Wace

Judith Weiss (University of Cambridge)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.01: French Writing and Culture: Old French to the Middle Ages , 500-1400.
Vol. editors: Marianne Ailes (University of Bristol), Matthew Siôn Lampitt (University of Bristol), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Dates

Born c. 1100
Died c. 1170
Activity c. 1120-c. 1170

Places

Born in France
Active in France; England

Activities

Primary

Historian / Chronicler
Poet

Other

Biographer

Resources

Wace's Works

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Wace was born on the Norman-owned island of Jersey, around 1110 and spelled his name variously as Gace, Gasse or Guace, and never prefixed by the “Robert” supplied by a nineteenth-century critic. At some early stage he was taken to Caen and taught Latin, preparatory to entering the Church; he then studied in the Île de France. He tells us he completed the

Roman de Brut

in 1155; three Bayeux chapter documents, of 1169, 1165-1205 and 1174, refer to him (as ” magister” and “canon”), and he refers in the

Roman de Rou

to the 1174 siege of Rouen. In the

Rou

Young King Henry is always presented as a living person; as he dies in 1183, Wace’s death must have preceded his.

For further information, see our entry on Roman de Brut [A History of the British] which gives full

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151 words

Citation: Weiss, Judith. "Wace". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 March 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4565, accessed 23 November 2024.]