Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

An examination of courtly and Arthurian vernacular narrative in post-Conquest England can start with the Roman de Brut of Wace. There is courtliness in historical narrative before Wace – in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae and in Gaimar's English history – but it is in Wace's translation of Geoffrey that the reign of Arthur becomes accessible to a later generation of romance writers ( Weiss 1999 ). The influence of Wace on Chrétien and thence on French romance is well-charted, and the presence of the Brut in both the vernaculars of England is ubiquitous throughout the medieval period. But Wace is not only a starting point and influence on courtly Arthurian writing, he is also a courtly poet of considerable achievement and one who exemplifies many of the traits characteristic of courtly writing. He is a clerical writer, he is writing for a known courtly environment, he is a stylistic innovator with a strong authorial presence. And he creates a strong sense of the courtly, as is evident in three passages that we will examine here: Les tecches Arthur vus dirrai, Neient ne vus en mentirai; Chevaliers fu mult vertuus, Mult fu preisanz, mult glorius; Cuntre orguillus fu orguillus E cuntre humles dulz e pitus; Forz e hardiz e conqueranz, Large dunere e despendanz; E se busuinnus le requist, S'aider li pout, ne l'escundist. Mult ama preis, mult ama gloire, ... log in or subscribe to read full text