Roman de Brut

Roman de Brut

Roman de Brut (Romance of Brutus) or Geste des Bretons (Deeds of the Britons) by Robert Wace of Jersey Overview, Authorship, and Sources Robert Wace of Jersey wrote this poem by AD 1155.  Sometimes known as Brut, Charles Foulon calls it an inexact and expanded translation in Norman-French verse of Historia Regum Britanniæ.  Gillette Labory … Read more

Vita Sancti Kentigerni (Life of Saint Kentigern)

Saint Kentigern

Vita Sancti Kentigerni (Life of Saint Kentigern) by Jocelyn(e) (Jocelin), a monk of Furness Authorship Jocelyn  (Jocelyne, Jocelin) of Furness wrote Vita Sancti Kentigerni for Jocelyn (Jocelin), Bishop of Glasgow (and Abbot of Melrose) sometime between AD 1175 and 1214 (Lindsay McArthur Irvin claims AD 1185).  Being a monastic English Cistercian monk of Furness Abbey … Read more

Historia Anglorum

Historia Anglorum

Historia Anglorum (History of Angles, or History of England, or History of English People) by Henry of Huntingdon Preface and Provenance “To Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln” As the pursuit of learning in all its branches affords, it is my considered opinion that the sweetest earthly mitigation of trouble and consolation in grief is to be … Read more

Gesta Regum Anglorum

Gesta Regum Anglorum

Gesta Regum Anglorum, or De Gestis Regum Anglorum (On) Deeds of Kings of England/(the English), or (The) Chronicle(s)/History of Kings of England by  William of Malmesbury Authorship and Content of Gesta This work is an early 12th Century (AD 1125) history of the Kings of England by an Anglo-Norman cleric, William of Malmesbury (born c … Read more

The Lay of the Honeysuckle (Chevrefoil)

lay of the honeysuckle

The Lai’s Subject and Sources Chevrefoil is a Breton lai by the mediæval poet Marie de France.  A lai is a mediæval type of short tale in French literature that is usually in octosyllabic (eight-syllable) verse, often connected with King Arthur or the Round Table.  Typically, Chevrefoil is the eleventh poem in the collection called … Read more