Bibbsworth Hall: the farmhouse (built after Walter's time)
Walter of Bibbesworth (middle of sec.XIII–at least 1277) was anEnglish knight andAnglo-Norman poet. Documents confirm that he held land in the parish ofKimpton,Hertfordshire at the farm now called Bibbsworth Hall ("Bibbs Hall" on some maps). About 1250 he served inGascony under theseneschal Nicholas de Molis in the army of the English kingHenry III.[1] In 1270/1271 he is believed to have taken part in theNinth Crusade on the evidence of atençon or poetic argument between himself andHenry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln. In the poem Walter, about to depart for Palestine, teases Henry for staying at home for the love of a certain woman. In fact the young Henry de Lacy, "recently married and with heavy responsibilities at home",[2] did not take part in the Ninth Crusade. Walter went and returned.[3] He was buried early inEdward I's reign atLittle Dunmow inEssex.[3][4]
Fields near Bibbsworth Hall, Hertfordshire
Apart from thetençon Walter is best known for a longer poem which in early manuscripts is calledLe Tretiz ("The Treatise"), written in medieval French verse and supplied withMiddle Englishglosses between the lines. It is known in two earlyrecensions, one of which has a preface stating that the Treatise was written formadame Dyonise de Mountechensi (Denise orDionisie de Munchensi) to help her teach her children French.The Treatise gained popularity and was afterwards incorporated in a late medieval textbook of French,Femina Nova.[5] Bibbesworth has also been credited with two other short poems in medieval French, one in praise ofbeauty, a second on theVirgin Mary, though the first of these is more likely to be the work ofNicole Bozon.[6]
^Hinton, Thomas (2019). "Language, Morality and Wordplay in Thirteenth-Century Anglo-French: The Poetry of Walter de Bibbesworth".New Medieval Literatures.19:106–107.
"Parishes: Kimpton" inA History of the County of Hertfordshire, Victoria County History, pp. 29–33
Thomas Hinton, "Anglo-French in the Thirteenth Century: A Re-Appraisal of Walter de Bibbesworth'sTretiz" inModern Language Review vol. 112 (2017), pp. 848-874
Thomas Hinton, "Language, Morality and Wordplay in Anglo-French: The Poetry of Walter de Bibbesworth" inNew Medieval Literatures 19 (2019), pp. 89-120
Karen K. Jambeck, "The "Tretiz" of Walter of Bibbesworth: cultivating the vernacular" in Albrecht Classen, ed.,Childhood in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (Berolini: Walter De Gruyter, 2005) pp. 159–184Preview atGoogle Books
Annie Owen, ed.,Le Traité de Walter de Bibbesworth sur la langue française. Paris: PUF, 1929.Preview atGoogle Books
William Rothwell, "A Mis-Judged Author and a Mis-Used Text: Walter de Bibbesworth and His "Tretiz"" inModern Language Review vol. 77 (1982) pp. 282-293
William Rothwell, "Anglo-French in Rural England in the Later Thirteenth Century: Walter of Bibbesworth's Tretiz and the Agricultural Treatises" inVox Romanica vol. 67 (2008) pp. 100–132
