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Wace’s Roman de Brut
Wace (c. 1115 – c. 1183), an Anglo-Norman poet, wrote his poem Roman de Brut (c. 1155) based on the work of Geoffrey of Monmouth . Wace, using octosyllabic verse, narrates the founding of Britain, by Brutus of Troy , to the end of the legendary British history created by Geoffrey of Monmouth . Most of what is known about Wace comes from what he wrote in Roman de Rou : I am Wace of the isle of Jersey , which lies in the sea, toward the west, and is a part of the fief of Normandy . In the isle of Jersey I was born, and to Caen I was taken as a little lad; there I was put at the study of letters; afterward I studied long in France [ Paris]. When I came back from France, I dwelt long at Caen. I busied myself with making books in Romance; many of them I wrote and many of them I made. For writing King Henry II (1154-89) the Canon of Bayeux . This puts the work immediately at the heart of European courtly culture; Henry’s power extended over most of France as well as England, and the court and literary language of his kingdom was French. Language: The Wikipedia entry on Wace states: The Anglo-Norman language Wace wrote in is variously regarded as a dialect of the Norman language , a dialect of Old French , or specifically the precursor of Jèrriais . Writers in Jersey have looked on Wace as the founder of Jersey literature, and Jèrriais is sometimes referred to as the language of Wace although the poet himself predated the development of Jèrriais as a literary language. Wace is the earliest known Jersey writer. As the base text for his translation Wace used Geoffrey’s text and a condensed variant. In addition, Wace relied on William of Malmesbury , Henry of Huntingdon and the Estoire des Engleis (late 1130s) of Geffrei Gaimar (Wace’s rival that lost the support of Henry II). He also visited England and added oral traditions to his narrative. Wace is credited as the first to mention the legend of King Arthur 's Round Table , the first to ascribe the name Excalibur to Arthur's sword, and for adding to the folklore surrounding Arthur’s death and removal to Avalon . The Roman de Brut became the basis, in turn, for Layamon 's Brut and the Alliterative Morte Arture. Below are some charts of Wace’s additions and their incorporation in later histories. Where there was significant more legend added by later writers that were not part of the chronicles,, I have inserted links to other places on the web that describe this development in more detail. Exactly what the source for the name of Excaliber is uncertain. All extant previous accounts referred to Arthur’s sword as Caliburn . Neither Layamon or the auther of the Alliterative Morte Arture use the name Excaliber in later chronicles and instead refer to the earlier sources and stick with Caliburn. Here is a chart of Arthur’s equipment before he fights Rollo in single combat. Since the Alliterative Morte Arture is set after this event, it has been excluded from the camparison.
Note that in Alliterative Morte Arthure (ca. 1400), Arthur is said to have two legendary swords, the second one being Clarent, stolen by Mordred. It is from that sword that Arthur receives his fatal blow. Round TableWace is the first writer to connect the Round Table to the Arthur legend. Again his exact source is unknown. But clicking on Round Table will take you to some of the scholarly theories. Here is a comparison of the writings on the Round Table in the chronicles. The Alliterative Morte Arture doesn’t add anything new to the chronicles but does refer to the knights as being of the The Round Table
Wace is credited with introducing the “Hope of the Briton’s”, where Arthur will return healed to lead his people once again. However, Geoffrey does talk about this in his life of Merlin. Here is a comparison of the chroniclers:
Other works by Wace: Roman de Rou - a verse history of the Dukes of Normandy lives of Saint Margaret and Saint Nicholas Geoffrey of Monmouth, History of the Kings of Britain, trans. Thorpe, L., Penguin, 1983, P. 216-7. Geoffrey of Monmouth, The Life of Merlin, translated by Neil Wright, in Myths and Legends of the British Isles, edited by Richard Barber, the Bodyell Press, 1999, King Arthur's Death : the Middle English Stanzaic Morte Arthur and Alliterative Morte Arthure. Ed. Larry Dean Benson. Kalamazoo : Western Michigan U, 1994. Wace and Layamon ARTHURIAN CHRONICLES, trans, Mason, E., Dent, 1962 (1912). Webliography: Primary Source: “Arthurian Chronicles: Roman de Brut by Wace.” Project Gutenberg. Trans. Eugene Mason. 12 Jan 2003. 28 October 2005 http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/10472 Other Sources: "Wace." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 14 October 2005. 28 Oct. 2005 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wace Good source of information although occasionally erroneous. Note: I have hyperlinked information on other topics from this website for convenience. "King Arthur." Britannia. 2005. 28 Oct. 2005 http://www.britannia.com/history/h12.html Good source for items related to Arthur but designed to promote tourism "Roman de Brut [A History of the British]." The Literary Encyclopedia. 30 Mar. 2001. The Literary Dictionary Company. 28 October 2005. http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2345 A very detailed entry on Wace’s background and comparison with Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History and beyond . 10 June 2000. 27 Oct. 2005 http://www.geocities.com/dagonet_uk/index.htm . This site compares presentations
of Arthur’s equipment, the grail,
sex, round table, through early sources
along with Geoffrey, Wace, and Layamon |