had the custody of wine in his monastery; others from the German words Wein and sauffen, which would imply tippling. Others, again, suppose that he may have been superintendent of the vineyard, the wine-pressing, preserving, &c. Pits, somewhat in confirmation of this latter notion, cites a MS. which he saw in Caius College, Cambridge, written by one Geoffrey, on preserving wines and fruits, and on grafting.
Whatever may be the true derivation of his name, Geoffrey is generally believed to have been an Englishman by birth, but of a Norman family. His writings are numerous, and several of them poetical. The following are the principal:—
- On preserving Wines, Fruits, &c. (De Vinis, fructibus, &c., conservandis).
- Itinerarium Regis Anglorum Richardi, et aliorum in Terram Hierosolymorum.
- To the Emperor Henry, about liberating King Richard (Ad Cæsarem, &c.).
- Monody on the Death of King Richard (Monodia, &c.).
- To William Longchamps, Bishop of Ely, and Chancellor (Ad Wilhelmum, &c.).
- Of the State of the Roman Court (De Statu Curiæ Romanæ).
- Manual or Handbook (Enchiridion).
- On New Poetry (De Poetria Nova).
- On Rhetoric (De Arte dicendi).
- On Ethics (De Rebus Ethicls).
But of all his works, the most important and intrinsically valuable is his History of the Third Crusade, under Richard the First of England and Philip Augustus of France. It is the only Chronicle written by an eye-witness, of those furious assaults which the army of Saladin made upon the Christians, and of the firmness with which the lion-hearted Richard withstood and repulsed them. If the reader takes the trouble of comparing Geoffrey's full and interesting account of the Crusade with that of Richard of Devizes, he will
