![BL, Royal MS 19 D I, f](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/BL%2C_Royal_MS_19_D_I%2C_f._165v%2C_miniature.png)
Jean de Vignay (c. 1282/1285 – c. 1350) was a French monk and translator. He translated from
Latin
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 the ...
into
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
for the French court, and his works survive in many
illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
s. They include two military manuals, a book on
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
, parts of the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
, a travelogue and a chronicle.
Life
Some details of Jean's life can be gleaned from the additions he made to the chronicle of
Primat of Saint-Denis for his translation. He was born in the
Duchy of Normandy
The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans.
From 1066 until 1204, as a result of the Norman c ...
, probably near
Bayeux
Bayeux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in northwestern France.
Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts ...
. He had relatives in this area and was educated in the school at
Molay Bacon, where his cousin was a classmate. In August 1298, when his cousin was thirteen years old, he was a witness to a miracle of
Saint Louis in the chapel of Saint Michael at Bayeux. If Jean was born between about 1282 and 1285, as seems likely from the date of schooling, his father must have been quite old at his birth, since Jean records that his father witnessed a miracle at the time Saint Louis returned from the
Seventh Crusade in 1254. Jean records another miracle that took place in the chapel of Saint Michael in 1302—a drowned child was revived on the altar of Saint Louis—although he does not say if he witnessed it himself.
Jean is described in many manuscripts as a
hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...
of the
Order of Saint James of Altopascio
The Order of Saint James of Altopascio ( it, Ordine di San Giacomo d'Altopascio or ''Ordine dei Frati Ospitalieri di San Jacopo''), also called the Knights of the Tau (''Cavalieri del Tau'') or Hospitallers of Saint James, was a military order, p ...
, serving at the
hospital of Saint-Jacques in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. He is depicted in many
miniatures as a monk and wearing the insignia of his order, a
tau cross
The tau cross is a T-shaped cross, sometimes with all three ends of the cross expanded. It is called a “tau cross” because it is shaped like the Greek letter tau, which in its upper-case form has the same appearance as Latin letter T.
Anothe ...
. A reference he makes to the
Place Maubert
Place may refer to:
Geography
* Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population
** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government
* "Place", a type of street or road name
** Often ...
confirms that he was familiar with Paris.
The date of his death is unknown. His last precisely datable work was executed in 1333, but he certainly produced translations after that. His death has been placed in 1348, but without any basis. Lenora Wolfgang places it around 1350. In the two centuries following his death, he was a famous figure whose works were widely reproduced both as manuscripts and printed editions. In the middle of the sixteenth century, however, he and his work fell into obscurity.
Works
Jean made at least twelve translations from Latin into Old French, eleven of which survive. They are all preserved in sumptuously
illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
s made for King
Philip VI (1328–1350), Queen
Joan Joan may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters
*:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine
* Joan (surname)
Weather events
*Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...
(died 1348) and their son,
John, Duke of Normandy, who became king in 1350. Jean's knowledge of Latin was only basic and his mostly very literal translations do not make for easy reading.
Christine Knowles distinguishes sharply between the last four surviving translations and the rest. These—''Jeu des échecs'', ''Miroir de l'Église'', ''Enseignements'' and ''Chronique''—are different in style. For the last two, the original Latin works are lost and we have only the French translation of Jean. For the first two, a comparison with the Latin versions shows that he has omitted parts, added to others and reworded in a way wholly unfamiliar to his other translations. Knowles assigns all four of these works to a later period than the rest. Jean's eleven surviving translations are:
#''De la chose de la chevalerie'' ("On the Matter of Chivalry"), a translation of ''
De re militari'' of
Vegetius
Publius (or Flavius) Vegetius Renatus, known as Vegetius (), was a writer of the Later Roman Empire (late 4th century). Nothing is known of his life or station beyond what is contained in his two surviving works: ''Epitoma rei militaris'' (also re ...
, survives in eight manuscripts, four from the fourteenth century and four from the fifteenth. This is probably one of his earliest works. He used the earlier translation of
Jean de Meung as an aid.
#''Le Miroir historial'' ("Mirror of History"), a translation of the ''
Speculum historiale
Richard of Cirencester ( la, Ricardus de Cirencestria; before 1340–1400) was a cleric and minor historian of the Benedictine abbey at Westminster. He was highly famed in the 18th and 19th century as the author of ''The Description of Britain'' be ...
'' of
Vincent of Beauvais
Vincent of Beauvais ( la, Vincentius Bellovacensis or ''Vincentius Burgundus''; c. 1264) was a Dominican friar at the Cistercian monastery of Royaumont Abbey, France. He is known mostly for his ''Speculum Maius'' (''Great mirror''), a major work ...
, was translated for Queen Joan probably in 1333. It was printed at Paris by
Antoine Vérard
Antoine Vérard (active 1485–1512) was a late 15th-century and early 16th-century French publisher, bookmaker and bookseller.
Life
The colophon of a 1485 edition of the ''Catholicon abbreviatum'', the first French-Latin dictionary, which da ...
(1495–96) and then again by
Nicolas Couteau (1531).
#''Les Épitres et évangiles'' ("Epistles and Gospels"), a translation of the canonical
Epistles
An epistle (; el, ἐπιστολή, ''epistolē,'' "letter") is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part ...
and
Gospels
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
from the
Vulgate
The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible.
The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...
, was translated for Queen Joan in 1326. It survives in six manuscripts.
#''La Légende dorée'' ("Golden Legend"), a translation of the ''
Legenda aurea
The ''Golden Legend'' (Latin: ''Legenda aurea'' or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in late medieval Europe. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary ...
'' of
James of Varagine, was translated for Queen Joan probably beginning in 1333 or 1334. It was routinely emended and augmented in copying so that the first printed edition is only partially a text composed by Jean. This translation was itself translated into English and printed by
William Caxton
William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer (publisher), printer to be the first English retailer of printed boo ...
.
#''Le Directoire pour faire le passage de la Terre Sainte'' ("Directory for Making the Passage of the Holy Land"), a translation of the anonymous ''
Directorium ad faciendum passagium transmarinum
The ''Directorium ad faciendum passagium transmarinum'' (or ''Directorium ad passagium'' for short) is an anonymous 24,000-word Latin Recovery of the Holy Land, treatise on crusading submitted to King Philip VI of France on 26 July 1330 or 1332. T ...
'', was translated for Philip VI in 1333, only a year after the original Latin text appeared.
#''Les merveilles de la Terre d'Outremer'' ("Wonders of the Land Overseas"), a translation of the ''Descriptio orientalium partium'' of
Odoric of Pordenone
Odoric of Pordenone, OFM (1286–1331), also known as Odorico Mattiussi/Mattiuzzi, Odoricus of Friuli or Orderic of Pordenone, was an Italian late-medieval Franciscan friar and missionary explorer. He traveled through India, the Greater Sunda Is ...
, which was written in 1330. Jean's translation includes a notice of Odoric's death that had been added to the original work in 1331.
#''Les Oisivetz des emperieres'' ("Leisure of Emperors"), a translation of the ''
Otia imperialia
''Otia Imperialia'' ("Recreation for an Emperor") is an early 13th-century encyclopedic work, the best known work of Gervase of Tilbury. It is an example of speculum literature. Also known as the "Book of Marvels", it primarily concerns the three ...
'' of
Gervase of Tilbury
Gervase of Tilbury ( la, Gervasius Tilberiensis; 1150–1220) was an English canon lawyer, statesman and cleric. He enjoyed the favour of Henry II of England and later of Henry's grandson, Emperor Otto IV, for whom he wrote his best known work, t ...
, survives in a single manuscript. There is an earlier translation by
John of Antioch John of Antioch may refer to:
People from Antioch
* John Chrysostom (c. 347–407), born in Antioch, archbishop of Constantinople
* John Scholasticus (died 577), born in Antioch, patriarch of Constantinople from 565 to 577
* John Malalas (died 578 ...
.
![Jean_de_Vignay](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Jean_de_Vignay.jpg)
#''Le Jeu des échecs moralisés'' ("Moralized Game of Chess"), a translation of the ''Liber super ludo scaccorum'' of
James of Cessole, was translated for the Duke of Normandy, which means it must have been completed before he succeeded to the throne in 1350. It was Jean's most popular translation after the ''Légende dorée''. This translation was itself translated into English and published by William Caxton in 1475. It was only the second book to be printed in English.
#''Le Miroir de l'Église'' ("Mirror of the Church"), a translation of the ''Speculum ecclesiae'' of
Hugh of Saint-Cher
Hugh of Saint-Cher ( la, Hugo de Sancto Charo), Dominican Order, O.P. (c. 1200 – 19 March 1263) was a French people, French Dominican Order, Dominican friar who became a cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal and noted Bible, biblical commentator.
...
, was translated for Philip VI along with the ''Enseignements''. It survives in two manuscripts (but in neither does it appear with its companion piece).
#''Les Enseignements ou ordenances pour un seigneur qui a guerres et grans gouvernement à faire'' ("Teachings or Ordinances for a Lord Who Has to Make War and Good Government"), a translation of a now lost treatise by Marquis
Theodore I of Montferrat
Theodore I Palaiologos or Palaeologus (Greek: Θεόδωρος Παλαιολόγος, full name: ''Theodoros Komnenos Doukas Angelos Palaiologos'') ( – 24 April 1338) was Marquis of Montferrat from 1306 until his death.
Life
He was a son of Em ...
, was translated for Philip VI along with the ''Miroir de l'Église''. It survives in two manuscripts (separate from its companion piece). It was originally written in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, but Theodore himself made a Latin translation. Only the French version of Jean de Vignay survives, both of Theodore's versions having been lost.
#''La Chronique'' ("Chronicle"), a translation of a now lost chronicle of
Primat of Saint-Denis, was translated for Queen Joan probably after 1335. It survives in a single manuscript. Jean made a few small additions to this work.
There is one lost translation that can be confidently ascribed to Jean. A catalogue of the library of
Charles VI made in 1423 lists a prose version of the ''
Alexander Romance'' translated by Jean de Vignay in 1341. There are also works that have been falsely attributed to Jean. The ''
Margarita Philosophiarum'' was written in 1298 by a certain Jean de Vignay of Dijon, who was a different person. The ''Livre royal'', now lost, was a verse encyclopedia written between 1343 and 1348, possibly by the poet Watrigues. It was assigned by mistake to Jean de Vignay in the 19th century. Finally, ''Les Bonnes meurs'', a French translation of ''De bonis moribus'' by the Augustinian
Jacques le Grant, is mistakenly attributed to Jean de Vignay in the prologue of an English translation made in the mid-15th century by
John Shirley
John Shirley (born February 10, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of fantasy, science fiction, dark street fiction, westerns, and songwriting. He has also written one historical novel, a western about Wyatt Earp, ''Wyatt in Wichita'', and ...
.
Notes
References
Bibliography
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{{Authority control
1280s births
14th-century deaths
Order of Saint James of Altopascio
Latin–French translators
Translators of the Bible into French
14th-century translators