Of arguably greater importance are the works which constitute Anglo-Norman historiography. The first Anglo-Norman historiographer,
Geoffrey Gaimar, wrote his
Estoire des Engleis (between 1147 and 1151) for Dame Constance, wife of Ralph FitzGilbert (
The Anglo-Norman Metrical Chronicle, Hardy and Martin, i. ii., London, 1888). This history comprised a first part (now lost), which was merely a translation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's
Historia Regum Britanniae, preceded by a history of the Trojan War, and a second part which proceeds as far as the death of
William Rufus. For this second part, he consulted historical documents, but stopped at the year 1087, when first-hand information was more readily available. Similarly, Wace in his
Roman de Rou (ed. Anthony Holden, Paris, 1970–1973), written 1160–1174, stops at the
battle of Tinchebray in 1106. His
Brut or
Geste des Bretons (Le Roux de Lincy, 1836–1838, 2 vols.), written in 1155, is a translation of Geoffrey of Monmouth. :"Wace," says Gaston Paris, speaking of the
Roman de Rou, "traduit en les abrégeant des historiens latins que nous possédons; mais çà et là il ajoute soit des contes populaires, par exemple sur Richard 1er, sur Robert 1er, soit des particularités qu'il savait par tradition (sur ce même Robert le magnifique, sur l'expédition de Guillaume, &c.) et qui donnent à son oeuvre un réel intérêt historique. Sa langue est excellente; son style clair, serré, simple, d'ordinaire assez monotone, vous plaît par sa saveur archaïque et quelquefois par une certaine grâce et une certaine malice". The
History of the Dukes of Normandy by Benoît de Sainte-More is based on the work of Wace. It was composed at the request of Henry II in approximately 1170, recording events up to 1135 (ed. by Francisque Michel, 1836–1844,
Collection de documents inédits, 3 vols.). Its 43,000 lines are the work of a
romancier courtois, who takes pleasure in recounting love-adventures such as those he has described in his romance of Troy, rather than serious historiography. Other works, however, give more trustworthy information. For example, the anonymous poem on Henry II's
Conquest of Ireland in 1172 (ed. Francisque Michel, London, 1837), together with the
Expugnatio Hibernica of
Gerald of Wales, constitutes the chief authority on this subject. The
Conquest of Ireland was republished in 1892 by
Goddard Henry Orpen, under the title of
The Song of Dermot and the Earl (Oxford, Clarendon Press). Similarly,
Jourdain Fantosme, who was in the north of England in 1174, wrote an account of the wars between Henry II, his sons, William the Lion of Scotland and Louis VII, in 1173 and 1174 (
Chronicle of the reigns of Stephen ... III., ed. by Joseph Stevenson and Fr. Michel, London, 1886, pp. 202–307). Of more historical value is
The History of William the Marshal, Count of Striguil and Pembroke, regent of England from 1216–1219, which was found and subsequently edited by Paul Meyer (''Société de l'histoire de France,'' 3 vols., 1891–1901). It was composed in 1225 or 1226 by a professional poet of talent at the request of William, son of the marshal. It was compiled from the notes of the marshal's squire, John d'Early (d. 1230 or 1231), who shared all the vicissitudes of his master's life and was one of the executors of his will. This work is of great value for the history of the period 1186–1219, as the information furnished by John d'Early is either personal or obtained at first hand. In the part which deals with the period before 1186 there are various mistakes, due to the author's ignorance of contemporary history, but this does not detract significantly from the literary value of the work. The style is concise, the anecdotes are well told, the descriptions short and picturesque; the whole constitutes one of the most living pictures of medieval society. Other less-valued works are the
Chronique of
Peter of Langtoft, written between 1311 and 1320, and mainly of interest for the period 1294–1307 (ed. by T. Wright, London, 1866–1868); the
Chronique of
Nicholas Trevet (1258?–1328?), dedicated to Princess Mary, daughter of Edward I. (Duffus Hardy,
Descr. Catal. III., 349-350); the
Scala Chronica compiled by
Thomas Gray of Heaton (†
c. 1369), which carries up to the year 1362-1363 (ed. by J. Stevenson, Maitland Club, Edinburgh, 1836); the
Black Prince, a poem by the poet
Chandos Herald, composed about 1386, and relating the life of the
Black Prince from 1346-1376 (re-edited by Francisque Michel, London and Paris, 1883); and, lastly, the different versions of the
Brutes, the form and historical importance of which have been indicated by Paul Meyer (
Bulletin de la Société des anciens textes français, 1878, pp. 104–145), and by F. W. D. Brie (
Geschichte und Quellen der mittelenglischen Prosachronik, The Brute of England or The Chronicles of England, Marburg, 1905).
The Crusade and Death of Richard I is a mid-13th-century prose chronicle by an anonymous author. It tells of the journey of King
Richard the Lionheart to the Holy Land on the
Third Crusade from 1190 to 1191. The chronicle details the trip through France, Sicily, and Cyprus, as well as the siege and capture of Acre, Richard's capture in Austria on the return trip, and his eventual return to England. Later it describes his campaigns against
Philip II of France in Normandy, and his death at Châlus in 1199. It is based on the writings by
Roger of Howden,
Roger of Wendover and
Matthew Paris. On ancient history is the translation of Eutropius and Dares by
Geoffrey of Waterford (13th century), who also wrote the
Secret des Secrets, a translation from a work wrongly attributed to
Aristotle, which belongs to the next division (
Rom. xxiii. 314). == Didactic literature ==