Gautier de Metz
Gautier de Metz (also Gauthier, Gossuin, or Gossouin) was a French
Image du Monde
In January 1245, Gautier wrote L'Image du monde (French, the image of the world) or Imago Mundi, an
The first part of the work begins with a discussion of theological matters, with much of it parallelling the work of
The second part of the Image du Monde is mostly geographical in nature, repeating many errors from older sources but questioning some of them.[1] It describes the fauna in some of the regions it discusses. It then attempts to explain atmospheric phenomena, describing meteors, which many at the time perceived as dragons, as a dry vapor that catches fire, falls, and then disappears, and also discussing clouds, lightning, wind, etc.[1]
The third part consists largely of astronomical considerations, borrowing heavily from
A prose edition was published shortly after the original poetic work, probably by the original author. A second verse edition was later published in 1247, adding 4000 verses to the poem, dividing it into only two parts rather than three, and changing the order of the contents.[1]
The Image du Monde was translated from Latin into French in 1245. It was also translated into Hebrew twice and into many other languages in the Middle Ages.
In 1480 William Caxton published an English translation from the French translation of the Image du Monde as The Myrrour of the World at Westminster; this was the first English book to be printed with illustrations and was one of the earliest English-language encyclopedias.[1] A second edition was printed around 1490, and a third was printed in 1527 by Lawrence Andrewe, though the first edition was seemingly the most carefully prepared.[1] The translation was largely faithful to the original but introduced more references to English places and people.[1]