Gautier de Metz (also ''Gauthier'', ''Gossuin,'' or ''Gossouin'') was a French
catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
and
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
. He is primarily known for writing the encyclopedic poem ''L'Image du Monde''. Evidence from the earliest editions of this work suggests his actual name was Gossouin rather than Gautier.
[Oliver H. Prior, ed. ''Caxton's Mirrour of the World.'' Early English Text Society, 1913.]
''Image du Monde''
In January 1245, Gautier wrote ''L'Image du monde'' (French, ''the image of the world'') or ''Imago Mundi'', an
encyclopedic
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
work about creation, the Earth and the universe, wherein facts are mixed with fantasy.
It was originally written in Latin in the form of 6594 rhymed octosyllabic verses divided into three parts.
Some parts of the ''Image du Monde'' were compiled from various Latin sources, especially
Jacobus de Vitriaco,
Honorius Augustodunensis
Honorius Augustodunensis (c. 1080 – c. 1140), commonly known as Honorius of Autun, was a very popular 12th-century Christian theologian who wrote prolifically on many subjects. He wrote in a non-scholastic manner, with a lively style, and his wor ...
, and
Alexander Neckam
Alexander Neckam (8 September 115731 March 1217) was an English magnetician, poet, theologian, and writer. He was an abbot of Cirencester Abbey from 1213 until his death.
Early life
Born on 8 September 1157 in St Albans, Alexander shared his b ...
; indeed, the author himself did not introduce the fantastic elements of the work, which rather originated in his sources.
The work was partly illustrated.
The first part of the work begins with a discussion of theological matters, with much of it parallelling the work of
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
.
It then goes on to describe the seven
liberal art
Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...
s before turning to
cosmology
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount (lexicographer), Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in ...
,
astrology
Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...
, and
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
: "The world is in the shape of a ball. The heaven surrounds both the world and ether, a pure air from which the angels assume their shape. The ether is of such startling brilliance that no sinner can gaze at it with impunity: this is why men fall down in a faint when angels appear before them. Ether surrounds the four elements placed in the following order: earth, water, air, fire."
The physics in the work is inaccurate, stating that when stones are dropped, "if these stones were of different weights, the heaviest would reach the centre
f the Earth
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
first." The sky is presented as a concrete object: "The sky is so far away from us that a stone would fall for 100 years before reaching us. Seen from the sky, the Earth would be in size like the smallest of the stars."
The second part of the ''Image du Monde'' is mostly geographical in nature, repeating many errors from older sources but questioning some of them.
It describes the fauna in some of the regions it discusses. It then attempts to explain atmospheric phenomena, describing meteors, which many at the time perceived as dragons, as a dry vapor that catches fire, falls, and then disappears, and also discussing clouds, lightning, wind, etc.
The third part consists largely of astronomical considerations, borrowing heavily from
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
's
Almagest
The ''Almagest'' is a 2nd-century Greek-language mathematical and astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths, written by Claudius Ptolemy ( ). One of the most influential scientific texts in history, it canoni ...
, and also describes some classical philosophers and their ideas, often inaccurately, claiming, for instance, that
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
believed in the
holy 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 the F ...
and that
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: t ...
was a prophet and magician.
It contains attempts to calculate the diameter of the Earth and the distance between the Earth and Moon.
A prose edition was published shortly after the original poetic work, probably by the original author. A second verse edition was later published in 1247, adding 4000 verses to the poem, dividing it into only two parts rather than three, and changing the order of the contents.
The ''Image du Monde'' was translated from Latin into French in 1245. It was also translated into Hebrew twice and into many other languages in the Middle Ages.
In 1480
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 ...
published an English translation from the French translation of the ''Image du Monde'' as ''The Myrrour of the World'' at
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
; this was the first English book to be printed with
illustration
An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...
s and was one of the earliest English-language
encyclopedia
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
s.
A second edition was printed around 1490, and a third was printed in 1527 by
Lawrence Andrewe
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
, though the first edition was seemingly the most carefully prepared.
The translation was largely faithful to the original but introduced more references to English places and people.
References
External links
Prose version of ''L'image du monde'' on Wikisource
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gautier de Metz
13th-century French Roman Catholic priests
Year of death unknown
Year of birth unknown
French male poets
13th-century French poets