Nicholas of Bray (or Nicolas de Brai) was a French clergyman and poet who wrote a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

on the deeds of King

Louis VIII of France Louis VIII (5 September 1187 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As a prince, he invaded Kingdom of England, England on 21 May 1216 and was Excommunication in the Catholic Church, excommunicated by a ...

(1223–1226), the ''Gesta Ludovici VIII''. Nicholas is probably to be identified with the Nicholas who is recorded as the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the

collegiate chapter In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college (canon law), college of canon (priest), canons, a non-monastic or secular clergy, "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-gover ...

Bray-sur-Seine Bray-sur-Seine (, literally ''Bray on Seine'') is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Population The inhabitants are called ''Braytois'' in French. Natives * Nicholas of Bray (fl. ...

in 1202. He dedicated the ''Gesta'' to William of Auvergne,

bishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been create ...

(1228–1249).

Auguste Molinier Auguste Molinier (30 September 185119 May 1904) was a French historian. Biography Born in Toulouse, Auguste Molinier was a student at the École Nationale des Chartes, which he left in 1873, and also at the École pratique des hautes études; an ...

"2256. Nicolas de Bray"
''Les Sources de l'histoire de France: Des origines aux guerres d'Italie (1494). III. Les Capétiens, 1180–1328'' (Paris: A. Picard et fils, 1903), p. 13. The only copy of the ''Gesta'' today is a copy made by

André Duchesne André Duchesne (; sometimes spelled ''Du Chesne'', Latinized ''Andreas Chesneus'', ''Andreas Quercetanus'', or ''Andreas Querneus''; May 158430 May 1640) was a French geographer and historian, generally styled the father of French history. Duch ...

in the 17th century. The ''Gesta'' is 1,870 lines long, but is incomplete as it stands. It centres around the

siege of La Rochelle The siege of La Rochelle (, or sometimes ) was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627–1628. The siege marked the height of Huguenot rebellions, the struggle between ...

in 1224 and the siege of Avignon in 1226. One line suggests that he was present at Avignon.

François Guizot François Pierre Guillaume Guizot (; 4 October 1787 – 12 September 1874) was a French historian, orator and Politician, statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics between the July Revolution, Revolution of 1830 and the Revoluti ...

"Notice sur Nicholas de Bray"
''Collection compléte des mémoires relatifs à l'histoire de France'' (Paris: J.-L.-J. Brière, 1825), pp. 387–388. Nicholas imitates

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

'', introducing thereby much

classical mythology Classical mythology, also known as Greco-Roman mythology or Greek and Roman mythology, is the collective body and study of myths from the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans. Mythology, along with philosophy and political thought, is one of the m ...

, but still contains some useful information for the historian. On the whole, the ''Gesta'' reveals more about mores and customs than historical events.

Editions

*Nicolao de Braia
"Gesta Ludovici VIII, Francorum Regis"
''Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France'' (Paris: 1818 ), pp. 311–345.

Notes

References

{{Authority control 12th-century births 13th-century deaths Roman Catholic deans 13th-century writers in Latin 13th-century French poets