Map, Walter

Map or Mapes, Walter, c.1140–c.1210, English author, b. Wales. A favorite of Henry II, he traveled with the king and became archdeacon of Oxford. The one work indubitably his, De nugis curialium [courtiers' trifles], is a Latin prose collection of legends, tales, gossip, and anecdotes. Shrewd, witty, and satirical, the work shows Map as a wit and a man of the world, familiar with court life and public affairs. That he was the author of one or more extant Arthurian romances and of some surviving Goliardic songs is no longer accepted by scholars.