The Parisiana poetria, first published around 1220, expounds the medieval theory of poetry (ars poetica) and summarizes early thirteenth-century thought about writing. While the text draws on predecessors such as the Rhetorica ad Herennium, Horace's Ars poetica, and work by Geoffrey of Vinsauf, its style and content reveal the unique experience of its author, John of Garland, a prominent teacher of the language arts...