Lives by J. Hanhart (Winterthur, 1824) and J. Simler (Zürich, 1566); see also Lebert's _Gesner als Arzt_ (Zürich, 1854). A part of his unpublished writing, edited by Prof. Schmiedel, was published at Nuremberg in 1753.
GESSNER, SOLOMON (1730-1788), Swiss painter and poet, was born at Zürich on the 1st of April 1730. With the exception of some time (1749-1750) spent in Berlin and Hamburg, where he came under the influence of Ramler and Hagedorn, he passed the whole of his life in his native town, where he carried on the business of a bookseller. He died on the 2nd of March 1788. The first of his writings that attracted attention was his _Lied eines Schweizers an sein bewaffnetes Mädchen_ (1751). Then followed _Daphnis_ (1754), _Idyllen_ (1756 and 1772), _Inkel and Yariko_ (1756), a version of a story borrowed from the _Spectator_ (No. 11, 13th of March 1711) and already worked out by Gellert and Bodmer, and _Der Tod Abels_ (1758), a sort of idyllic pastoral. It is somewhat difficult for us now to understand the reason of Gessner's universal popularity, unless it was the taste of the period for the conventional pastoral. His writings are marked by sweetness and melody, qualities which were warmly appreciated by Lessing, Herder and Goethe. As a painter Gessner represented the conventional classical landscape.
Collected editions of Gessner's works were repeatedly published (2 vols. 1777-1778, finally 2 vols. 1841, both at Zürich). They were translated into French (3 vols., Paris, 1786-1793), and versions of the _Idyllen_ appeared in English, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Bohemian. Gessner's life was written by Hottinger (Zürich, 1796), and by H. Wölfflin (Frauenfeld, 1889); see also his _Briefwechsel mit seinem Sohn_ (Bern and Zürich, 1801).
GESSO, an Italian word (Lat. _gypsum_), for "plaster of Paris" especially when used as a ground for painting, or for modelling or sculpture.
GESTA ROMANORUM, a Latin collection of anecdotes and tales, probably compiled about the end of the 13th century or the beginning of the 14th. It still possesses a twofold literary interest, first as one of the most popular books of the time, and secondly as the source, directly or indirectly, of later literature, in Chaucer, Gower, Shakespeare and others. Of its authorship nothing certain is known; and there is little but gratuitous conjecture to associate it either with the name of Helinandus or with that of Petrus Berchorius (Pierre Bercheure). It is even a matter of debate whether it took its rise in England, Germany or France. The work was evidently intended as a manual for preachers, and was probably written by one who himself belonged to the clerical profession. The name, _Deeds of the Romans_, is only partially appropriate to the collection in its present form, since, besides the titles from Greek and Latin history and legend, it comprises fragments of very various origin, oriental and European. The unifying element of the book is its moral purpose. The style is barbarous, and the narrative ability of the compiler seems to vary with his source; but he has managed to bring together a considerable variety of excellent material. He gives us, for example, the germ of the romance of "Guy of Warwick"; the story of "Darius and his Three Sons," versified by Occleve; part of Chaucer's "Man of Lawes' Tale"; a tale of the emperor Theodosius, the same in its main features as that of Shakespeare's _Lear_; the story of the "Three Black Crows"; the "Hermit and the Angel," well known from Parnell's version, and a story identical with the _Fridolin_ of Schiller. Owing to the loose structure of the book, it was easy for a transcriber to insert any additional story into his own copy, and consequently the MSS. of the _Gesta Romanorum_ exhibit considerable variety. Oesterley recognizes an English group of MSS. (written always in Latin), a German group (sometimes in Latin and sometimes in German), and a group which is represented by the vulgate or common printed text. The earliest editions are supposed to be those of Ketelaer and de Lecompt at Utrecht, of Arnold Ter Hoenen at Cologne, and of Ulrich Zell at Cologne; but the exact date is in all three cases uncertain.