The Cosmographia of Bernard Silvester was the most important literary
myth written between Lucretius and Dante. One of the most widely read
books of its time, it was known to authors whose interests were as
diverse as those of Vincent of Beauvais, Dante, and Chaucer. Bernard
offers one of the most profound versions of a familiar theme in medieval
literature, that of man as a microcosm of the universe, with nature as
the mediating element between God and the world. Brian Stock's
exposition includes many passages from the Cosmographia translated for
the first time into English. Arising from the central analysis are
several more general themes: among them the recreation by
twelfth-century humanists of the languages of myth and science as handed
down in the classical tradition; the creation of the world and of man,
the chief mythical and cosmographical problem of the period; the
development of naturalistic allegory; and Bernard's relation to the "new
science" introduced from Greek and Arabic sources.
Originally published in 1972.
The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand
technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from
the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions
preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting
them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the
Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich
scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by
Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
