Layamons Brut Or Chronicle Of Britain V1: A Poetical Semi-Saxon Paraphrase Of The Brut Of Wace

by Layamon, Frederick Madden (Translator)

"" Layamon's Brut or Chronicle of Britain V1"" is a book that was published in 1847. It is a poetic semi-Saxon paraphrase of the Brut of Wace. The book is a historical account of Britain and its people, written in a poetic style. It is based on the work of Wace, a French poet who wrote a similar account of Britain in the 12th century. Layamon's version is written in semi-Saxon, a form of Old English that was spoken in the 12th century. The book is divided into sections that cover different periods of British history, from the legendary King Arthur to the Norman Conquest. It is a valuable source of information about the early history of Britain and its people, and is an important work of medieval literature.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

500 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 1963

About the author

floruit 13th century

Layamon, English poet, circa 1205 wrote The Brut , the first account of knights of Arthur, king.

Layamon, occasionally notable author of the 12th century and the early 13th century, worked the language to discuss the legends of the Round Table.

Layamon describes a priest, lived at Areley Kings in Worcestershire. He provided numerous later inspiration for Sir Thomas Malory and Jorge Luis Borges and affected medieval history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layamon

Reviews

[Liam Guilar]

Wrong edition, the original three volume EETS edition is a marvel of early medieval scholarship, and given the fact it contains both translation and glossary makes for an easier read. The EETS Brook and Leslie edition sadly never got to the proposed third volume though it did print both Mss in the first two.

One of the first surviving english poems with a named author, written somewhere between 1155 and 1275 give or take. Interstitial in so many ways: not Old English but not Middle either, not OE Alliterative but not French rhyming. Sadly only remembered for having the first English telling of the story of King Arthur (and King Lear), it's so much better than that. Though given his desire to tell the story of Britain from its mythic founding by Trojan survivors to the coming of the Anglo saxons, and his inability to say "twenty years later..." you do have to wade through some fairly tedious repetition to find the good bits.
I doubt many people have read the whole thing and even fewer have gone back and re read it.