De nugis curialium (
Medieval Latin for "Of the trifles of courtiers" or loosely "Trinkets for the Court") is the major surviving work of the 12th-century
Latin author
Walter Map. He was an
English courtier of
Welsh descent.[1] Map claimed that he was a man of the
Welsh Marches (marchio sum Walensibus);.[2] He was probably born in
Herefordshire, but his studies and employment took him to
Canterbury,
Paris,
Rome and to several royal and noble courts of
Western Europe. The book takes the form of a series of anecdotes of people and places, offering many sidelights on the history of his own time. Some are from personal knowledge, and apparently reliable; others represent popular rumours about history and current events, and are often far from the truth.
Outline of contents
Distinctio prima
A comparison of royal courts with Hell; Hell and its mythical inhabitants
The heretic or robber bands known as
Routiers, Brabantians or Brabazons
The heretics called
Publicans and
Patarines; this section includes a tale of devil-worship which illustrates the development of medieval ideas of witchcraft [3]
Tale of the Welshman Gwestin Gwestiniog and his fairy bride; the tale of their son Triunein Vagelauc, his service at the court of the king of
Deheubarth, and an attack on King
Brychan of
Brycheiniog (i.e.,
Brecknock)
Tales of
Wild Edric, his fairy bride, and their son Alnoth; with a brief discussion of
incubi and
succubi
Brief meditation on fantastic narratives and their theological implications; tale of a knight of "Lesser Britain" (i.e.,
Brittany) who rescued his dead wife from the
fairies
Copy of the letter (sometimes found among the works of Saint
Jerome) in which Valerius advises Rufinus against marriage
Story of the boy Eudo deceived by the Devil
Story of a
Cluniac monk (already told in Distinctio prima)
Story of a knight of "Lesser Britain" (i.e.,
Brittany) who rescued his dead wife from the
fairies (already told in Distinctio secunda)
Story of Henno-with-the-Teeth (probably the Norman nobleman
Hamon Dentatus) and his
Melusine-like wife
Story of
Wild Edric and his fairy bride; with a description of their interview with
King William I (already told in Distinctio secunda but here the tale includes details not found in the earlier account)
Story of Gerbert of Aurillac (
Pope Sylvester II) deceived by the Devil
Story of the
merman Nicholas Pipe; anecdotes about phantom herds of animals; story of King
Herla (already told in Distinctio prima); a brief satire on the court of King
Henry II
The death of
William II of England, regum pessimus ("the worst of kings");
Map's first-hand account of the character of
King Henry II; and
Map's description of his own running dispute with Henry's illegitimate son
Geoffrey
A satirical comparison of the court of
King Henry II with
Hell (essentially a rough draft of the opening of Distinctio prima). This concluding chapter begins with a citation of the words of
Saint Augustine: "I am in the world and I speak of the world, but I do not know what the world is".
De nugis curialium (
Medieval Latin for "Of the trifles of courtiers" or loosely "Trinkets for the Court") is the major surviving work of the 12th-century
Latin author
Walter Map. He was an
English courtier of
Welsh descent.[1] Map claimed that he was a man of the
Welsh Marches (marchio sum Walensibus);.[2] He was probably born in
Herefordshire, but his studies and employment took him to
Canterbury,
Paris,
Rome and to several royal and noble courts of
Western Europe. The book takes the form of a series of anecdotes of people and places, offering many sidelights on the history of his own time. Some are from personal knowledge, and apparently reliable; others represent popular rumours about history and current events, and are often far from the truth.
Outline of contents
Distinctio prima
A comparison of royal courts with Hell; Hell and its mythical inhabitants
The heretic or robber bands known as
Routiers, Brabantians or Brabazons
The heretics called
Publicans and
Patarines; this section includes a tale of devil-worship which illustrates the development of medieval ideas of witchcraft [3]
Tale of the Welshman Gwestin Gwestiniog and his fairy bride; the tale of their son Triunein Vagelauc, his service at the court of the king of
Deheubarth, and an attack on King
Brychan of
Brycheiniog (i.e.,
Brecknock)
Tales of
Wild Edric, his fairy bride, and their son Alnoth; with a brief discussion of
incubi and
succubi
Brief meditation on fantastic narratives and their theological implications; tale of a knight of "Lesser Britain" (i.e.,
Brittany) who rescued his dead wife from the
fairies
Copy of the letter (sometimes found among the works of Saint
Jerome) in which Valerius advises Rufinus against marriage
Story of the boy Eudo deceived by the Devil
Story of a
Cluniac monk (already told in Distinctio prima)
Story of a knight of "Lesser Britain" (i.e.,
Brittany) who rescued his dead wife from the
fairies (already told in Distinctio secunda)
Story of Henno-with-the-Teeth (probably the Norman nobleman
Hamon Dentatus) and his
Melusine-like wife
Story of
Wild Edric and his fairy bride; with a description of their interview with
King William I (already told in Distinctio secunda but here the tale includes details not found in the earlier account)
Story of Gerbert of Aurillac (
Pope Sylvester II) deceived by the Devil
Story of the
merman Nicholas Pipe; anecdotes about phantom herds of animals; story of King
Herla (already told in Distinctio prima); a brief satire on the court of King
Henry II
The death of
William II of England, regum pessimus ("the worst of kings");
Map's first-hand account of the character of
King Henry II; and
Map's description of his own running dispute with Henry's illegitimate son
Geoffrey
A satirical comparison of the court of
King Henry II with
Hell (essentially a rough draft of the opening of Distinctio prima). This concluding chapter begins with a citation of the words of
Saint Augustine: "I am in the world and I speak of the world, but I do not know what the world is".