The Passion of St. Lawrence, Epigrams and Marginal Poems

Nigel of Canterbury, often referred to as Nigel Wireker or Nigel de Longchamps, was a monk of Christ Church, Canterbury, during the troubled decades after the martyrdom of Thomas Becket. Nigel is widely-known for his Speculum Stultorum , a satiric poem nearly 4000 lines long, and for a caustic treatise that has been given the title Tractatus contra Curiales et Officiales Clericos . Although his 17 Miracula Sancte Dei genitricis uirginis Marie, uersifice have been edited recently, not all his other works have fared well. This work contains Nigel’s remaining poems. His account in rhymed hexameters of the passion of Saint Lawrence and 13 epigrams are edited from British Library Cotton Vespasian D xix; and recently discovered marginal poems that shed light upon his techniques of poetic composition are published from Cambridge, Trinity College B. 15.5 (342). The volume opens with a general introduction on Nigel’s writings, his life at Canterbury and notable features of his work. Each of the three texts or sets of texts is preceded by a brief introduction and followed by a detailed commentary, which glosses difficult words and constructions and points the reader to literary sources and analogues. The volume concludes with indexes of names and of notable words.