embellishments, and hydraulic automata were almost in-
variably added to fountains in the most fashionable gar-
dens, first in Italy, as at the Villa d’Este (admired by
Montaigne in the 1580s), and later in France, Germany,
and England. Hero of Alexandria’s Pneumatica (first
printed in Latin in 1575 and in Italian in 1589) was a
source book for these toys, often of the kind known in
Italy as giochi d’acqua (water games). They could be acti-
vated remotely, and a favorite trick was to soak the unwary
visitor who came within range. The ingenuity of these
and similar devices was greatly admired and commented
upon by contemporary garden visitors. One of the best-
documented of the later Renaissance gardens, the Hortus
Palatinus at Heidelberg Castle, Germany, contrived
(1615–19) by Salomon de CAUSfor Princess Elizabeth, the
English bride of Elector Palatine Frederick V (see WINTER
KING), made extensive use of both grottoes and automata;
there is a bird’s-eye view of this complex garden in de
Caus’s Hortus Palatinus (1620).
Gardens of this kind may be said to demonstrate
man’s control of nature rather than the luxuriance of the
plant world. In France, Charles Estienne’s Praedium rus-
ticum (1554) and its French version, La Maison rustique
(1564), gave more encouragement to the enjoyment of
plants arranged in parterres. However, the Italian influ-
ence, filtered through the work of such architects as
Philibert DELORMEand Jacques Androuet DUCERCEAU, per-
sisted in the grandest gardens, like those of the Château
d’Anet.
Around 1600 florilegia, or flower books, often records
of the contents of particular gardens, show greater interest
in the cultivation of an increasing variety of plants. Some
were new introductions, such as the tulips brought from
Turkey to western Europe in the mid-16th century. Pierre
Vallet’s Le Jardin du Roy très Chrestien Henry IV (1608) il-
lustrates fritillaries, tulips, hyacinths, crocuses, narcissi,
and lilies, among many other plants, including a selection
of roses, and Basil Besler’s Hortus Eystettensis (1613) pre-
sents a catalogue of a princely German garden in an ap-
propriately lavish format, for systematic collections of
plants were not confined to academic BOTANIC GARDENS.
Further reading: Terry Comito, The Idea of the Garden
in the Renaissance (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers Univer-
sity Press, 1978; Hassocks, U.K.,: Harvester Press, 1979);
Claudia Lazzaro, The Italian Renaissance Garden (New
Haven, Conn. and London: Yale University Press, 1990);
Roy Strong, The Renaissance Garden in England (London:
Thames & Hudson, 1979).
Gardiner, Stephen (c. 1490–1555) English churchman
Through his mother Gardiner was a second cousin of
HENRY VIII. At Cambridge he was made doctor of both
canon and civil law and master of Trinity Hall from 1525.
He was tutor to a son of the duke of Norfolk, and in 1526
became secretary to Cardinal Wolsey, whom he accompa-
nied to France. In 1528 he went as ambassador to the
pope and was active in the attempt to obtain from the uni-
versities of Europe opinions favorable to the king’s divorce
from Catherine of Aragon. In 1531 he was appointed
bishop of Winchester. Gardiner supported the breach with
Rome, but opposed the further reforms planned by
CROMWELLand CRANMER. After the accession of Edward
VI, he was imprisoned (1548) and deprived (1551). He
was restored to his bishopric by Mary I and was also cre-
ated lord chancellor, in which roles he played an impor-
tant part in the Catholic reaction.Gargantua and Pantagruel A cycle of four (or five)
satirical novels by François RABELAIS, inspired by the suc-
cessful chapbook Les Grandes et Inestimables Chroniques
du grand et énorme géant Gargantua (1532). La Vie es-
timable du grand Gargantua, père de Pantagruel, chronolog-
ically the first novel of the series, was published in 1534,
two years after Les Horribles et Épouvantables Faits et
prouesses du très renommé Pantagruel (1532); Le Tiers Livre
des faits et dits héroïques du noble Pantagruel and Le Quart
Livre de Pantagruel appeared in 1546 and 1552. (The
Cinquième Livre (1564), which continues the story of Pan-
tagruel in the style of Rabelais, is of doubtful authenticity.)
Gargantua deals with the birth and childhood of the giant
Gargantua, son of Grandgousier; his education in Paris
(an opportunity for a satirical attack on the Sorbonne);
the war between Gargantua and King Picrochole; and the
foundation of the abbey of Thélème, the motto of which is
“Fay ce que vouldras” (“Do what you will”). Pantagruel
tells the story of Gargantua’s son, a giant of enormous
strength and appetite, his friendship with the cunning
rogue Panurge, and his conquest of the kingdom of the
Dipsodes. Both novels are written in mock-heroic style
and reveal the extent of Rabelais’s learning in the fields of
medicine, theology, and law. They satirize a variety of in-
stitutions, notably the Church: the intensification of these
attacks in the Tiers Livre and Quart Livre led to their con-
demnation by the Sorbonne.
The first part of Thomas Urquhart’s vigorous but free
English translation, apparently the first to be published in
Britain, appeared in 1653. This version was completed by
Peter Motteux (1708) after Urquhart’s death, and although
Motteux fails to capture the spirit of either Rabelais or
Urquhart this Urquhart–Motteux version was several
times reprinted in the 18th and 19th centuries; C. Whib-
ley edited it for the Tudor Translations series (3 vols,
1900). J. M. Cohen’s version for the Penguin Classics se-
ries (Harmondsworth, U.K.,1955) has often been reprinted;
another popular modern translation is that by Burton Raf-
fel for Norton Critical Editions (New York, 1991).Garnier, Robert (c. 1544–1590) French tragic dramatist
Garnier was born at La Ferté-Bernard and studied law at
Toulouse, where he won prizes for his poetry at the annual220044 GGaarrddiinneerr,, SStteepphheenn