If you want to understand why we speak English the way we do, or why the British monarchy obsessed over their Viking roots for centuries, you don't look at a dry textbook. You look at the Roman de Rou. It’s messy. It’s long. It’s written in a dialect of Old French called Norman that sounds like a beautiful car crash between Latin and Norse.
Most people have never heard of it. That's a shame.
Wace, a clerk from Jersey who was writing in the 12th century, didn't just write a history; he wrote a blockbuster. He was commissioned by King Henry II of England to justify why a bunch of French-speaking Vikings (the Normans) had any right to sit on the English throne. The result is the Roman de Rou, a sweeping verse chronicle that starts with the marauding Hrolf Ganger (Rollo) and ends with the bloody fields of Hastings. It’s the ultimate propaganda piece, but it’s also one of the most vivid windows we have into the medieval mind.
The Man Behind the Verse: Who Was Wace?
Wace wasn't a soldier. He was a "clerk-erudite." He spent a huge chunk of his life in Caen, Normandy. He was essentially a professional storyteller with a research budget. Honestly, he was the closest thing the 1100s had to a historical consultant for a prestige TV drama.
He didn't just make things up, though. He was surprisingly picky about his sources. He used the Gesta Normannorum Ducum by William of Jumièges and other Latin chronicles, but he did something radical for the time: he wrote in the vernacular. He wrote for the court, not just the monastery.
There's this specific nuance in Wace’s writing that feels remarkably modern. He frequently pauses the narrative to explain that he’s reporting what he heard, but he can’t personally vouch for it. In an era where most writers just claimed God told them the truth, Wace’s "I wasn't there, so take this with a grain of salt" attitude is refreshing.
He was eventually replaced, though. Henry II grew impatient with how slow Wace was writing. The King pulled his funding and gave the job to a guy named Benoît de Sainte-Maure. You can actually feel the bitterness in the later parts of the Roman de Rou. Wace basically stops mid-sentence, complaining that the King doesn't appreciate his hard work anymore. It’s the medieval version of getting fired from a writing gig and leaving a salty review on Glassdoor.
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Why the Roman de Rou Matters for the Battle of Hastings
If you've ever seen a documentary about 1066, you've seen the Bayeux Tapestry. But the Roman de Rou is the literary equivalent of that tapestry. Wace provides the "audio track" to those famous images.
For example, Wace gives us the story of Taillefer. According to the poem, this minstrel-knight rode out ahead of the Norman army at Hastings, juggling his sword and singing the Song of Roland to taunt the English. It’s a cinematic moment that would be at home in a Ridley Scott movie. Is it 100% true? Probably not. But it tells us how the Normans wanted to be remembered: as cultured warriors who brought art to the battlefield.
Wace also gives us the nitty-gritty of the shield wall. He describes the English "huscarles" hacking away with their massive Danish axes. He describes the "gonfanons" (war flags) snapping in the wind. He captures the sheer, terrifying noise of the conflict.
The Roman de Rou is also where we get the specific detail about Harold Godwinson being hit in the eye with an arrow. While earlier sources are a bit vague about how the last Anglo-Saxon king died, Wace leans into the drama. He understood that for a history to survive, it had to be visceral.
The Linguistic Impact
We can't ignore the language. Wace wrote in a period where "English" was basically a dead language used by peasants, and "French" was the language of power. The Roman de Rou helped solidify the prestige of the Norman dialect.
- It used octosyllabic couplets—a rhythm that feels bouncy and driving.
- It bridged the gap between dry Latin prose and the "chansons de geste" (songs of heroic deeds).
- It introduced a sense of "Roman" (Romance/Novel) to historical writing.
Basically, Wace helped invent the historical novel, even if he didn't realize it at the time.
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The Problem with Wace’s Narrative
We have to talk about the bias. Wace was writing for the Plantagenets. He had a very specific job: make the Duke of Normandy look like a legitimate successor to the Roman Empire.
The title itself, Roman de Rou, refers to Rollo (Rou), the Viking founder of Normandy. By starting there, Wace frames the entire history of England as a natural extension of Norman greatness. He skips over the messy bits of the Anglo-Saxon resistance as much as possible. He paints the English as oath-breakers.
Modern historians, like Elisabeth van Houts, have pointed out that Wace was writing nearly a century after the Battle of Hastings. He was interviewing the grandchildren of the people who were there. Think about that. That’s like someone today writing a definitive history of World War II based on what their grandpa told them when they were five. The details get blurry. The legends get bigger.
But that’s exactly why the Roman de Rou is valuable. It’s not a record of facts; it’s a record of memory. It shows us how the Anglo-Norman elite saw themselves in 1160. They saw themselves as the rightful heirs to a legacy of conquest and law-giving.
The Structure of the Work
The poem is divided into three main parts, plus a prologue. It doesn't follow a perfect chronological flow because Wace kept going back to fix things or add details.
- The Chronique Ascendante: This is a weird, short piece written in reverse chronological order. It starts with Henry II and goes back to Rollo. It’s almost like a family tree in verse.
- The Second Part: This is written in "alexandrines" (12-syllable lines). It covers the early dukes.
- The Third Part: This is the meat of the book. It’s over 11,000 lines of octosyllabic verse. This is where the Battle of Hastings lives.
It’s massive. It’s exhausting. And yet, there are moments of pure poetry. Wace has a way of describing the sea—the "grand mer"—that feels cold and salt-sprayed. He describes the Viking longships with a sense of awe that hadn't faded after two centuries.
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What Most People Get Wrong About Wace
There’s a common misconception that Wace was just a "translator" of Latin texts. That’s a huge oversimplification. Wace was an editor and a curator. He cut out the boring theological debates found in Latin chronicles and replaced them with dialogue. He gave the historical figures voices.
When William the Conqueror speaks in the Roman de Rou, he sounds like a man burdened by fate. He’s not just a name on a page; he’s a character. This was a massive shift in how history was presented to the public.
Another mistake? Thinking the Roman de Rou is his most famous work. Historically, his Roman de Brut was much more popular because it introduced King Arthur and the Round Table to the French-speaking world. But for those interested in real-world power dynamics and the birth of the British identity, the Rou is the far more significant text.
How to Approach the Text Today
You don't just sit down and read 16,000 lines of Old Norman French for fun unless you're a medievalist. But you should look at the translations.
The best way to experience the Roman de Rou is to look at it alongside the Bayeux Tapestry. Read Wace’s description of the Norman fleet crossing the Channel while looking at the images of the horses being loaded onto the ships. The two works complement each other perfectly. One provides the visual, the other provides the soul.
If you’re looking for a scholarly edition, the one by A.J. Holden is the gold standard, though it’s quite dense. For a more accessible version, Glyn Burgess has produced a fantastic English translation that keeps the spirit of the original without being impossible to read.
Actionable Steps for History Buffs
If you want to dive deeper into the world of Wace and the Norman conquest, here is how you should actually do it:
- Compare the death of Harold: Read the account in the Carmen de Hastingae Proelio (a very early poem) and then read Wace’s version in the Roman de Rou. Notice how the story of the arrow in the eye becomes more "official" in Wace’s telling.
- Visit the Channel Islands: Wace was from Jersey. The islands are a unique blend of British and French culture that perfectly mirrors the linguistic world Wace lived in.
- Trace the Etymology: Look up how many words in Wace’s Norman French made it into modern English. Words related to law, war, and nobility often have their roots in the very dialect Wace helped popularize.
- Explore the "Chronicle" Genre: If you enjoy Wace, look into the works of Jean Froissart later in the 14th century. You’ll see how the seeds Wace planted grew into the grand, sweeping chronicles of the Hundred Years' War.
Wace might have lost his job to a rival, and he might have died feeling like a failure, but his words outlasted the kings who paid for them. The Roman de Rou remains the definitive epic of the Norman people—a story of Vikings who became kings and changed the world forever.