The history of the Norman people : Wace's Roman de Rou
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The history of the Norman people : Wace's Roman de Rou
Boydell Press, 2004
- : pbk
- Other Title
-
Roman de Rou
- Uniform Title
-
Roman de Rou
Available at 6 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [233]-241) and indexes
HTTP:URL=http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip048/2003018403.html Information=Table of contents
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Wace's Roman de Rou relates the history of the Normans from Rollo (Rou) to the battle of Tinchebray, establishing their right to the English throne.
Wace's Roman de Rou relates the origins of Normandy from the time of Rollo (Rou) to the battle of Tinchebray. It was commissioned by Henry II as a way of both celebrating the Norman past and justifying the right of Norman rulers to the throne of England: the accounts it gives of the early life of William the Conqueror and of the battle of Hastings, which occupy a substantial portion of the work, make it a valuable historical document as well as an important work of literature. Wace related the events partly in Alexandrines and partly in the octosyllabic rhyming couplets used by the romance writers of the day; indeed, at a time when the boundary between romance and history was blurred, he created a cast of characters and recounted a series of battles and adventures in a style worthy of any of the great masters of romance. He was also exceptionally good, like other contemporary romance writers, at realistic conversations, such as those between King Harold and his brother Gyrth before the battle of Hastings. As a historian, Wace was dedicated to the truth and willing to undertake personal research in order to verify the accuracyof his statements. As a storyteller, he had the ability to render events more dramatic by showing how they arose from the interplay of human beings.
The translation, by GLYN S. BURGESS, is accompanied by full editorial notes(in collaboration with Elisabeth van Houts) and an introduction; the volume is completed by a critical essay by Professor van Houts.
GLYN S. BURGESS is Emeritus Professor of the University of Liverpool; ELISABETH VAN HOUTS lectures in medieval history, University of Cambridge.
by "Nielsen BookData"