Gervasius of Tilbury

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Gervasius von Tilbury (French Gervais de Tilbury , English Gervase of Tilbury , Latin Gervasius Tilberiensis , * around 1150, † around 1235) was an English legal scholar, historian and geographer . He came from the Norman nobility and was in the service of King Henry II of England , Archbishop Wilhelm of Reims , King Wilhelm II of Sicily , Archbishop Humberts of Arles and Emperor Otto IV , the grandson of the English Norman King Henry II . This gave him the title and dignity of Marshal of the Imperial Court for the Kingdom of Arelat . In his later years Gervasius was a member of a Premonstratensian chapter in Burgundy .

"Imperial leisure hours"

Gervasius' main works are the Otia imperialia ("Imperial leisure hours"), a world history and description of the world for Emperor Otto IV probably written in 1209–1214. It not only deals with the learned encyclopedic geography and world history, but also legends and miracle stories from medieval times oral narrative literature from England and the Mediterranean world. In this way, the Otia pass on “important evidence for the Virgil saga , the Arthurian tradition , the contemporary belief in witches and demons as well as for the fairy mythology and the Melusine motif” (Maaz).

Author of the Ebstorf world map?

Gervasius is also discussed as the author of the Ebstorf world map , which is not refuted by the late dating theses of the map (origin of the copy existing up to 1943 "around 1300"), as (one or more) intermediate stages must be expected (Armin Wolf). In this context, the presence of an imperial notary Gervasius 1215 and the Ebstorf founding provost of the same name play a role. The former Premonstratensian Monastery of St. Mauritius in Ebstorf in Lüneburg was burnt down at an unknown point in time and was revived as a Benedictine convent in 1217/1219 . The choice of a Premonstratensian for the monastery provost fits into the institutional development of Ebstorf, since claims of the Premonstratensian Order had to be taken into account. It should also be noted that Otto IV was the regent of the Lüneburg part of the country for his underage nephew until his death (1218) .

Editions and translations

  • Gervase of Tilbury: Otia Imperialia. Recreation for an Emperor. Edited by James W. Binns and Shelagh E. Banks. Oxford 2002 (Latin text with English translation).
  • Gervasius of Tilbury: Imperial leisure hours. Otia imperialia . Introduced, translated and annotated by Heinz Erich Stiene, (Library of Middle Latin Literature 6/7). Stuttgart 2009 (German translation).

literature

  • Eckart Conrad Lutz: writing, education and conversation. Media intentions of Baudri de Bourgueil, Gervasius von Tilbury and Ulrich von Liechtenstein. De Gruyter, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-11-028152-1 .
  • Wolfgang Maaz: Gervasius of Tilbury. In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages . Vol. 4 (1989) col. 1361.
  • Cinzia Pignatelli, Dominique Gerner: Les traductions françaises des Otia Imperialia de Gervais de Tilbury par Jean d'Antioche et Jean de Vignay. Droz, Geneva 2006, ISBN 2-600-00916-7 .
  • Hans-Joachim Schulze: Gervasius of Tilbury. His life, his conception of the state and his relationship to antiquity. Berlin 1955 (dissertation, FU Berlin, 1955).
  • Armin Wolf : Gervasius von Tilbury, Arelatic Marshal Otto IV and the Ebstorf world map. In: Bernd Ulrich Hucker , Jörg Leuschner (Hrsg.): Otto IV. - Emperor and sovereign. Castles and church buildings 1198–1218 (= Salzgitter yearbook. Vol. 29). Salzgitter 2009, pp. 157–187.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Gervasius of Tilbury
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gervasius Tilberiensis; Gervaise de Tilbury; Gervasio di Tilbury
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English legal scholar, historian and geographer
DATE OF BIRTH around 1150
DATE OF DEATH around 1235