ROMAN DE BRUT (GESTE DES BRET-
ONS) WACE (1155) This poem by the ANGLO-NOR-
MAN poet WACE consists of 14,866 lines in rhymed
octosyllabic COUPLETs written in VERNACULAR French.
Probably begun in 1150, it was completed in 1155,
when it was dedicated to Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122–
1204). It is also sometimes known by the alternative
title, Geste des Bretons (Song of the Britons), and as its
author’s most popular work, it survives in 22 manu-
scripts. Most likely its intended audience was an
Anglo-Norman one, curious about the history and
legends of the British territories. The Roman de Brut
itself is largely an adaptation of the Historia Regum
Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain) of Geoffrey
of Monmouth (1135–38), and in it, Wace gives par-
ticular emphasis to the ARTHURIAN LITERATURE derived
from Geoffrey’s prose narrative. As Wace was a schol-
arly and unusually critical poet, his decision to
amplify his source’s recounting of King ARTHUR’s leg-
endary court contributed signifi cantly to the develop-
ment of the matière de Bretagne, or “matters of Britain,”
as a subject for poetry in succeeding generations of
authors and ROMANCEs. Wace’s compositional mode
of detailed matter-of-factness also proved to be infl u-
ential. The Roman de Brut is also signifi cant in the
development of the Arthurian legends. It contains the
fi rst mention of Arthur’s Round Table and is the fi rst
source to name Arthur’s sword Excalibur. Apart from
its role in introducing Arthur to French vernacular
literature, the poem’s other important contribution is
to credit Arthur and his court with a highly devel-
oped code of CHIVALRY. Wace describes the splendor
and refi nement of Arthur’s realm, likening him to
Charlemagne, who presided over a golden age in Brit-
ish history.
The Roman de Brut begins with the founding of
Britain by the Trojan warrior Brutus, a companion of
the Trojan hero Aeneas. The story then follows the
chronology of factual and legendary circumstances of
British history, and for the most part Wace adheres to
the chain of events sketched by his predecessors. He
also recalls the lives of both mythical and historical
fi gures such as the following: Corineus (companion
of Brutus and founder of Cornwall), “Old King Cole”
(Coel Hen, a Welsh king who ruled during the Roman
withdrawal, ca. 350–420 C.E.), Cymbeline (king of
Britain, thought to have reigned during the fi rst cen-
tury C.E.), Leir (a pre-Christian warrior king who
became WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’s “Lear”), Cassibelanus
(or Cassivellaunus, historical king of the Britons who
led the defense against Julius Caesar’s second inva-
sion in 54 B.C.E.), Caradocus (titular king of the Brit-
ons in the absence of Emperor Magnus Maximus,
who had left to campaign in Gaul), Aurelius Ambro-
sius (victorious war leader against the Saxons and
supposed builder of Stonehenge and uncle of King
Arthur), Uther Pendragon (supposed father of King
Arthur), and Cadwallader (last Welsh king to wear
the crown of Britain and the leader of the Celtic resis-
tance against the Saxons). In each portrait, Wace
imbues the story with a sense of vitality and drama.
For example, in Corineus’s story, beyond describing
the legendary founding of Cornwall, Wace gives spe-
cial attention to a fatal wrestling match between
Corineus and the giant Gogmagog. Similarly, in
almost every case where Wace differs signifi cantly
from his sources, he does so either to dwell on details
capable of contributing to the emotional intensity of
his tale or to dwell on those in which he evidently
took a special interest. Among the latter are such
details as the derivation of place-names, the descrip-
tion of nautical practices, and all manner of entertain-
ment, especially music.
More important, however, it was Wace’s skill in
interpreting the meaning of events as rooted deeply in
their human participants that gives his writing its spe-
cial quality. For instance, early in the poem he reminds
the audience that Julius Caesar’s invasion of Britain
succeeded because of a dispute between Cassibelanus
and his nephews. Later, Wace’s exploration of the
complex motives and responses of those characters
inhabiting King Arthur’s Britain is particularly seen.
Far more than in Geoffrey’s recounting of Arthur’s
downfall, Wace locates the source of decay in Arthur’s
idealized world within the moral turpitude of Arthur’s
nephew Mordred and his corruption of Guinevere.
Apart from its many other innovations, it was this
capacity to infuse the deeds of these fi gures with plau-
sible motives that earned Wace’s Roman de Brut a place
as a transitional text between the fragmentary retellings348 ROMAN DE BRUT