Medieval Bestiary : Encyclopedia : Jacques de Vitry

Jacques de Vitry

Biography

Jacques de Vitry (Latinized as Jacobus de Vitriaco) was born around 1160-70 and died in 1240. He was a French theologian and priest who became a bishop and later a cardinal. He was one of the principle promoters of the crusade against the Albigenses, and was personally involved in the Fifth Crusade in Egypt (1217-1221). He remained in the East from around 1216 to 1225.

Writing

Jacques wrote hundreds of very popular sermons and letters, as well as the Life of Marie d'Oignies and some texts on the the Beguines of Liège, a Christian lay religious order. His most well-known work, a history of Palestine and the crusades, resulted from his time in the East.

Historia Hierosolymitana

The Historia Hierosolymitana (commonly called Historia Hierosolymitana abbreviata or Historia orientalis or History of Jerusalem) is a first-hand account of the history and geography of Palestine and countries of the East from the time of Mohammed to the thirteenth century. Jacques wrote of the history, geography, geology, flora, fauna and people of the region, making his text in effect an early version of an encyclopedia. His accounts about the animals of the region were frequently quoted by Thomas of Cantimpré in his Liber de natura rerum. The accuracy of his accounts is open to debate; in particular, his descriptions of animals both real and fabulous are unlikely to have been based on actual observation. The history and geography sections of the text are more accurate.

The text is in three books. Book I, the Historia orientalis, is about the lands of the East. All of the animal descriptions are in Book I. Book II, Historia occidentalis, is about the reform of the church in the west; its style is similar to Book I. Book III is on the fifth crusade, and is not believed to be by Jacques de Vitry. There is also a Prologue, possibly by Jacques. In addition to the books, Jacques wrote several letters to European friends while he was in Egypt (1216-1221).

Manuscripts

There are over 100 known manuscripts (or manuscript fragments) of the Historia Hierosolymitana. Some are shown below and more can be found under the Manuscripts tab above. For a complete list of manuscripts of all of Jacques' texts, see John-F. Hinnebusch, Extant manuscripts of the writings of Jacques de Vitry.

This list is of the manuscripts used by Jean Donnadieu, who assigned the code letters, in his 2008 edition.

A	Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel, Cod. Guelf. 30.5 Aug. 2°
B	British Library, Additional MS 40075
C	Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. lat. 504
D	Bibliothèque Nationale de France, lat. 16079
E	Médiathèque Voyelles Charleville-Mézières, Ms. 275
F	Bibliothèque Nationale de France, NAL 1423
G	Médiathèque Jacques-Chirac (BM Troyes), MS 2403
H	Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Plut.66 sin.28
J	Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Ms. Phill. 1883
K	Burgerbibliothek Bern, Cod. 499

There is a complete French translation of the text, found in manuscript Bibliothèque Nationale de France, fr. 17203, which was used in the 1986 edition Claude Buridant, ed., La Traduction de l'Historia Orientalis de Jacques de Vitry.

Animals

The animal descriptions all appear in chapters 88, 89, 90 and the last half of 92 of Book I (Historia orientalis) of the Historia Hierosolymitana. They are categorized as wild animals, serpents, birds, fish, and common animals, but there is no particular order in the accounts within each chapter. Some animals receive only a single line, while others get a more extensive treatment. All of the accounts closely match those found in bestiaries, the Physiologus, and encyclopedias; it is most likely Jacques took his descriptions from such sources rather than from direct observation.

See the Texts tab above for a full transcription and English translation of the animal chapters.

Chapter 88: Of wild animals, lions, lionesses, wild dogs, elephants, rhinoceroses and unicorns, lynxes, tigers, beavers, bears, camels, and other monsters.

Chapter 89: The serpents, the dragon, the basilisk.

Chapter 90: Varieties of rare birds and fish.

Chapter 92: On certain miracles of western regions, on the qualities of common birds.