Monstrous Words, Monstrous Bodies: Irony and the Walking Dead in Walter Map'sDe Nugis Curialium

Abstract

This article analyses the function of the tales of the walking dead found in Distinction Two of Walter Map's De Nugis Curialium (c. 1182). Map's sole surviving work, the 'Courtiers' Trifles' is a collection of historical narratives, wonder stories, witty asides, and anecdotes collated during his employment at Henry II's court. The satirical nature of the De Nugis's has been noted by previous scholars; however, this has yet to be discussed specifically with regard to the tales of the undead. Following a discussion of the twelfth-century traditions of satirical literature and the ways in which medieval authors approached the trope of irony, the second part of the article will examine how Map, a master of the "art of lying", deconstructed the conventions of wonder stories. It will be argued that as well as using these tales to satirise the historiographical function of mirabilia, they were also used to critique the reality of court life and, on a deeper level, the literary function of ambiguity itself. The inherent irony of the walking dead, the dissonance between physical form and metaphysical intent, meant that they could be inscribed with multiple, parallel meanings.

Laughter and Power at Henry II’s Court

“…Walter explored this ambiguous space between inner being and outer seeming throughout his De nugis, conjuring a range of walking corpses, hypocritical monks, and frightful ghosts. 134 In counterpoint to these deceptive beings, Walter's ideal courtier also needed to retain a split between their inward and their external being. By doing so, whatever the "outward aspects" of their behavior, such as the experience of mockery or sordid jokes, they would nevertheless be able to preserve intact their "inner man" (interiorem hominem) beneath.…”