The Travels Of Marco Polo - Volume 2 Of 2 By Marco Polo And Rustichello Of Pisa











































 -  Where
then is his wife? She is gone to the wars and has taken all the people
with her. Aucasin - Page 188
The Travels Of Marco Polo - Volume 2 Of 2 By Marco Polo And Rustichello Of Pisa - Page 188 of 1350 - First - Home

Enter page number    Previous Next

Number of Words to Display Per Page: 250 500 1000

Where Then Is His Wife?

She is gone to the wars and has taken all the people with her.

Aucasin, greatly astonished, enters the palace, and wanders through it till he comes to the chamber where the king lay: -

"En le canbre entre Aucasins Li cortois et li gentis; Il est venus dusqu'au lit Alec u li Rois se gist. Pardevant lui s'arestit Si parla, Oes que dist; Diva fau, que fais-tu ci? Dist le Rois, Je gis d'un fil, Quant mes mois sera complis, Et ge serai bien garis, Dont irai le messe oir Si comme mes ancessor fist," etc.

Aucasin pulls all the clothes off him, and cudgels him soundly, making him promise that never a man shall lie in again in his country.

This strange custom, if it were unique, would look like a coarse practical joke, but appearing as it does among so many different races and in every quarter of the world, it must have its root somewhere deep in the psychology of the uncivilised man. I must refer to Mr. Tylor's interesting remarks on the rationale of the custom, for they do not bear abridgment. Professor Max Mueller humorously suggests that "the treatment which a husband receives among ourselves at the time of his wife's confinement, not only from mothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, and other female relations, but from nurses, and from every consequential maid-servant in the house," is but a "survival," as Mr. Tylor would call it, of the couvade; or at least represents the same feeling which among those many uncivilised nations thus drove the husband to his bed, and sometimes (as among the Caribs) put him when there to systematic torture.

Enter page number   Previous Next
Page 188 of 1350
Words from 50145 to 50428 of 370046


Previous 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 Next

More links: First 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200
 210 220 230 240 250 260 270 280 290 300
 310 320 330 340 350 360 370 380 390 400
 410 420 430 440 450 460 470 480 490 500
 510 520 530 540 550 560 570 580 590 600
 610 620 630 640 650 660 670 680 690 700
 710 720 730 740 750 760 770 780 790 800
 810 820 830 840 850 860 870 880 890 900
 910 920 930 940 950 960 970 980 990 1000
 1010 1020 1030 1040 1050 1060 1070 1080 1090 1100
 1110 1120 1130 1140 1150 1160 1170 1180 1190 1200
 1210 1220 1230 1240 1250 1260 1270 1280 1290 1300
 1310 1320 1330 1340 1350 Last

Display Words Per Page: 250 500 1000

 
Africa (29)
Asia (27)
Europe (59)
North America (58)
Oceania (24)
South America (8)
 

List of Travel Books RSS Feeds

Africa Travel Books RSS Feed

Asia Travel Books RSS Feed

Europe Travel Books RSS Feed

North America Travel Books RSS Feed

Oceania Travel Books RSS Feed

South America Travel Books RSS Feed

Copyright © 2005 - 2022 Travel Books Online