Walter Map

Like I said, today we're doing a focus on Europe, starting in medieval-era England.

Mm-hmm.

In the 12th century, there was this English writer named Walter Mapp, and he wrote a book called Danugas Corallium.

And this book honestly sounds good.

It was basically a collection of anecdotes and gossip from around town.

The probability that no coherent view of elves was held in early medieval England is increased by the evidence provided by famous texts from the 12th and 13th centuries, which have become more or less canonical in studies of British fairy tradition.

Those of Gerard, uh, Gerald of Wales, Ralph of Coggeshall, Gervase of Tilbury, Walter Map, and William of Newburgh.

Uh, these dealt with, uh, alleged encounters of humans with non-humans in a human-like form who could not easily be fitted into conventional Christian concepts of angels or demons.

Fair, which I think, I would think the fae still fall into that realm actually

Fair enough.

So anyway, continuing on here.

Walter Map, writing in the 1180s, told of a Welsh landowner who caught a woman in a group which emerged nightly from a lake to dance by moonlight, and had sons by her until he hit her with a bridle.

Which is so transgressing a taboo.

Now, some earlier historians had trouble with this, and they argued that Guimar must have been joking when he said that Henry was good at parties.

And they insist upon that despite the fact that Guimar was not working on a stand-up routine and despite the fact that Walter Map independently confirmed that Henry threw killer parties.

So why did earlier historians resist this? Well, because Henry was a tyrannical micromanager who sentenced people to castration, and therefore, he couldn't possibly be fun at parties.

Basically, the rule is this: tyrants are miserable dinner companions, and conversely, if you throw a good party, then you must be a good person.

The market would be regulated, or at least it would be so long as the king was there.

And as a result, merchants flocked to court to sell their wares, knowing that they were gonna be reasonably safe and that they were gonna get a reasonable price for their goods.

This was so effective that Walter Map, looking back on this era, says, quote, "Everything was managed as befitted a king and with proper control," end quote.

And he comments on how, quote, "There is a veritable market following the king wherever he moved his court, so fixed were his journeyings and welcome his stays," end quote.