the present by linking it to an illustrious past—became
the fi rst popular genres of Anglo-Norman literature in
England. The increasing demand for literary produc-
tion inspired many writers to become bilingual, and
they borrowed freely from French texts. This trend
continued well into the 15th century, when the court of
Henry IV (reigned 1399–1413) increased its use of
English, which had begun to emerge as a poetic lan-
guage in its own right. On the whole, aristocratic
patronage is credited with having produced much of
the Anglo-Norman poetry that still survives today.
The earliest extant Anglo-Norman poem dates to the
fi rst part of the 12th century, when William’s son
Henry I (reigned 1100–35) was in power. The Voyage
of St. Brendan (ca. 1106) recounts legendary episodes
from the life of St. Brendan and tells of a fantastic voy-
age fi lled with great adventure. The poem was likely
commissioned by Henry’s fi rst wife and composed by a
Benedictine monk. It appears to be the oldest surviving
example of a poem written in rhyming COUPLETs with
eight syllables to a line. This structure is signifi cant
because later romances adopted the same form; the
Anglo-Norman romance Tristan, for example, follows
this format. Tristan (ca. 1170), one of the most famous
romances, was written by Thomas d’Anglettere during
the rule of Henry II (1154–89).
Many 12th-century poets writing in Anglo-Norman
name female patrons. WACE’s famous ROMAN DE BRUT
(1155), which narrates a legendary history of the
founding of Britain, dates to Henry II’s rule, and the
author may have given the work as a gift to Henry’s
queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Women authors, too,
composed notable poetry from this period. The Life of
St. Catherine (ca. 1175), for example, was written by
the nun Clemence of Barking, and MARIE^ DE FRANCE is
famous for her 12 short stories (lais [see LAY]) com-
posed in Anglo-Norman verse. Her lais (ca. 1170) were
so popular that two of them were later translated into
Middle English.
Critics have pointed out that Anglo-Norman occu-
pied a unique linguistic position throughout its life in
England: It was both a cultured language of privilege
and an appropriate medium for women writers, for
whom a romance VERNACULAR was considered more
suitable than the more learned Latin.
The early 13th century saw a dramatic increase in the
production of Anglo-Norman spiritual writings. The
Fourth Lateran Council (1215), which established the
requirement of Christian confession once a year, had a
particularly signifi cant impact. Manuals and treatises—
designed to edify both the laity and the clerics who
would be hearing their confessions—proliferated. It was
not until the later part of the 14th century however, that
the last great achievement of Anglo-Norman poetry
appeared. JOHN GOWER, whose literary career spanned
the rule of three monarchs—Edward III (1327–77),
Richard II (1377–99), and Henry IV (1399–1413)—
addressed the problem of human sin in the Mirour de
l’Omme (ca. 1376–79), which he wrote in octosyllabic
STANZAs of 12 lines each. Mirour was the last signifi cant
work in French verse to be written by an English author.
Though the dialect persisted into the 15th century, after
the rule of Henry IV, it was used almost exclusively as an
administrative language, rather than a poetic one.
FURTHER READING
Calin, William. The French Tradition and the Literature of
Medieval England. Toronto, Buffalo, and London: Univer-
sity of Toronto Press, 1994.
Crane, Susan. “Anglo-Norman Cultures in England.” In The
Cambridge History of Medieval English Literature, edited by
David Wallace. 35–60. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1999.
Legge, M. Dominica. Anglo-Norman Literature & Its Back-
ground. London: Oxford University Press, 1963.
Anne SaloANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE (9th–12th
centuries) Begun by ALFRED THE GREAT in the 890s,
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the history of the
Anglo-Saxon settlement in England. Alfred ordered that
the CHRONICLE be copied and distributed to monasteries
and priories, and that it be updated frequently. Nine
manuscript copies survive. Three provide continued
coverage after the NORMAN CONQUEST, with the last entry
being dated 1154. All nine are composed in Old English,
though one contains translations of the chronicle into
Latin, and one displays evidence of early Middle English.
Each chronicle began as an exact copy of the “original”
but then was updated independently. The result is vary-
ing descriptions of “national” and world events—as wellANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE 25