[Barnabe Riche His Farewell to Military profession]: containing very pleasant discourses fit for a peaceable time.
Riche dedicates his eight short stories to the right courteous Gentlewomen saying:

Gentlewomen I am sure there are many (but especially of such that best know me) that will not a little wonder to see such alteration in me, that having spent my younger days in the wars amongst men, and vowed myself only unto Mars, should now in my riper years, desire to live in peace amongst women, and to consecrate myself wholly unto Venus.

Barnabe Riche published his Farewell to Militarie profession in 1580 after temporarily retiring from soldering, he claims that five of them were original and three were translated from the Italian. The stories certainly have the same feel as those that were popular in Italy and later in England, authors such as Boccaccio, Massuccio, and Bandello spring to mind, but Riche has adapted them for an English audience.

1 Duke Sappho tells the story of a successful soldier returning from the wars, who is unable to deal with the intrigue at Court and is sent into exile, he loses his wife: Melessina and his son: Aurielanus. The son is adopted by a noble family and proves his worth as a gentleman and a soldier, but is condemned to death when he attempts to marry above his station in life. Riche manages to create a tense situation until Aurielanus is saved when it is discovered he is a Duke’s son.

2 Apolonius and Silla - this story is famous as being a source material for Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. It has a cross dressed women as a central theme for a case of mistaken identity, but like Shakespeare’s play it all comes right in the end.

3 Nicander and Lucilla is another story centred around a pair of star crossed lovers who cannot marry because Lucilla has no dowry. Lucilla attracts the attention of another suitor and her desperate mother arranges for the young man to have access to her bedroom. He enters the chamber to find Lucilla naked on her bed and she must talk her way out of being molested. The bedroom scene is well handled by Riche

4 Fineo and Fiamma are two lovers who are shipwrecked in separate instances and both end up as slaves in the Mohammedan court of the King of Tunis.

5 The two Bretheren and their wives. This story stands out as being different from the rest, it is more a comedy of manners, much more down to earth and owes its success to its social commentary rather than a story of fantastic coincidences. Two brother choose very different wives, one is chosen for her beauty and the other is chosen for her money. The beautiful wife attracts attention from other men, but is discrete in her arrangements and no harm is done. The other wife is a rich widow and while she provides her husband with comforts he could not afford himself she is a constant scold. The first marriage is a success the second becomes impossible, Riche says:

Better to be married to a cheating wife (the harte never grieves what thee eye sees not) than to a faithful scold.

The majority of the story revolves around the beautiful wife who has to resort to hiding her lover in a trunk, she also has to negotiate between a doctor and a lawyer who both want her for themselves. It is however her soldier lover; rough and ready as he is who has the best advice to give.

6 Gonsalves and his virtuous wife Agatha. Gonsalves wants to poison his wife so that he can move in with a harlot who lives down the road. His friend a doctor of Physike sells Gonsalves a sleeping draft instead of a poison with a plan to save Agatha’s life and perhaps win her for himself. A tragedy is avoided, but things turn out differently than expected. This is another story that has a feel of involving ordinary people rather than the nobility.

7 Aramanthus born a Leper. Aramanthus is a king’s son and he is sent away to an island of Lepers. He is shipwrecked and on making landfall he is taken in by a farming community within the realm of Turkey who cure his illness with local remedies. Aramanthus father the king is captured by the Turks and is saved by his lost son.

8 Lotus and Emelia. the final story has a complicated plot which I never got to grips with especially as some of the pages were missing in the version that I read online.

A mixed bag of tales that are entertaining and have a more balanced critique of male/female relationships than one finds in some of the Italian Renaissance novels. Honour and honesty are the overriding themes, but I never got the feeling that I was reading these tales for my moral education. Entertainment is the key word here: 3 stars.… (altro)