author
Wace
A 12th-century Norman poet from Jersey, he helped shape how medieval readers imagined Britain and Normandy. His lively verse retellings spread stories of King Arthur and the Norman dukes to a wide audience.
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About the author
Born in Jersey around 1100 and raised in Normandy, Wace wrote in the Anglo-Norman vernacular at a time when history, legend, and poetry often blended together. He was educated in Caen and Paris, and later became a canon of Bayeux.
He is best known for two major verse chronicles: the Roman de Brut, completed in 1155, and the Roman de Rou, written later in the 12th century. The Brut, based on Geoffrey of Monmouth's history, helped popularize Arthurian material in French and is often noted for one of the earliest mentions of the Round Table.
Wace's writing is remembered for making grand historical material feel vivid and readable. Even centuries later, he remains an important figure in medieval literature for the way he carried stories from Latin chronicles into the language of everyday courtly audiences.