You are on page 1of 2

Proverbs of Hendyng statements provide scope and justification for

the explanations creating the rhymed stanzas.


SUSAN E. DESKIS Like most medieval wisdom poems, the
Northern Illinois University, USA
Proverbs of Hendyng wanders from topic to
topic. Juliette de Caluwé-Dor (1984) argues
The Proverbs of Hendyng is a Middle English that it combines Christian wisdom (focused
wisdom poem similar to the earlier Proverbs on Providence and charity), pagan wisdom
of Alfred. It belongs to a tradition of wisdom (centered on the immutability of fate), and
poetry going back to the Old English period, bourgeois realism (amoral and discourte-
but it also benefits from connections with ous). Some of the poem’s admonitions are
more contemporary French texts. standard for the genre of gnomic or proverb
The Proverbs of Hendyng was probably poetry: teach wisdom to the young; avoid
composed in the Midlands around 1250 giving ammunition to your enemies through
and survives in three manuscript versions of unguarded speech; do not place blind trust
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The in friends or family; and spend your wealth
three versions show considerable variation wisely. Using proverbs like “Well fights who
but all share the same stanzaic structure. Each well flees” the poet offers strategies for avoid-
stanza begins with six lines rhyming aabccb, ing sin (especially lust and gluttony), though
in which the a- and c-lines usually possess he accepts that people will slip. The poem
four stresses and the b-lines three. Each was probably intended for an adult audience
stanza concludes with a proverb followed by rather than children as its tone is pessimistic
the tag “Quod Hending.” The stanzaic struc- and worldly and it lacks any positive refer-
ture of the Proverbs of Hendyng is generally ences to parents or other figures of authority.
accepted to have been borrowed from the Old The injunctions against lust, gluttony, and
French Proverbes au vilain of the late twelfth drunkenness are of a type often found in
century. monastic literature, but the Proverbs of Hen-
In the Proverbs of Hendyng, the contents dyng also provides advice for dealing with
of stanza and proverb are closely related: women and children, which would suit a
the stanza either illustrates or explains the lay audience. The manuscripts in which the
proverb. The poet is eclectic in his selection poem survives are multilingual miscellanies
of proverbs, which may stem from Latin, that do not point toward a specific audience
vernacular, secular, or biblical roots (Singer but indicate a general appreciation for this
1941/42). In contrast to earlier wisdom poems wisdom poem by placing it alongside other
in English, the Proverbs of Hendyng includes works of considerable literary value. London,
a greater number of metaphorical proverbs British Library, Harley MS 2253 also contains
such as Mid selvrene stikke me shal gold the well-known Harley lyrics, and Oxford,
graven “One can inscribe gold with a silver Bodleian Library, MS Digby 86 includes a
stick” (Varnhagen 1881, 194) or Brend child mix of texts ranging from Latin prayers to
fuir fordredeþ “A burned child fears the fire” French romances and the earliest English
(Varnhagen 1881, 199). These metaphorical fabliau (Dame Sirith).

The Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature in Britain, Edited by Siân Echard and Robert Rouse.
© 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118396957.wbemlb025
2 PROVERBS OF HENDYNG

The identity of “Hendyng” or “Hend- réalisme bourgeois” (The proverbs of Hendyng:


ing” remains a mystery. The etymology of Pagan heroism, Christian charity, and bour-
the name may connote a character who is geois realism). In Richesse du Proverbes. Vol. 1,
Le proverbe au Moyen Age, 55–73, edited by
courtly or noble, but one version of the poem
François Suard and Claude Buridant. Lille: Uni-
describes Hendyng as the son of Marcolf, versité de Lille.
who is a decidedly non-aristocratic figure in de Caluwé-Dor, Juliette. 1987. “Qui est Hendyng?
the debate-poem tradition of Solomon and Qui est Marcolf?” (Who is Hendyng? Who
Saturn/Marcolf (de Caluwé-Dor 1984; 1987). is Marcolf?). In Actes du Congrès d’Amiens,
The Proverbs of Hendyng sometimes shares 1982. Société des anglicistes de l’enseignement
the jaded attitude informing the Solomon supérieur, 17–26. Paris: Didier érudition.
Singer, Samuel. 1941/42. “Die Sprichwörter
and Marcolf texts and, to a lesser degree,
Hendings” (The proverbs of Hending). Studia
the Proverbes au vilain, but the English poet Neophilologica 14: 31–52.
nevertheless presents the proverbs and his Varnhagen, Hermann. 1881. “Zu den Sprich-
explanations of them as valuable sources of wörtern Hendings (Cambridge- und
wisdom. Oxford-Text)” (On the Proverbs of Hending:
The Cambridge and Oxford Texts). Anglia 4:
SEE ALSO: Dame Sirith; Harley Lyrics; 180–200.
Proverbs of Alfred; Solomon and Saturn;
Wisdom Literature
FURTHER READING

TEXT Louis, Cameron. 1998. “Manuscript Contexts of


Middle English Proverb Literature.” Mediaeval
Tschann, Judith, and M.B. Parkes, eds. 1996. Fac- Studies 60: 219–38.
simile of Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Digby 86.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.

REFERENCES

de Caluwé-Dor, Juliette. 1984. “Les proverbes de


Hendyng: Héroïsme païen, charité chrétienne et

You might also like