aside from instructions on the morality, duties, and conduct expected of an upper-class woman, the work also includes practical texts on gardening, a cookbook with 380+ recipes, sample menus for hosting feasts, choosing and managing valets and maids, and the training and medical care of horses, dogs, and falcons. However, despite the benevolent tone of the work, its ultimate theme, aside from management, is that wives should show the same obedience to their husbands that they show to God.

Transmission of the Work

The work survives in three 15th century vellum manuscripts and a 16th century paper manuscript but was never printed, which speaks to the limited appeal of the work to just the upper crust of society. They are mostly un-illuminated works with signs of regular use that indicates they were used as practical guides rather than luxurious works of art for display. In 1843, the French bibliophile Baron Jérôme Pichon (1812–96) acquired a manuscript of the work and then acquired copies of two other extant manuscripts in order to compare them and published an authoritative version in 1846 under the title Le Menagier de Paris, Traite de Morale Et D'Economie Domestique. The codex takes the form of an early printed book utilizing a Gothic typeface and woodcuts from the 15th and 16th centuries printed in black and red ink. A map of Paris from ca. 1550 by Olivier Truschet and Germain Hoyauand Germain Hoyau, which is stored in the Basel University Library, is included as a compliment to the facsimile volume.

The Bourgeois Author

Although the work is generally believed to be literary in nature and the husband-narrator is himself an allegorical figure, but there are some clues about the identity of the anonymous author. There are some indications that he was connected in some way to the ducal court of Berry and the text reveals that he has a large house in Paris as well as a country estate. He has numerous servants, owns many animals and acres of farmland, and splits his leisure time between his urban pleasure gardens and hunting in his forests and fields. The husband-narrator embodies all patriarchal roles from father and husband to chaplain and advisor to feudal lord. His treatise is one of the most interesting prose texts to emerge from France during the Hundred Years’ War and yet makes no mention. Instead, the family home is presented as a refuge from the chaos and danger of the world and the people of Paris go about their business without fear of war, marauding brigands, or plague.

A Treatise in Three Parts

In the prologue, the author states that we work will be divided into three parts: a moralizing text on what makes a good wife, a cookbook and guide for managing a noble household, and finally a section on hosting guests including various games and other amusing activities. Section 1 consists of nine articles covering topics such as piety and prayers, modest dress, controlling one’s gaze, chastity, fidelity, obedience, caring for their husband’s reputation, keeping his secrets, and giving him good counsel. The second section concerning household management explains how virtue and hard work leads to one becoming wealthy as well as instructions for managing a garden, purchasing food, planning for events, hiring and managing servants, selecting and caring for horses and hunting dogs, and also has an extensive cookbook covering everything from simple everyday food to elaborate dishes for feasts. Clear parallels are made between the training and care of animals and the training and care of people be they servants, children, or one’s own wife. Only one part of the third section is complete – a treatise on raising and hunting with hawks – while the other two parts concerning dice, chess, parlor games, math-based games, and a book of riddles were never finished. The woman who took the teachings of this book to heart would be considered a most accomplished wife and hostess by medieval standards.