Jean d'Outremeuse
Encyclopedia
Jean d'Outremeuse or Jean des Preis (Liège, 1338-1400) was a writer and historian who wrote two romanticised historical works and a lapidary
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La Geste de Liége is a leisurely account of the mythical history of his native city, Liege, written partly in prose and partly in verse. It was probably based on an existing text and consists of three books: book 1 in 40,000 lines, book 2 in 12,224 lines with prose summaries, book 3 has been lost, but a few passages have been found.
Ly Myreur des Histors ("The Mirror of Histories") is a more ambitious narrative, purporting to be a history of the world from the Flood
up to the 14th century. It combines Vincent de Beauvais's early works Ogier le Danois and the Geste de Liège into a universal history, from the fall of Troy to 1340, mixing real and legendary events.
Tresorier de philosophie naturelle des pierres precieuses (a lapidary)
This book is a compilation of recipes for making fake gems by coloring glasses by various means. It is of interest to glassworkers or historians seeking to understand the manufacture of ancient glass or fake gems adorning various pieces of goldsmith's work.
Lapidary
A lapidary is an artist or artisan who forms stone, mineral, gemstones, and other suitably durable materials into decorative items such as engraved gems, including cameos, or cabochons, and faceted designs...
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La Geste de Liége is a leisurely account of the mythical history of his native city, Liege, written partly in prose and partly in verse. It was probably based on an existing text and consists of three books: book 1 in 40,000 lines, book 2 in 12,224 lines with prose summaries, book 3 has been lost, but a few passages have been found.
Ly Myreur des Histors ("The Mirror of Histories") is a more ambitious narrative, purporting to be a history of the world from the Flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
up to the 14th century. It combines Vincent de Beauvais's early works Ogier le Danois and the Geste de Liège into a universal history, from the fall of Troy to 1340, mixing real and legendary events.
- The Liège herald, Louis Abry (1643-1720), refers to the lost fourth book of the Myreur des Hystors of Johans des Preis, styled d'Oultremeuse. In this "Jean de Bourgogne, dit a la Barbe", is said to have revealed himself on his deathbed to d'Oultremeuse, whom he made his executor, and to have described himself in his will as "messire Jean de MandevilleJohn Mandeville"Jehan de Mandeville", translated as "Sir John Mandeville", is the name claimed by the compiler of The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, a book account of his supposed travels, written in Anglo-Norman French, and first circulated between 1357 and 1371.By aid of translations into many other languages...
, chevalier, comte de MontfortMontfort- People :* Amaury de Montfort, Canon of York * Amaury I de Montfort * Amaury IV de Montfort * Bertrade de Montfort , Queen of France* Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola...
en Angleterre et seigneur de l'isle de Campdi et du château PérousePérousePérouse may refer to:* Pérouse, Territoire de Belfort, a commune of the Franche-Comté region of France- See also :*Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse*La Perouse, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia...
". It is added that, having had the misfortune to kill an unnamed count in his own country, he engaged himself to travel through the three parts of the world, arrived at Liège in 1343, was a great naturalist, profound philosopherPhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and astrologerAstrologerAn astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. Typically an astrologer draws a horoscope for the time of an event, such as a person's birth, and interprets celestial points and their placements at the time of the event to better understand someone, determine the auspiciousness of an...
, and had a remarkable knowledge of physics. And the identification is confirmed by the fact that in the now destroyed church of the Guillemins was a tombstone of Mandeville, with a LatinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
inscription stating that he was otherwise named "ad Barbam", was a professor of medicine, and died at Liège on November 17, 1372: this inscription is quoted as far back as 1462.
Tresorier de philosophie naturelle des pierres precieuses (a lapidary)
This book is a compilation of recipes for making fake gems by coloring glasses by various means. It is of interest to glassworkers or historians seeking to understand the manufacture of ancient glass or fake gems adorning various pieces of goldsmith's work.