Here foloweth a lytell treatyse of the Beaute of Women

newly translated out of Frenshe in to Englyshe.

T

The sōne of the mayde whome neuer none resembled

In beaulte nor bounte syth the worlde began

For both in hyr were perfaytely assembled

Named is she Marye doughter to saynt Anne

Guyde myne hande so that the gentylman

That me desyred to reduce thys boke

From frenshe to englyshe / be content / and than

I take lytell cure what other there on loke.

In frenshe (la beaute de femmes) is yt named

The beaulte of women / in our Englyshe languag

wherof to treate / I ought well to be blamed

Consydered that I had neuer the vsage

womens beaulte in body nor vysage

For to regarde / and there vpon good reason

Syth I am made (as an vnpleasant page)

A cast a way from presence at eche season

But what therof shall I leue of to wryte

Syth no man hauyng more practyse then I

wyll take the payne to set blacke on the whyte

And yt a thynge so dygne of memory

Nay trust me playne I shall my selffe applye

Of the frenshe boke to folow the sentence

Beaulte (as ryght requireth) to gloryfye

what euer foloweth of the consequence

what caused the wourthy Troylus of Troye

To cast hys loue on Cresyde the shene

why set Parys on fayre Helayne hys ioye

what caused Achylles to loue Polexene

why loued Trystram la belle Isoude the quene

Or Arthur of bretayne the fayre Florence

All cam of theyr beaulte and theyr plesant eyen

what haue I to do as of the consequence.

Beaulte as for the fyrste require wolde

That the womam (how euer stande the case)

Symple manyer and countenaunce sholde holde

For otherwyse she wyll avoyde the place

womans beaulte eche person reproueth

yf so be that she bayre the countenaunce

More eleuate or hygh than yt behoueth

Hyr beaulte tourneth but all to dysplesance

Beaulte requireth as for the seconde parte

That woman bayre euer naturally

Symple regade and not ouerthwarte

wyth playsante and symple castyng of the eye

Beaulte is lost in woman oultrely

yf she haue thys of very condycyon

As to regarde or loke dyspyteously

For that is the manner of the lyon

womans beaulte requireth thyrdely

That stedfastly with out oultrage

She kepe as dyscrete cōtynually

Symple answer euer in her language

womans beaulte that sholde be magnyfyed

Lyetly compassed in these thre poyntes onely

what beaulte so euer is to her applyed

The woman ought to lede hyr lyffe symply

Beaulte of suerty doeth that woman folowe

That hath the browes and raynes of the backe

And there withall the fete lyght and holowe

yf these thre be holowe there is no lacke.

Beaulte in woman is nothyng pleasant

That glometh with her eyen with frowarde chere

And is of hyr raynes so heuy and pesant

And of hyr fete as yf a beest yt were

womans beaulte shall ye fynde doubtlesse

In thre hygh poyntes that on hyr body gent

Ought for to be / & them I shall expresse

Here after / yf my remembraunce assent

Beaulte sayeth / the fyrst poynt to knowe

The woman sholde haue the forhed hygh & fayre

For whan she hath the forhed ouer lowe

Euyll hyr besemeth a frontelet to bayre

womans beaulte requyreth secondly

Of beaulte a ryght who that enquire wolde

That woman ought to haue the hed hygh

The better therwyth hyr hat she doeth vpholde

Beaulte in woman playnly doeth habounde

yf she ne fayle as for the thyrde parte

To haue the brestes hygh fayre and rounde

wyth fyne gorgias well and fayre couert

womans beaulte as in preemynence

Requireth these thre poyntes pryncypall

For to be founde vpon hyr corpulence

And well on hyght they ought for to be all

womans beaulte expresly for to showe

As to the regarde of hyr countenaunce

Requireth ouer thys to haue thre poyntes lowe

whych all women ought to haue in remembraunce

womans beaulte that pourchase wyll praysyng

woll that the woman set her besy cure

To maynteyne in hyr selfe a low laughyng

To laugh ouer hygh besemeth no creature

Beaulte yet cōmaundeth afterwarde

Vnto all women thys poynt secondely

To haue alwayes a lowely regarde

Not ouer moche but moderately

That woman hath the bent of beaultyes bowe

That can regarde in helth and in dysease

whan she shall neese to make the sounde but lowe

To do otherwyse yt may no person please

womans beaulte wyll in conclusyon

Of these lowe poyntes without desloyaulte

That women bere euer a lowly condycyon

For otherwyse she leseth her beaulte.

Beaulte demaundeth these poyntes to haue sene

In women that be fayre and fayte at all

To haue trayteys the browes / and traytys eyen

And lytell the handes / traytys slendre and small

Beaulte hath she that hath the chyn dympled

The ioyntes of the handes sholde be in lyke manere

The chekes also be they bare or wympled

Especyally whan she smyleth with hyr chere.

Beaulte requireth large to haue these thre

The fyrste is the space goyng from eye to eye

Betwyxt the sholdres sholde the seconde be

The thyrde betwyxt the raynes ye shall espye.

Perfayt beaulte ye may well determyne

In woman / so that these thre in hyr repayre

The nayles and the lyppes cōplexyon sanguyne

And ruddy the chekes well vermayled and fayre

womans beaulte thou doest well expose

Or mayst expose wythout taryeng

yf thou retayne in thy mynde close

All that is set before in this wrytyng.

Of beaulte yf there be any woman

More purely sped than is cōprysed in this

was neuer woman syth the worlde began

So perfaytly sped of beaulte as she is

I haue expressed theyr preemynence

As well of theyr bodyes as of theyr mayntyen

But speke what ye wyll apert or in scylence

Beaulte sans bonte ne vault rien.

Beaultyes there be in women infynyte

But of bontyes there is but lytell speche

Beaulte is them geuen as thyng requisyte

who wyll haue bonte let hym go seche

Thys not wythstandyng I coulde a man teche

To fynde ryght good of the gendre feminyn

And fayre also / but what euer we preche

Beaulte sans bonte ne vault rien.

Beaulte ennobleth the person doubtlesse

And playnly she is of the more valeure

But wyth beaulte is requisyte goodnesse

To speke a ryght who so wyll sett hys cure

Bonte wyll not be vnder coverture

where euer she be / hyr purete is so fyne

wherfore I set agayne in thys scrypture

Beaulte sans bonte ne vault rien.

Mayde / wyfe / or wydowe / dame / or damoysell

That haue the raye of beaulte comprysed in your face

Adiouste therto bonte / than shall ye do ryght well

For beaulte with bonte assembled in a place

Gyue demonstrance of an especyall grace

Geuen to the person / & as I take the cause

At syse smyleth bonte / where beaulte laugheth at ace

As dayly yt is sene / and there a fynall clause.

FINIS

Thus endeth the Beaulte of women neuly Imprynted

By Rycharde Fawkes dwellyng in duram rent

Transcriber’s Notes

New original cover art included with this ebook is granted to the public domain.

Pilcrows, which separated the stanzas of the poem in the printed text, have been omitted in this edition. Stanzas are instead separated by a blank line.

The original printed edition did not use uppercase “w” or “y”, even at the beginning of a line of verse. This has been retained in this edition. All spellings, even those likely to be errors in printing (such as “womam” for “woman” in the fifth stanza), have been left as in the printed original. In the Latin motto on the title page, reproduced in HTML and other illustrated versions, “HORTIS” is likely an error; it should be “MORTIS.”