The Booke of Thenseygnementes and Techynge that the Knyght of the Towre made to his Doughters/Chapter 74
HOW EUERY GOOD WOMAN OUGHT WEL TO KEPE HER RENOMMEE.
Y dere doughters, yf ve wyst and knewe the grete worshipwhiche cometh of good name and Renomme, ye shold peyne your self to gete and kepe it, as the good knyght whiche tendeth to come to worship & flee vylonye, payneth hym self and suffreth many grete trauaylles, as cold, hete, and hongre, and putte his body in to grete Ieopardy and aduenture to deye or lyue, for to gete worship and good Renommee , and maketh his body feble and wery by many vyages, also in many bataylles and assautes, and by many other grete peryls. And as he hath suffred payne and trauail ynough, he is put and enhaunced in to grete honour. And grete yeftes ben thenne gyuen to hym, and grete wonder and merueylle it is yf the grete worship and grete renommee that men beren vnto hym. Lyke wyse it is of the good lady and good woman, whiche in euery place is renommed in honoure and worship. This is the good woman that payneth her selfe to kepe her body clene and her worship also, the whiche also sette nought by her yongthe ne of the delytes and folysshe plesaunces of this world, wherof she myght receyue only blame, as I haue sayd before of the knyghtes, the whiche take and suffre such poynte and trauaylle for to be put in to the nombre of the other that ben renommed of grete worthynes and valyaunce. This oughte to doo euery good woman and euery good lady, and thynke how thus doynge she geteth the loue of god and of her lord, of theyr frendes and of the world, and the sauement of her sowle, wherof the world preyseth her and god also, for he calleth her the precious Margarite. It is a perle, whiche is whyte and round, bryght and wythoute macule or spotte. Here is a good ensample how god preyseth the good lady in the euangely, and thus ought to doo alle folke. For men ought to doo and bere as moche worship and honour to a good lady or damoysell as to a good knyght or squyer. But as now this day the world is al tourned vpso doune, for worship is not kepte in her ryght regle, ne in her ryght estate, as hit was wonte to be. Now I wylle telle yow how on a tyme I herd say to my lord my fader and to many other good knyghtes, how in theyr tyme men worshipped and bare grete reuerence to the good women, and how they which were worthy to be blamed were refused and separed oute of the felauship of the other. And yet it is not past fourty yere that this customme was as they sayd. And at that tyme a woman repreued of blame had not be soo hardy to putte her self in the Rowe or companye of them that were renommed, wherfore I shalle telle yow of two good knyghtes of that tyme: the one was named My lord Raoul de lyege, and the other had to name Geffroy, and were both bretheren, and. good knyghtes in armes, for euer they vyaged & neuer rested tylle they came in place where they myght essaye and preue the strengthe of theyr bodyes for to gete worship and good renomme. And so moche they dyd by theyr valyaunce that at the last they were renommed ouer al, as charny and bouchykault were in theyr tyme. And therfor they were byleuyd and herd before all other as knyghtes auctorysed and renommed.