Henry of Avranches

Henry of Avranches [1] (died 1260)[2] was a poet of the first half of the 13th century, writing in Latin. He is sometimes assumed to have been born in Avranches, but is otherwise said to have been of German birth with a Norman father.[3] He is described as an itinerant cleric.[4]

He wrote numerous works, in hagiography and in other styles, including a life of Francis of Assisi, on John Blund, and poems on grammar.[5] He wrote in 1228/9 a topographical poem about the Starkenburg.[6]

He took part in a poetry contest against Michael of Cornwall in 1254-55.[7] This was after some earlier contests.[8]: 29 

  1. ^ Alternative spellings: (in French) Henry d'Avranches, (in French) Henri d'Avranches, (in Latin) Henricus Abrincensis, (in Latin) Henricus de Abrincis, (in German) Heinrich von Avranches.
  2. ^ Date of death given as 1260 [1].
  3. ^ "Heinrich von Avranches - sein Leben". Archived from the original on 2012-02-06. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
  4. ^ [2][permanent dead link‍], German site, as Heinrich von Avranches.
  5. ^ "Franciscan Friars T.O.R. - St. Francis, Father & Teacher". Archived from the original on 2007-02-26. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
  6. ^ [3], in German].
  7. ^ Binkley, Peter (1991). "The Date and Setting of Michael of Cornwall's "Versus contra Henricum Abrincensem"". Medium Ævum. 60 (1): 76–84. doi:10.2307/43629384. ISSN 0025-8385. JSTOR 43629384.
  8. ^ Rigg, A. G., Binkley, P. (2000). "Two poetic debates by Henry of Avranches". Mediaeval Studies. 62: 29–67. doi:10.1484/J.MS.2.306470.