De nugis curialium (Courtiers’ Trifles)
Walter Mapc. 1181–1193
A miscellany of anecdotes and satire by an English cleric and courtier of the later twelfth century. Map was at the Lateran council of Alexander III, where he was set to question two Waldensians, and he describes them.
Walter Map was a cleric and courtier, and his book is a loose collection of stories, complaints and gossip. The chapter on the “Valdesii” is an eyewitness report by a hostile and amused observer: he says that he saw them at the council under Pope Alexander III, that he was told to examine two of their leaders, and that he made them look foolish.
What he reports of their way of life he reports with distaste. His fear that they would supplant the clergy if admitted is his own.
Cited in
- about 1173, estimated date
- March 1179, firm date