Nigel de Longchamps facts for kids

Nigel de Longchamps, also known as Nigel Witeker or Nigel of Canterbury, was a clever writer from a long time ago, around the late 1100s. He was an Anglo-Norman, meaning he had roots in both England and Normandy (a region in France). Nigel was known for writing funny and critical poems in Latin, a language used by many scholars back then. He was a monk at Christ Church, Canterbury, from 1186 to 1193. He even said he met Thomas Becket, a famous archbishop who died in 1170.

His Famous Book: A Mirror of Fools

Nigel de Longchamps wrote a very popular book called Speculum stultorum, which means "A Mirror of Fools." It was a long poem written in Latin. This book was a satire, which means it used humor and exaggeration to criticize people and society, especially the clergy (church leaders) of his time.

The main character in the story is a silly donkey named Brunellus. Brunellus has a big problem: he wants his tail to be longer! So, he goes on a funny adventure to try and make it happen.

Brunellus first visits a place called Salernum to get special medicines for his tail. But he loses them when a Cistercian monk and his dogs attack him. Next, he travels to Paris to study, hoping to find a solution there. However, he doesn't learn much, even forgetting the city's name after eight years!

After that, Brunellus decides to join a religious order (a group of people living by certain religious rules). But instead of joining an existing one, he creates his own. He picks only the easiest rules from other orders, making his new order very lazy! In the end, his owner finally catches him and brings him home.

This poem was incredibly popular for hundreds of years. Even the famous English writer Geoffrey Chaucer mentioned it in his book, Canterbury Tales, calling it "Daun Burnel the Asse" in The Nun's Priest's Tale.

Other Writings

Nigel de Longchamps also wrote other shorter Latin poems. A manuscript from the 1200s attributes many of these to him. He also wrote a prose (non-poem) book called Contra Curiales et Officinales Clericos.

This book was a friendly piece of advice to William Longchamp, who was a very important person at the time. William was the Chancellor (a high government official) and also the Bishop of Ely (a church leader). Nigel, who was good friends with William (and possibly a relative), gently told him that it was hard to do both jobs well at the same time. He believed it was difficult to combine leading the Church with leading the State.