Walter of Châtillon ( Latinized as Gualterus de Castellione) was a 12th-century French writer and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

who wrote in the

Latin language Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of t ...

. He studied under Stephen of Beauvais and 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 ...

. It was probably during his student years that he wrote a number of Latin

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

s in the

Goliard The goliards were a group of generally young clergy in Europe who wrote satirical Latin poetry in the 12th and 13th centuries of the Middle Ages. They were chiefly clerics who served at or had studied at the universities of France, Germany, ...

ic manner that found their way into the ''

Carmina Burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreverent ...

'' collection. During his lifetime, however, he was more esteemed for a long Latin epic on the life of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

, the ''

Alexandreis The ''Alexandreis'' (or ''Alexandreid'') is a medieval Latin epic poem by Walter of Châtillon, a 12th-century French writer and theologian. It gives an account of the life of Alexander the Great, based on Quintus Curtius Rufus' ''Historia Alexan ...

, sive Gesta Alexandri Magni'', a

hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...

epic, full of anachronisms; he depicts the

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

as having already taken place during the days of Alexander the Great. The ''Alexandreis'' was popular and influential in Walter's own times. Matthew of Vendôme and

Alan of Lille Alain de Lille (Alan of Lille) (Latin: ''Alanus ab Insulis''; 11281202/03) was a French theologian and poet. He was born in Lille, some time before 1128. His exact date of death remains unclear as well, with most research pointing toward it bei ...

borrowed from it and Henry of Settimello imitated it, but it is now seldom read. One line, referring to

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...

, is sometimes quoted: :: Incidis in Scyllam cupiens vitare Charybdim

Many poems in his style, or borrowing his themes, have been attributed to Walter on insufficient evidence. For example, he was not the author of the satirical '' Apocalypse of Golias'' once attributed to him. In addition to his poems, Walter wrote a dialogue refuting

Jewish thought Jewish thought ( he, מחשבת ישראל, ''Machshevet Yisrael'', or ''machshavah''), also known as Judaic thought or Hebraic thought, is a field of Jewish studies that deals with the products of Jewish thought and culture throughout the ages, an ...

and

biblical interpretation Biblical hermeneutics is the study of the principles of interpretation concerning the books of the Bible. It is part of the broader field of hermeneutics, which involves the study of principles of interpretation, both theory and methodology, for ...

and a treatise on the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

, and he was possibly the author of '' Moralium dogma philosophorum''. He died of bubonic plague early in the 13th century. David Townsend summarizes one commentary on Walter's life as follows:

References

* F. J. E. Raby, ''A History of Secular Latin Poetry in the Middle Ages'', Vol. 2, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1934, , pp. 72–80,

190 Year 190 ( CXC) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Sura (or, less frequently, year 943 ''Ab urbe condita'' ...

–204.

External links

''Catholic Encyclopedia: Walter of Chatillon''
* *Online works in Latin

(''Bibliotheca Augustana'')

** ttps://books.google.com/books?id=y-UHL98e8dkC&pg=RA4-PT2 ''Contra Judaeos''br>''De Trinitate''
('' Patrologia Latina'' via Google Books) {{DEFAULTSORT:Walter Of Chatillon 12th-century births 13th-century deaths from plague (disease) Medieval Latin poets French Christian theologians 12th-century French poets University of Paris alumni 12th-century Latin writers 12th-century French writers Infectious disease deaths in France Goliardic poetry French male poets