Glyn Hnutu-healh

The Madness of Tristan was one popular version of the Tristan and Isold legend, written in France. Learn more!

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

Y Gododdin is an ancient Welsh poem that depicts the last days of a heroic group of warriors. It is notable for being the first mention of one, Arthur.

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

Overview Even though skepticism has been voiced about this work’s true authorship, Vita Merlini is now generally accepted to have been written by Geoffrey of Monmouth.  This Vita gives us the tale of Merlin’s insanity, his existence as a madman of the forest, and his prophecies and conversations with his sister, Ganieda, and with the … Read more

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, 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 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

Here begins the Life of Illtud, Abbot. The Beginnings of Illtud and his Kinship to Arthur According to Vita Sancti Iltuti, written anonymously in the late Eleventh Century AD (or c 1140, or in the 1190s), Illtud was the son of “Bicanus”, a “British prince” (§1 – section one of this Vita), and a “cousin” … Read more

The Chronology of Vita Sancti Gildae To understand the significance and influence of Vita Sancti Gildae, one must examine the evidence for the year of Gildas’ birth, the date of the Battle of Badon Hill (supposedly the same year as the birth of Gildas), and the date of the writing of De Excidio et Conquestu … Read more