Liber Floridus
Encyclopedia
Liber Floridus is a medieval encyclopedia that was compiled between 1090 and 1120 by Lambert, Canon
of Saint-Omer
. The text compiles extracts from some 192 or so different works.
Lambert's medieval encyclopedia contains a universal history
, a chronological record of events to the year 1119. These are of Biblical, astronomical, geographical, philosophical and natural history subjects. Lambert wrote Liber Floridus originally in Latin, and later it was translated into French as Le Livre fleurissant en fleurs. A detailed description is in the Historia comitum Normannorum, comitum Flandriae.
The Liber floridus was the first of the encyclopedias of the High Middle Ages
that slowly superseded the work of Isidore of Seville
. The original manuscript, completed in 1120 and dedicated to Saint Omer
by canon
Lambert, has been preserved in Ghent
, though its latter portion has not survived. A copy is in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. There is also a copy in the Herzog August Bibliothek
, Wolfenbüttel, Germany. There may be as many as six additional extant manuscript copies, dating from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries and produced in France or Flanders. Liber Floridus has the reputation of being one of the most famous encyclopedias of the Middle Ages.
Liber floridus includes various maps including a mappa mundi
. The Ghent manuscript, being the oldest of the known copies and dating from earlier than 1125, includes a map of parts of Europe and two climate-zone drawings based on the Macrobian model as an attempt to make a complete world map. The parts of the European map sketch show interesting and odd representations. This manuscript and the associated maps are believed to have been done personally by Lambert.
The Wolfenbüttel and Paris copies with their European "mappa mundi" date from somewhere around 1150. Historians do not believe these were done by Lambert. R. Uhden points out that the world map in the Wolfenbüttel copy has a legend saying the original source was from Martianus Capella
(fl.
410 - 439). This reference has been backed up by information found in various other inscriptions on the map that are passages from Martianus' Satyricon, also known as De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii.
Lambert collected his material from such sources as Isidore
's Etymologiae
, the Historia Brittonum, and the crusade chronicle of Bartolf of Nangis
. Lambert frequently mentions crusaders from Saint-Omer and elsewhere, whom he presumably met when they returned home. In 1968 Albert Derolez published a copy of the Ghent manuscript, with historical and palaeographical introductions. It included a number of photographs of the original manuscript pages.
The Liber has sometimes been incorrectly attributed to Lambert of St-Bertin
, a monk at the Abbey of Saint Bertin
. The compiler of the Liber was a canon at the nearby church of Our Lady of Saint-Omer. His father, Onulfus, had also been a canon at the same church.
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....
. The text compiles extracts from some 192 or so different works.
Lambert's medieval encyclopedia contains a universal history
Universal history
Universal history is basic to the Western tradition of historiography, especially the Abrahamic wellspring of that tradition. Simply stated, universal history is the presentation of the history of humankind as a whole, as a coherent unit.-Ancient authors:...
, a chronological record of events to the year 1119. These are of Biblical, astronomical, geographical, philosophical and natural history subjects. Lambert wrote Liber Floridus originally in Latin, and later it was translated into French as Le Livre fleurissant en fleurs. A detailed description is in the Historia comitum Normannorum, comitum Flandriae.
The Liber floridus was the first of the encyclopedias of the High Middle Ages
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
that slowly superseded the work of Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville
Saint Isidore of Seville served as Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and is considered, as the historian Montalembert put it in an oft-quoted phrase, "le dernier savant du monde ancien"...
. The original manuscript, completed in 1120 and dedicated to Saint Omer
Saint Omer
The name Saint Omer may refer to:* Saint Audomare, the seventh century saint whose name is often shortened as "St. Omer"* Saint-Omer, Pas-de-Calais, a French town* Saint-Omer, Calvados, a French commune...
by canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
Lambert, has been preserved in Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, though its latter portion has not survived. A copy is in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. There is also a copy in the Herzog August Bibliothek
Herzog August Bibliothek
The Herzog August Library , in Wolfenbüttel, , known also as Bibliotheca Augusta, it has an international importance for its collection from the Middle Ages and Early modern Europe. The library is overseen by the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture...
, Wolfenbüttel, Germany. There may be as many as six additional extant manuscript copies, dating from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries and produced in France or Flanders. Liber Floridus has the reputation of being one of the most famous encyclopedias of the Middle Ages.
Liber floridus includes various maps including a mappa mundi
Mappa mundi
Mappa mundi is a general term used to describe medieval European maps of the world. These maps range in size and complexity from simple schematic maps an inch or less across to elaborate wall maps, the largest of which was 11 ft. in diameter...
. The Ghent manuscript, being the oldest of the known copies and dating from earlier than 1125, includes a map of parts of Europe and two climate-zone drawings based on the Macrobian model as an attempt to make a complete world map. The parts of the European map sketch show interesting and odd representations. This manuscript and the associated maps are believed to have been done personally by Lambert.
The Wolfenbüttel and Paris copies with their European "mappa mundi" date from somewhere around 1150. Historians do not believe these were done by Lambert. R. Uhden points out that the world map in the Wolfenbüttel copy has a legend saying the original source was from Martianus Capella
Martianus Capella
Martianus Minneus Felix Capella was a pagan writer of Late Antiquity, one of the earliest developers of the system of the seven liberal arts that structured early medieval education...
(fl.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
410 - 439). This reference has been backed up by information found in various other inscriptions on the map that are passages from Martianus' Satyricon, also known as De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii.
Lambert collected his material from such sources as Isidore
Isidore of Seville
Saint Isidore of Seville served as Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and is considered, as the historian Montalembert put it in an oft-quoted phrase, "le dernier savant du monde ancien"...
's Etymologiae
Etymologiae
Etymologiae is an encyclopedia compiled by Isidore of Seville towards the end of his life. It forms a bridge between a condensed epitome of classical learning at the close of Late Antiquity and the inheritance received, in large part through Isidore's work, by the early Middle Ages...
, the Historia Brittonum, and the crusade chronicle of Bartolf of Nangis
Bartolf of Nangis
Bartolf of Nangis or Bartolfus peregrinus was a French historian who died shortly before 1109. He wrote the crusade chronicle Gesta Francorum Iherusalem expugnatium.-References:...
. Lambert frequently mentions crusaders from Saint-Omer and elsewhere, whom he presumably met when they returned home. In 1968 Albert Derolez published a copy of the Ghent manuscript, with historical and palaeographical introductions. It included a number of photographs of the original manuscript pages.
The Liber has sometimes been incorrectly attributed to Lambert of St-Bertin
Lambert of St-Bertin
-Biography:Lambert was born about 1060 of a distinguished family, and, when still young, entered the French Benedictine abbey of St-Bertin. He afterwards visited several famous schools in France, having first laid the foundation of his subsequent learning by the study in his own monastery of...
, a monk at the Abbey of Saint Bertin
Abbey of Saint Bertin
The Abbey of St. Bertin was a Benedictine abbey in Saint-Omer, France, now in ruins and open to the public...
. The compiler of the Liber was a canon at the nearby church of Our Lady of Saint-Omer. His father, Onulfus, had also been a canon at the same church.
Sources
- Herbermann, Charles George, The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church, Encyclopedia Press, 1913
External links
- Liber Floridus - a website from the Ghent University Library on the history of the manuscript, its contents, and its creator, including many more images from the Liber Floridus