17 January 2013
By Miscellaneous
The Nobleman paused. People crowded around him and the Peasant. Oh, that peasant. He had been so rude as to not dress according to his social status! And was there even a hint of purple around the collar? The Nobleman was disgusted. Never had he seen any peasant be so reckless. "I dare yu tu fight me!" the peasant drawled crudely, interrupting the Noble's thoughts. Oh dear, the noble man worried. According to The Courtier, the author Baldassare Castiglion distinctly pointed out that no man of a higher class should fight with a peasant unless "he is assured of getting the upper hand." The Nobleman looked up and down the offender. No, he fretted, look at those muscles! The Nobel himself stayed inside most of the time, going to and hosting 8 course banquets. He wasn't the strongest man in the World. Training and fighting were, after all, Dark Ages unsophistication. Ugh, the Dark Ages. Never did a cultured Renaissance noble act like an uncouth knight! There, the noble realized. That settled it. After all, Castiglion had said that a courtier could "cheapen" himself by associating with peasants. "I shall not," the Nobleman said disdainfully. "I do not bother myself with commoners. " The crowd, disappointed by lack of entertainment, fell apart, and the noble went on his way to the Bath Houses.
How Rules Were A Part Of Any Encounter With Anything In The Renaissance • Opuss № I