Biography
We know very little about the life of Geoffrey of Vinsauf. From his Poetria nova we learn that he was at one time in England before going to Rome during the pontificate of Innocent III, to whom the Poetria nova was prepared as a special gift. The traditional account of Geoffrey of Vinsauf provides further details of his biography: he is believed to be born in Normandy, but initially educated at St. Frideswide, Oxford. He is said to have returned to the Continent for further university study, first in Paris and later in Italy. He incurred the displeasure of Bishop Adam, allegedly after a quarrel in Paris with a certain Robert, once his friend, and was forced to appeal to the mercy of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Later, perhaps through the intercession of that prelate, he journeyed back to England to become tutor at Hampton. At a still later date he is said to have been sent on an embassy to Innocent III, and thus to have developed relations with the Holy See. His designation as "Vinsauf", or "de Vino Salvo", is traceable to a treatise attributed to him on the keeping of the vine and other plants (Murphy 29-30).
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