"Who-so wylle of nurtur lere": Domestic Foundations for Social Success in the Middle English Emaré

This article explores the interdependent and mutually beneficial relationships between the late medieval Breton lay Emare and its courtesy-text companions in the fifteenth-century manuscript London, British Library MS Cotton Caligula A. ii. It suggests that the conjoining of these two types of text demonstrates how lessons found in the conduct manuals can be made more palatable and exciting for young readers by being placed in a romance setting. Moreover, the romance’s incorporation of the courtesy material suggests that the path to chivalric success may be forged solely through polite conduct rather than through the traditional performance of knightly prowess.