Wace

Who is Wace?

Wace, sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a medieval poet and chronicler traditionally identified as having been born on the island of Jersey in the early twelfth century, a claim he himself makes in his own writing before describing being taken as a child to be educated at Caen in Normandy. Writing in Anglo-Norman French, he became one of the most important literary figures of the Anglo-Norman world, producing two major verse chronicles: the Roman de Brut (around 1155), an account of the legendary kings of Britain that contains the earliest known reference to the Round Table of King Arthur, and the Roman de Rou (begun around 1160), a history of the Dukes of Normandy commissioned by King Henry II of England. He also held a canonry at Bayeux Cathedral, granted to him by Henry II. His works blended history, legend, and courtly storytelling and were highly influential on later medieval literature across England and France, including subsequent Arthurian romance traditions. Little else is known with certainty of his life, and his exact birth and death dates remain approximate, but his surviving chronicles are treated as major primary sources for both Anglo-Norman literary history and popular medieval Arthurian legend.

Sources: Wace, Roman de Rou (ed. Glyn S. Burgess, 2002) · Wace, Roman de Brut (ed. Judith Weiss, 1999) · Société Jersiaise, Jersey literary heritage records