Sébastien Mamerot (between and 1440 – 1490) was a French clergyman, scholar, novelist, and translator.

Biography

Originally from

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

, Mamerot served as clergyman and secretary to Louis de Laval, governor of

Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...

(1448–1458),

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

(1465–1472) and

Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and V ...

(1483–1484), protégé and adviser to

King Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...

. In 1460, he became

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

. From July 1472 to August 1478, he was a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

and

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

at the Collegiate Church of Saint-Étienne in

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near ...

. In 1466, he wrote '' Romuléon'', based on translating the original '' Romuleon'', a work commissioned by Louis de Laval. In 1472, Louis de Laval asked his clergyman and secretary, Mamerot, to write a chronicle of the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

. That work, entitled ''

Passages d'outremer The ''Passages d'outremer'' is a chronicle of the crusades written in Middle French by Sébastien Mamerot in 1473–1474. Drawing freely on legendary material, it covers the wars between Catholics and Muslims from the time of Charlemagne until 14 ...

'', was a collection of various stories, from the legendary conquest of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...

to the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396 and

Siege of Constantinople (1394–1402) The siege of Constantinople in 1394–1402 was a long blockade of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I. Already in 1391, the rapid Ottoman conquests in the Balkans had cut off the city from its hinterland. After ...

. Later on, another text was added to the beginning of the manuscript, a French translation of a letter written by Sultan Bayezid II to King Charles VIII, which was sent from

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

on July 4, 1488. In 1488, based on his own impressions of a trip to the

Levant The Levant () is an approximation, approximate historical geography, historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology an ...

, he compiled the ''Compendieuse Description de la Terre de Promision''.

Works

*''Cronicques martiniennes'' (''Martinian Chronicles'') (1458), translation and extension of

Martin of Opava Martin of Opava, O.P. (died 1278) also known as Martin of Poland, was a 13th-century Dominican friar, bishop and chronicler. Life Known in Latin as ''Frater Martinus Ordinis Praedicatorum'' (Brother Martin of the Order of Preachers), he is bel ...

's universal chronicle written in 1277, which presents the history of popes and emperors. *''Histoire des neuf preus et des neuf preues'' (1460), a continuation of the

Nine Worthies The Nine Worthies are nine historical, scriptural, and legendary men of distinction who personify the ideals of chivalry established in the Middle Ages, whose lives were deemed a valuable study for aspirants to chivalric status. All were commonly ...

. *'' Romuléon'' (1466), translation into French of the Latin '' Romuleon'' by

Benvenuto Rambaldi da Imola Benvenuto Rambaldi da Imola, or simply and perhaps more accurately Benvenuto da Imola ( la, Benevenutus Imolensis; 1330 – 1388), was an Italian scholar and historian, a lecturer at Bologna. He is now best known for his commentary on Dante's ' ...

, a collection of stories about the history of Rome. *''Les trois grands'' (before 1472), a humanist tract comparing the three "greats",

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

and

. *''L'ordre des règnes et régnons de France'' (19 April 1474), a list of French kings and queens. *''Passages faiz oultre mer par les François contre les Turcqs et autres Sarrazins et Mores oultre marins'' (''Overseas campaigns of the French against the Turks, Saracens and Moors''), usually known simply as the ''

'' (circa 1474–1475), illustrated manuscript, which contains 66 miniatures, made by

Jean Colombe Jean Colombe ( la, Ioannes Colombus; b. Bourges ca. 1430; d. ca. 1493) was a French miniature painter and illuminator of manuscripts. He is best known for his work in ''Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry''. He was a son of Philippe Colombe and hi ...

. *''Compendieuse description de la terre de promision'' (''A Brief Description of the Promised Land'') (1488), written following the results of the author's pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mamerot, Sébastien 15th-century births 1490 deaths People from Soissons 15th-century French Roman Catholic priests 15th-century French translators 15th-century French writers 15th-century Latin writers Historians of the Crusades