INTRODUCTION

In 1155, Wace (by then well into his forties or early fifties) completed what is generally considered among literary scholars to be his chef d'oeuvre: the long narrative poem now known under the title of Roman de Brut. Its main claim to fame for most is that it is the first vernacular piece of literature to treat of the character of Arthur, and the first work ever to mention the Round Table; as a result, the account of the reign of Arthur has all too frequently been studied in isolation from the surrounding narrative, thus distorting the way the work was perceived. Contrary to what is sometimes assumed by modern readers, this is not a romance in the current sense of the term: anyone looking here for lovelorn ladies and knights indulging in lengthy self-analysis will be disappointed. In his epilogue (14859), the poet himself refers to the work as ‘la geste des Bretuns’, indicating a historical narrative (or one perceived as such), focussing on the deeds of a specific nation or lineage. The prevailing tone is more epic than courtly; to quote Hans-Erich Keller, ‘Wace continue bien plus la tradition des chansons de geste … qu'il n'est le précurseur de la littérature courtoise.’ The nature of the work is announced in the Prologue (1–8):

The reader or listener is approaching a work of history, based on a pattern of dynastic succession. No specific sources are acknowledged, but the implication is that they are scholarly and authoritative in nature; in particular, the stress on the correct chronological order of rulers evokes the clarity of annalistic accounts. These sources have been adapted (‘translaté’), with truthfulness and accuracy (‘vérité’) as a guiding principle.