Roman de Brut

work by Wace

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July 13, 2026

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The Roman de Brut is a verse chronicle written in 1155 by the Anglo-Norman author Wace. It is a romanticized paraphrase of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia regum Britanniae, detailing the history of Britain from its legendary founding by Brutus the Trojan. Wace's work significantly popularized the Arthurian legends, including the story of King Arthur's Round Table. The Roman de Brut was written in octosyllabic verse and influenced later verse romances, with notable imitations such as Lawamon's English poem Brut.123

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Wace
…of two verse chronicles, the Roman de Brut (1155) and the Roman de Rou (1160–74), named respectively after the reputed founders of the Britons and Normans.
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…of two verse chronicles, the Roman de Brut (1155) and the Roman de Rou (1160–74), named respectively after the reputed founders of the Britons and Normans.
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Brut
The Roman de Brut (1155) by the Anglo-Norman author Wace was one such chronicle. Perhaps the outstanding adaptation of the story is Layamon’s Brut (c. 1200), written in Middle English; it lent a distinctly Germanic and heroic flavour to the story and signaled the revival of…
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The Roman de Brut (1155) by the Anglo-Norman author Wace was one such chronicle. Perhaps the outstanding adaptation of the story is Layamon’s Brut (c. 1200), written in Middle English; it lent a distinctly Germanic and heroic flavour to the story and signaled the revival of…
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Round Table
…mentioned in Wace of Jersey’s Roman de Brut (1155). This told of King Arthur’s having a round table made so that none of his barons, when seated at it, could claim precedence over the others. The literary importance of the Round Table, especially in romances of the 13th century and…
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…mentioned in Wace of Jersey’s Roman de Brut (1155). This told of King Arthur’s having a round table made so that none of his barons, when seated at it, could claim precedence over the others. The literary importance of the Round Table, especially in romances of the 13th century and…
Read More