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Panurge's shaggy pal Xenomanes was the expedition's pilot. Prior to the departure, he presented Gargantua with his universal hydrographic chart, on which was plotted the fleet's intended route to the Oracle of the Bottle. Xenomanes had been retined at the suggestion of Panurge, as one who knew the country where the oracle lay.
LeFranc supposes Xenomanes was the nickname of Jean Fontenau, called Jean Alfonse le Saintongeais, who piloted Roberval in 1541, a supposition supported by Pierre Margry, who was the first to occupy himself with the Cosmographie manuscript. This is contested by Sainéan and others, and LeFranc notes that Xenomanes' moniker, "the great voyageur and traverser of perilous ways," resembles that used by Jean Bouchet of Poitiers in his 1541 book, Les triomphes de la noble et amoureuse Dame, et l'Art d'honnestement aimer. Xenomanes' name derives from the Greek, meaning one who has a passion for strange places. |