Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction: Fictions of Fatherhood
- 1 Situating Fathers: The Cultural Context
- 2 Becoming a Father, Becoming a Man
- 3 Fathers and Sons
- 4 Fathers and Daughters
- 5 False Fathers?
- Conclusion: Beyond Fatherhood
- Appendix I Gentry and Merchant Families
- Appendix II Romance Summaries
- Bibliography
- Index
2 - Becoming a Father, Becoming a Man
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 September 2013
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction: Fictions of Fatherhood
- 1 Situating Fathers: The Cultural Context
- 2 Becoming a Father, Becoming a Man
- 3 Fathers and Sons
- 4 Fathers and Daughters
- 5 False Fathers?
- Conclusion: Beyond Fatherhood
- Appendix I Gentry and Merchant Families
- Appendix II Romance Summaries
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Syr, hyt ys so that a chawns ys fallyn that lyes ap[on] myne oneste, byt I cannat kepe no cwnsell frome yow, for be polesy se and I may fynd the meyn to sawhe awl thyng cler[e] at yowr comyng. Hyt is so that Em ys wyth schyllde … Hyt whos gettyn on Schrofe ɜeuyn …
In May 1482, a harried Richard Cely junior wrote to his younger brother George about a sexual misadventure. Three months earlier he had had sexual relations with their servant Em, who was now with child. Richard may have been the elder brother of the two, but George seems to have been better versed in romantic and sexual matters: he had both a mistress and a bastard child. The letter collection makes it clear that George and Richard were close, and Richard evidently expected fraternal solidarity and advice. Impending fatherhood in this instance became a nexus of issues related to young male identity: reputation, homosocial support networks and youthful sexual excess. Here a child was an unwelcome consequence of an indiscretion. Meanwhile, in a miscellany that was compiled in or near to Richard Cely junior's lifetime, we find the sole surviving copy of Chevelere Assigne. In this romance, King Oreyns has quite a different problem from Richard. Despite some years of marriage, his wife has not produced an heir:
But all in langour he laye for lofe of here one
That he hadde no chylde to cheuenne his londis,
But to be lordeles of his whenne he þe lyf lafte … (13–16)
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- Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2013