Walter Map ( la, Gualterius Mappus; 1130 – 1210) was a
medieval writer. He wrote ''
De nugis curialium'', which takes the form of a series of anecdotes of people and places, offering insights on the history of his time.
Map was a
courtier
A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official ...
of King
Henry II of England
Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin kin ...
, who sent him on missions to
Louis VII of France
Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...
and to
Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181.
A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...
. He became the
archdeacon of Oxford
The Archdeacon of Oxford is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Oxford, England. The office responsibility includes the care of clergy and church buildings within the area of the ''Archdeaconry of Oxford.''
History
The first arch ...
in 1196.
Life
Map claimed
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
origin and to be a man of the
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods.
The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...
(''marchio sum Walensibus''); He was probably born in southwestern
Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouths ...
.
[Macpherson, Ewan. "Walter Map." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 16 July 2021
Medievalist Joshua Byron Smith suggests Map may have commenced his studies at
St. Peter's Abbey in Gloucester before continuing at the
University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
, apparently around 1154 when
Gerard la Pucelle was teaching there. Upon his return from France, Map was employed as a clerk by Bishop of Hereford
Gilbert Foliot, the former abbot of St. Peter's. When Foliot was
translated
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
to the Diocese of London in 1163, Map followed.
[
He became one of the clerks of the royal household, and by 1173 was an itinerant justice.] As a courtier of King Henry II of England
Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin kin ...
, he was sent on missions to Louis VII of France
Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...
and to Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181.
A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...
, and attended the Third Lateran Council in 1179, encountering a delegation of Waldensians
The Waldensians (also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi or Vaudois) are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation.
Originally known as the "Poor Men of Lyon" in ...
.[ On this journey he stayed with Henry I of Champagne, who was then about to undertake his last journey to the East.
Map held a ]prebend
A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of t ...
in the diocese of Lincoln
The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire.
History
The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leic ...
by 1183 and was chancellor of the diocese by 1186.[British History Online Chancellors of Lincoln]
accessed on October 28, 2007 He later became precentor
A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...
of Lincoln, a canon of St Paul's, London, and of Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester, England, Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. ...
,[British History Online Precentors of Lincoln]
accessed on October 28, 2007 and archdeacon of Oxford
The Archdeacon of Oxford is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Oxford, England. The office responsibility includes the care of clergy and church buildings within the area of the ''Archdeaconry of Oxford.''
History
The first arch ...
in 1196.[British History Online Archdeacons of Oxford]
accessed on October 28, 2007
Map was a candidate to succeed William de Vere as Bishop of Hereford
The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.
The episcopal see is centred in the City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Cathedral Church of Sa ...
in 1199, but was unsuccessful. He was once more a candidate for a bishopric in 1203, this time as Bishop of St David's
The Bishop of St Davids is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids.
The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St Davids in Pembrokeshire, ...
, but was once more not chosen. He was still alive on 28 May 1208, but had died by September 1210. His death is commemorated on 1 April at Hereford Cathedral
Hereford Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Hereford in Hereford, England.
A place of worship has existed on the site of the present building since the 8th century or earlier. The present building was begun in 1079. ...
.[
]
Writings
A man of the world, with a large circle of courtly acquaintances, including Gerald of Wales
Gerald of Wales ( la, Giraldus Cambrensis; cy, Gerallt Gymro; french: Gerald de Barri; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taugh ...
, "Map had a contemporary reputation as a wit and story teller."Edwards, Robert R. "Walter Map: Authorship and the Space of Writing". ''New Literary History'', vol. 38, no. 2, 2007, pp. 273–292. JSTOR
/ref> His only surviving work, '' De Nugis Curialium'' (''Trifles of Courtiers'') is a collection of anecdotes and trivia, containing court gossip and a little real history, and written in a satirical vein. "In its form hardly more than the undigested reminiscences and notes of a man of the world with a lively sense of humour,..it is, indeed, in some sense a keen satire on the condition of church and state in the writer's own day...of considerable interest; especially noticeable are his accounts of the Templars and Hospitallers, and his sketch of the English court and kings from the reign of William II to his own time."[
Along with ]William of Newburgh
William of Newburgh or Newbury ( la, Guilelmus Neubrigensis, ''Wilhelmus Neubrigensis'', or ''Willelmus de Novoburgo''. 1136 – 1198), also known as William Parvus, was a 12th-century English historian and Augustinian canon of Anglo-Saxon de ...
, he recorded the earliest stories of English vampires
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or dea ...
. The French language Prose Lancelot cycle claims him, "Gautier Map", as an author, though this is contradicted by internal evidence; some scholars have suggested he wrote an original, but lost Lancelot
Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...
romance that was the source for the later cycle. Others say that, since Walter Map's alleged patron was the King of England, it would have been more likely for him to have written an Arthurian tale detailing King Arthur or another “English” hero like Gawain, rather than a French one. Map was alleged to have written a quantity of Goliardic poetry, including the satirical '' Apocalypse of Golias''.
Notes
References
British History Online Archdeacons of Oxford
accessed on October 28, 2007
British History Online Chancellors of Lincoln
accessed on October 28, 2007
British History Online Precentors of Lincoln
accessed on October 28, 2007
* Gransden, Antonia ''Historical writing in England, c. 550 to c. 1307'' (London: Routledge, 1974) pp. 242–244.
* Map, Walter, and M.R. James and C.N.L. Brooke and R.A.B. Mynors. De Nugis Curialium — Courtiers. 6th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983.
*J.B. Smith, ''Walter Map and the Matter of Britain'', Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017
*G. Candela, ''L'offerta letteraria del De nugis curialium di Walter Map. L'anatomia dell'opera e la sua proposta estetica nel contesto culturale latino, romanzo e celtico del XII secolo'', Palermo, 2019
External links
from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature
''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature'' is an encyclopedia of literary criticism that was published by Cambridge University Press between 1907 and 1921. Edited and written by an international panel of 171 leading scholars and ...
, Volume I, 1907–21.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Map, Walter
1140s births
1210 deaths
12th-century English Roman Catholic priests
12th-century diplomats
12th-century Latin writers
13th-century Latin writers
12th-century Welsh writers
13th-century Welsh writers
Arthurian legend
Welsh non-fiction writers
Archdeacons of Oxford
University of Paris alumni
English courtiers
Medieval English diplomats
Canons (priests)