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 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 ...

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 with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

on the deeds of King

Louis VIII of France Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (french: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216 ...

(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 Titles * ...

of the

collegiate chapter In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...

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. Demographics The inhabitants are called ''Braytois''. Natives * Nicholas of Bray (fl. 1226), Fren ...

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

bishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France ...

(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 1627–28. The siege marked the height of the struggle between the Catholics and the ...

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 statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848. A conservative liberal who opposed the a ...

"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 Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...

'', introducing thereby much

classical mythology Classical mythology, Greco-Roman mythology, or Greek and Roman mythology is both the body of and the study of myths from the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans as they are used or transformed by cultural reception. Along with philosophy and polit ...

, 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 Latin writers 13th-century French poets