Walter of Châtillon was a 12th century French writer and theologian who wrote in the Latin language. He was educated at the Sorbonne under Etienne de Beauvais. It was likely during his college years that he wrote a number of Latin poems in the Goliardic manner that found their way into the Carmina Burana collection. During his lifetime, however, he was more esteemed for a long Latin epic on the life of Alexander the Great, the Alexandreis, sive Gesta Alexandri Magni, a hexameter epic, full of anachronisms; he depicts the Crucifixion of Jesus as having already taken place during the days of Alexander the Great. The Alexandreis was popular and influential in Walter's own times. Matthew of Vendôme and Alan of Lille borrowed from it and Henry of Settimello imitated it; but it is now little read. One line is sometimes quoted: (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Theology (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason) means reasoned discourse concerning religion, spirituality and God. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... The Sorbonne, Paris, in a 17th century engraving The historic University of Paris (French: Université de Paris) first appeared in the second half of the 12th century, but was in 1970 reorganized as 13 autonomous universities (University of Paris I–XIII). ... Poetry (ancient Greek: poieo = create) is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. ... The Goliards were a group of clergy who wrote bibulous, satirical Latin poetry in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. ... Carmina Burana (IPA: ; note that the stress is on the first syllable of Carmina, not the second) also known as the Burana Codex is a manuscript collection, now in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich, of over 1000 poems and songs written in the early 13th century. ... The epic is a broadly defined genre of poetry, and one of the major forms of narrative literature. ... Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of, if not the most successful military commanders in history. ... The Alexander Romance is any of several collections of legends concerning the mythical exploits of Alexander the Great. ... Hexameter is a literary and poetic form, consisting of six metrical feet per line as in the Iliad. ... Look up Anachronism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Crucifixion of St. ... Jesus (8–2 BC/BCE to 29–36 AD/CE),[1] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity. ... Alain de Lille (Alanus ab Insulis) (c. ...

Incidit in Scyllam qui vult vitare Charybdim (Wanting to avoid Charybdis, he runs into Scylla.)

Many poems in his style, or borrowing his themes, have been attributed to Walter on insufficient evidence. For example, he was not the author of the satirical Apocalypse of Golias once attributed to him. In addition to his poems, Walter wrote a dialogue attacking Judaism and a treatise on the Trinity. He died of the bubonic plague early in the 13th century. In Greek mythology, Charybdis, or Kharybdis (sucker down, Greek Χάρυβδις), is a sea monster, daughter of Poseidon and Gaia, who swallows huge amounts of water three times a day and then belches it back out again. ... In Greek mythology, Scylla, or Skylla (Greek Σκύλλα) was a name shared by two characters, a female sea monster and a princess. ... The Apocalypse of Golias (Latin: Apocalypsis Goliae) is a satirical Latin poem of the 12th century, probably written in England or France. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... For other uses, see Trinity (disambiguation). ... Bubonic plague is the best-known variant of the deadly infectious disease plague, which is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ...

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Walter of Chatillon

Bibliography

• F. J. E. Raby, A History of Secular Latin Poetry in the Middle Ages (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1934. ISBN 0198143257) vol. 2 pp. 72-80, 190-204.