did convey hither out of Brittany, the which I have in this wise
been at the pains of translating into the Latin speech."

BOOKS TO READ

The Mabinogion, translated by Lady Charlotte Guest.
Everyman's Library. Geoffrey of Monmouth's Histories, translated
by Sebastian Evans.








Chapter VII HOW THE STORY OF ARTHUR WAS WRITTEN IN ENGLISH

GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH had written his stories so well, that
although he warned people not to write about the British kings,
they paid no heed to his warning. Soon many more people began to
write about them, and especially about Arthur.

In 1155 Geoffrey died, and that year a Frenchman, or Jerseyman
rather, named Robert Wace, finished a long poem which he called
Li Romans de Brut or the Romances of Brutus. This poem was
founded upon Geoffrey's history and tells much the same story, to
which Wace has added something of his own. Besides Wace, many
writers told the tale in French. For French, you must remember,
was still the language of the rulers of our land. It is to these