Medieval Academy of America

Wace's Roman De Brut and the Variant Version of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum
Britanniae
Author(s): Robert A. Caldwell
Source: Speculum, Vol. 31, No. 4 (Oct., 1956), pp. 675-682
Published by: Medieval Academy of America
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 WACE'S ROMAN DE BRUT AND THE VARIANT
VERSION OF GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH'S
HISTORIA REGUM BRITANNIAE
BY ROBERT A. CALDWELL

ALTHOUGH it is true,as Jean Frappier pointed out in his reviewin Romania,'

that the VariantVersionof Geoffrey of Monmouth'sHistoriaRegumBritanniae
publishedby Jacob Hammer2does not differin any fundamentalway fromthe
Vulgatetextas the latterwas editedby Griscomand Faral,3the Variantis of an
earlierdate than seemsto have been suspected,and it has an importanceforour
knowledgeof the influenceof Geoffrey's workthathas not yetbeen pointedout.
Hammerdid not discussthe date of the Variant,but he consistently referredto
it as the recension,and it is not readingtoo muchbetweenhis linesto inferthat
he thoughtit to be a considerablylater recension,as did Parry.4My purposein
this paper is to show that the Variant,togetherwiththe Vulgate,was used by
XVacein his Romande Brut,and that it must,therefore, have been in circulation
in Geoffrey's lifetime.'For convenience,I shall considerfirstthe passages that
Hammercited to illustratethe differences betweenthe Variantand the Vulgate;
second, some of the additions which Margaret Houck6 concluded that Wace
made; third,some of the resultsof my own comparisonof the Variant,Wace's
Brut, and the Vulgate.7
I LxxIv (1953), 126.
2 HistoriaRegumBritanniae,a VariantVersionEditedfromManuscripts,The Mediaeval Academy
of America,PublicationNo. 57 (Cambridge,Massachusetts,1951).
The substanceofthispaper was presentedto the FourthArthurianCongress,at Rennes,20 August
1954.
8 The Historia RegumBritanniwof Geoffrey of Monmouth,ed. Acton Griscom (London, 1929);
Edmond Faral, La LggendeArthurienne: Etudes et Documents,III, Documents,in Bibliothetque de
l'1cole des Hautes Etudes... SciencesHistoriquesetPhilologiques,fasc.257 (Paris, 1929), pp. 71-303.
4 Hammer, Variant,pp. 17 ff.;John J. Parry, "A Variant Version of Geoffrey of Monmouth's
Historia,"A MiscellanyofStudiesin RomanceLanguages& Literatures Presentedto Leon E. Kastner,
edd. Mary Williamsand JamesA. de Rothschild(Cambridge,1932), p. 368.
5 Wace tells us (Le Romande Brut,ed. Ivor Arnold,Societe des AnciensTextes Frangais,2 vols.
[Paris, 1938-40],vv. 14865-66), that he completedthe Brut in 1155, whichseems to have been the
year of Geoffrey'sdeath (J. S. P. Tatlock, The LegendaryHistoryof Britain [Berkeleyand Los
Angeles,1950],p. 443; JohnEdward Lloyd,"Geoffreyof Monmouth,"EHR, LVII [1942], 466). The
documentTatlock cites, p. 443, n. 29, fromRymer's Foedora in evidence that Geoffrey"was at
Westminster in Dec., 1153" is the charterissuedto his baronsby Stephenat Westminster confirming
thesuccessionto HenryofAnjou. It is printedin HistoricalManuscriptsCommission:Twelfth Report,
Appendix,Part ix (Lonldon, 1891), pp. 119-121,froma manuscriptsaid to be olderand morecorrect
thanthatused by 13ymer(p. 116), and is nowmosteasilyavailable, in translation,in EnglishHi.stori-
cal Documents,1042-1189,ed. David C. Douglas and GeorgeW. Greenaway,Vol. ii of EnglishHis-
toricalDocuments, ed. David C. Douglas (New York, 1953), pp. 404-407.
6 SourcesoftheRomande Brutof Wace,Universityof CaliforniaPublicationsin English,V, No. 2
(Berkeleyand Los Angeles,1941), pp. 161-356.
7 Citation, normallyincluded parentheticallyin the text, is by book and line numberfor the
Variant,page forthe Vulgate as edited by Griscom,and verse forthe Roman de Brut.
It shouldbe said at the outsetthat the Variantdoes not accountany moresatisfactorily than does

675

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676 Monmouth'sHistoria Regum Britanniae

Hammer,"by way of sampling,"gave fourexamplesof "additionalmaterial"

containedin the Variantbut "not foundin any othermanuscriptof Geoffrey"
(pp. 8-9). First,to thestatementthatAscaniusfoundedAlba Longa, the Variant
adds theinformation thathe carriedthehouseholdgods ofhis fatherfromLavin-
iumto Alba Longa, whencetheyreturnedto Lavinium (1.62); Wace also has this
incident(vv. 97-104).8Second,the Variantadds to theaccountof King Belinus's
buildingof highways,"Erat enim terra lutosa et aquosa, utpote insula intra
mare sita, nec ante Dumwallonem, patrem Belini, exstiteratquisquam, qui
viarumaut pontiumcuramhaberetin toto regno" (3.76-78 and textualnotes);
this,withits mentionof bridges,clearlylies back of Wace's
Les contreesavirona;
Vitles mores,vitlesboschages,
Vitles eues,vitlespassages,
Que l'onne poeitprodpasser
Ne de citeda altrealer.
Par vals,parmorese parmonz
Fistfairechaucieese ponz;
Bonsponzfistfairee chemins hauz (vv. 2604-11).
Third, "All the manuscriptsof the Historiacontainthe detail that the Roman
consuls,Gabius and Porsenna,promisedthe Romans, besiegedby Belinus and
Brennius,that theywould come to theirassistancenext day. The Variant Ver-
sion,however,adds that the two consulshad set out 'ut congregarentexercitum
de Apulia et Italia'" (Hammer,p. 9; cf. 3.175-76),a detaillikewisein Wace, who
says of "Gabio e Porsenna' thatthey"esteient. .. / Ale quere par Lombardie/
E par Puille forcee aYe" (vv. 3070-72). And fourth,the Variant adds a brief
descriptionof Ireland (3.220-23),9which Wace develops in verses 3315-20, to
the storyof how Gurguintsent the Basclensesthereto settle.
To turnto the details discussedby Houck, Wace tells us, forexample,that
Turnus was "sire e dux" of Tuscany (v. 52), that Ascanius reared his half-
brotherSilvius Postumus (v. 82), that the motherof Ascanius was Creusa,
daughterto King Priam ofTroy (vv. 84-85), that Laviniumwas builtby Aeneas
and named afterLavinia (vv. 70-72), that Ascanius built Alba Longa and left
Lavinium to his step-mother (vv. 91-96), that the translatedhouseholdgods re-
turnedfromAlba Longa to Lavinium (vv. 97-104),10and that Ascanius ruled
forthirty-four years (v. 105). All these details,she attributesto Wace's use of

the Vulgateforthe summaryHenry of Huntingdonsent his friendWarinus,nor does it explainthe

most tantalizingofWace's additions,the foundingofthe Round Table (vv. 9747-52) and the "mer-
veilles ... / E les aventures... / Ki d'Artursunt tant recuntees/ Ke a fable sunt aturnees"
(vv. 9789-92). It does nothave Wace's fullstoryofGormundand Isembert,norhis detailedaccount
of the missionof St Augustine.Maurice Delbouille's explanationof the Arthurianadditionsin "Le
Temoignagede Wace sur la Legende Arthurienne,"Romania, LXXIV (1953), 172-199, is not satis-
factory,if only because it does not account forthe suggestedsources; and see William A. Nitze,
"Erec and the Joyof the Court," SPECULUM, XXIX (1954), 691, n. 3.
8 As Houck noted,p. 188.
9 Cf. Vulgate,p. 293.
10A pointalso notedby Hammer,pp. 8-9, as peculiarto the Variant,and mentionedabove.

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 Monmouth'sHistoriaRegum Britanniae 677

theHistoriaRomanaof LandolfusSagax," but theyare also all foundin, or sug-

gested by the Variant (1.53-65), which agrees exactly with Wace in having
Ascaniusruleforthirty-four years insteadof Landolfus'sthirty-eight.'2
Wace and the Variant agree in identifying the countrywhere Brutus met
Corineus,the giantkiller,as Spain; the Vulgate does not name it (v. 772; 1.293;
p. 241). Accordingto Wace, themoonrevealedto theRomans thehelms,saddles,
and shieldsof Belinus's men lyingin ambush (vv. 3001-07). None of this is in
the Vulgate (p. 288), whichhas the encountertake place by day. The Variant
says that Belinus forbadeall noise and that the moon revealedthe arms of his
men to the Romans (3.158-60). Wace gives an elaborate summaryof Caesar's
continentalconquests and of his reasons for invading Britain (vv. 3827 if.),
whichneitherthe Variant(4.1-4) northe Vulgate (p. 306) is sufficient to account
for;but the Variantdoes agree with Wace on the date, sixtyyears beforethe
Incarnation(v. 3827; 4.3-4), and it specifiesthe numberof ships,as the Vulgate
does not, which Wace says Caesar had - eightyon the firstexpedition,six
hundredon the second (vv. 3966, 4226; 4.5, 4.94; pp. 308, 311). When Uther's
soldierswereunable even to move the stonestheyhad set out to transportfrom
Ireland to Stonehenge,Wace says that Merlin "les levresmut / Come huem ki
dit oreisun" (vv. 8148-49), to which he adds, characteristically enough, "Ne
sai s'il distpreiereu nun" (v. 8150). This is certainlybased on the Variant's"Et
paulisperinsusurrans,motu labiorum,tamquam ad orationem" (8.223-24), to
whichthereis nothingcorresponding in the Vulgate (p. 413). The Vulgate does
not mentionthe responseArthur'sguests and followersmade to the Roman
ambassadorsnor Arthur'ssilencingthe crowd (pp. 460-61); the Variant says
that therewas a. great uproar,that threatswere offeredthe ambassadors,and
that Arthurquieted the tumultbeforehe withdrewto council (9.349-51); Wace
picks up thesedetailsand elaborateson the incident(vv. 10711-26). And when
Wace has Modred flee fromWinchesterto Southamptonand go fromthere
by ship to Cornwall,he is followingthe Variantratherthan the Vulgate (vv.
13179-85; 11.24-25; p. 499).13
Agreementin the omissionof mattercan be explainedin so many ways that
it is less significantthan agreementin the possessionof it, but a fewomissions
commonto Wace and the Variantshould perhapsbe mentioned.When Brutus
consultsthe oracle of Diana, neitherWace nor the Variantmentionsthe altars
11pp. 229-233.
12 The details whichHouck, p. 229, following Leo Waldner,Waces Brut und seine Quellen,Jena
dissertation(Karlsruhe,1914), tracesto the Aeneidare not,except forthe lengthof Aeneas's reign,
to be foundin the Variant. The Vulgate (p. 223) does not give the lengthof Aeneas's reign; the
Variantand Wace make it fouryears (1.57; vv. 69, 73).
Two otherdetailswhichHouck, pp. 233-34,attributesto Landolfusare notin the Variant:thekill-
ing of Remus by Romulus (vv. 2107-10), and the synchronizationof Romulus and Remus with
Hezekiah (vv. 2111-12). The account of Maximian's death at Aquilea (vv. 6119-22), whichshe also
tracesto Landolfus,p. V25,is in the Variant(5.335-39) and was notedby Hammer,p. 11, in illustra-
tionofthe Variant'shabit ofreturning to originalsources.At 5.379,however,the Variantagreeswith
the Vulgate (p. 353) in havingMaximian killedat Rome. It is at this point in the narrative,rather
thanat thatcorresponding to 5.338,thatWace has himkilledat Aquilea.
13 All thesepointswerenoted by Houck, pp. 168-230.

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678 Monmouth'sHistoria Regum Britanniae
of Joveand Mercurythat the Vulgate places beforethe entranceto the temple
(vv. 633-56; 1.259; p. 238).14 Wace and the Variantdo not say withthe Vulgate
that when Eldol decapitated Hengist, he sent his soul "ad tartara" (v. 7890;
8.118-19; p. 406).15They likewiseomitor tone down sexual aberrations.Neither
has the statementthat MIempriciuspreferred"non naturalemueneremnaturali
libidini" (vv. 1477-79; 2.81-82; p. 258); and by omittingEthelfrid'sdismissal
of his firstwife(vv. 14006-10; 11.179; p. 512), theyfailto explainwhyCaduallo
and Edwin wererearedtogetheras brothers.16 These omissionsmay be the result
of chance,but the consistencywithwhich,frombeginningto end of the works,
Wace and the Variantagree in omittingsentencesand passages in the Vulgate
can hardlybe accidental; it is best explainedby Wace's havinghad the Variant
constantlybeforehim as he wrote.'7
For the most part, Wace did not translatehis primarysource so much as he
adapted it, used it as a point of departure,paraphrasing,expanding,and elab-
oratingon it as seemedbest to him. For thisreason,it is oftenimpossibleto de-
cide whetherin a particularpassage he was followingthe Variantor the Vulgate
- eitherwould have servedhim as well as the other.It is only when he agrees
with one in having details not presentin the other,frequentlyminordetails,
agreementin whichis not likelyto be the resultof coincidence,or whenhe oc-
casionallytranslatesmore closelythan usual that one can be sure. Many more
such agreementsthan thereis roomto list are revealedby a concurrentreading
of the threetexts.
Afterthe death of Constantine,Wace has Vortigerndelivera speech to the
nobles, urgingthat they make Constant king even thoughhe is a monk; the
Variantsays that he made such a speech; the Vulgate has him go directlyto
Constant at Winchesterwithouta word to the nobles (vv. 6487-94; 5.526-27;
14 Noted by Houck, p. NOO, as omittedby Wace.
15 At v. 7267 Wace omits another "ad tartara," which is in both the Variant (6.254) and the
Vulgate (p. 378). Houck notesboth these omissions,p. 187.
16 Noted by Houck, pp. 187, 189. Wace does not,however,share the Variant'sexpurgation, noted
by Hammer,p. 11,in the storyofthe rape ofHelen by thegiant,but developsthe pathos ofthe inci-
dent (see vv. 11395-449).
17 Anything like a completelistingwould be out of the question. As a sample, the followingpas-
sages fromBook I of the Vulgate may be considered:"Malebat . . . submergi" (p. 228) omitted
(1. 127-28; vv. 289-92); "Nam ... inermes" (p. 228) omitted(1. 129-30; vv. 292-93); "anacletum
eiusdemsocium" (p. 228) omitted(1. 130-31; vv. 303-304); "Quoniam ... auxilio" (p. 230) omitted
(1. 150; vv. 367-68); "Dubitantibus ... esset" (p. 231) omitted(1. 171; vv. 429-30); "Deliberabat
. .. deleuerat(p. 233) omitted(1. 194-97; vv. 485-86); "Resociatisque ... infudit"(p.9233)omitted
(1. 200-201; vv. 492-93); "Nam .. . sineretur"(p. 234) omitted(1. 203; vv. 500-501); "At innogen
... summittitur"(p. 237) omitted(1. 243-248; vv. 616-17; see n. 21 below); "In illam . . . inhabi-
taret" (p. 237) omitted(1. 252; vv. 628-29); "in dubio ... erat" (p. 240) omitted(1. 281; vv. 691-99);
"At illi ... spoponderat" (p. 240) omitted (1. 284; vv. 702-703); "Qui . .. contenderet"(p. 241)
omitted(1. 296-97; vv. 781-83; Wace's "come gaianz" in v. 782 is betterexplainedby thenecessity
of riming"granz" than as an echo of this Vulgate passage); "Vrgebatur. . . committeret"(p. 245)
omitted(1. 355; vv. 948-49); "Contra . . . edicit" (p. 246) omitted(1. 363; vv. 966-67); "Victoriam
... tormentarentur"(pp. 246-47) omitted (1. 369; vv. 983-84); "Ameno . . . inferebat"(p. 249)
omitted (1. 396-98; vv. 1064-65). Similar omissionsby the Variant and Wace of passages in the
Vulgate are to be foundthroughout, even whereWace seems to have been usingboth texts,though
perhaps not so frequentlyhere (Variant,Books 8-11; Vulgate,VIII-XII; vv. 7583-14858.

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 Moonmouth's
HistoriaRegum Britanniae 679

p. 361). When Hengistand Horsus arrive,theyare describedby Wace and the

Variantas men of an unknowntongue (v. 6710; 6.4), but in the Vulgate the
strangenessoftheirlanguageis onlyimpliedby the factthat Vortigernlaterhad
to have an interpreter (p. 370). Wace and the Variantagain agree against the
Vulgatein Hengist'sstatementsthat men reproducemoreabundantlythan any
otheranimals in his country(vv. 6761-62; 6.20-21; pp. 366-67), and that the
several gods whom he and his companionsworshipwere worshippedby their
ancestors(v. 6776; 6.29; p. 267). When HIengistremindsVortigernof the danger
fromAureliusand Uther,Wace and the Variantmake him say that he does not
know who the two boys"8are; the Vulgate has him mentionAureliuswithout
referenceto Uther (vv. 6863-64; 6.62-63; p. 368). Followingthe massacreof the
Britonson Salisburyplain, Wace and the VariantprovideEldol witha speedy
horseon whichto makehis escape to Gloucester;whereastheVulgatemerelysays
that "ciuitatemsuam petiuit" (vv. 7273-74; 6.256-57; p. 378).
Afterthe victoryover the Scots, Wace says, "Dunc fistArturses cors corner,
/Graillese businessuner;/ Co fusignesde returner"(vv. 9587-89); the Variant,
"His itaque gestis,rex sonitubucinae suae atque lituorumtoti exercituisignum
donavitregressionis ad propria"(9.142-43); theVulgatehas merely,"Data igitur
uenia scotorumpopulo; petiuitrexeboracum" (p. 444). Of Arthur'svictoryover
GuillomariusWace says, "Arturl'en chaqa tant e quist / Qu'il le cunsute qu'il le
prist;/ Mais cil fista Arturhumage/ Si pristde lui sun heritage;/ A remanant
duna ostage / De rendrepar an treuage" (vv. 9697-9702); the Variant,"Nec
mora, captus est Gillamuriuset regi Arturoadductus. Qui mox deditionise
tradens,datis obsidibus,tributoascripto,suscepitHiberniaeregnumsub Arturo
possidendum"(9.167-69); theVulgate,"Nec moracaptus est etiamgilmaurus.&
dedicionicoactus. Unde ceteri principespatrie stupefactiexemplo regis. dedi-
tionemfecerunt"(p. 445). In theaccountoftheexpeditionagainstLucius Hiberus,
Wace and the Variantsay thatArthurdecidedon theadvice ofhis councilto send
the Roman prisonersto Paris forsafe-keeping;the Vulgate does not mentionhis
askingor receivingany advice (vv. 12085-86; 10.160; p. 479). Wace followsthe
Variantin havingtheemperorlearnofthisplan throughspies; in the Vulgatethe
discoveryis made by chance (v. 12101; 10.164; p. 479). The Vulgate's catalogue
of the Roman leadersis omittedby Wace and the Variant(vv. 12523 if.; 10.268;
p. 487). Wace and the Variant give the historicallyaccurate information that
St Augustinewas receivedin Kent by Ethelberht,who accepted the faithand
was baptized; the Vulgateproceedsimmediatelyfromthe landingto Augustine's
rebuffby the monksof Bangor (vv. 13693-96; 11.120-24; pp. 508-509). And in
describingthe greatpestilencein Britain,Wace and the Variantagree in adding
specificdetail not in the Vulgate, Wace's "Manjant, alant, parlant chaeient,/
Sudementsenz langurmureient"(vv. 14679-80) renderingthe Variant's"Non-
nulli quoque stantes et loquentes, edentes et bibentes, subito exspirabant"
(11.364-65; cf. p. 530).19
18Variant:fratres,heredes;Wace: enfanz.
1'For furtherexamples,see: v. 797, 1. 299, p. 241; vv. 3360-62,8.283, p. 294; vv. 4121-28, 4.72,
p. 310; vv. 4181-32, 4.74-75, p. 311; v. 6758, 6.17, p. 367; vv. 7158-60, 6.182-85, p. 874; v. 9856,
9.197, p. 447; vv. 9838-40, 9.198-200,p. 447; vv. 12779-80,10.298, p. 490.

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680 Monmouth'sHistoria Regum Britanniae
In some of the examples already cited, Wace followsthe Variant,where it
differs
fromthe Vulgate,not only in matterbut also in wording.In those that
follow,the verbal similarityis even clearer:
vastaverunta mariusque ad mare (1. 290-91), D'une mera l'altrerobee (v. 724), uastaue.
runtpatriama fineusque ad finem(p. 240);
Corineusresponditse prohibitionemnescirisui regis,neque etiam huius rei alias pro-
hibitionemaudisse,sed et nequaquam fieridebere(1. 307-309),
Corineusad respondu:/ 'Se vostrereis l'ad defendu,/ De sa defenserienne sai / Ne jo
neientne la tendrai'(vv. 825-28),
Quibus cum corineusrepondisset.licentiamhui reinequaquam deberehaberi ... (p. 242);
se ipsum magis diligerequam vitam suam (2.143-44), Qu'ele l'amout plus que sa vie
(v. 1692), ipsummaioridilectioniesse quam animamqueein corporesuo degebat (p. 263);
Ronwen,pulchrafacieac venustocorpore(6.95),
La meschineot le corsmultgent,/ E de vis fubele forment(vv. 6981-82),
Renwein.cuius puleritudonulli secunda uidebatur (p. 370);
GerinusCarnotensisin quendam illorum... lanceam direxitet de equo, quantum hasta
longa erat,prostravit(10.115-17),
Gerin de Chartrestresturna,/ L'escu prist, la lance esluinna,/ Del buen cheval luin
le porta/ Tant cum la lance li dura (vv. 11785-88),
gerinus carnotensis... direxit lanceam suam. atque ipsum ... quantum potuit pro-
strauit(p. 475).
All thisis not to suggestthat Wace used the Variantexclusively.He may well
have drawn on the Aeneidfor some details at the beginningof his work,he
added some bits that can be traced to Landolfus Sagax, and he made those
tantalizingreferences to the Round Table and the adventures,whichthe Variant
does nothingto explain.20More importantfor the presentpurpose,he clearly
used the Vulgate as well as the Variant,thoughprobablynot until he got to
Book viii of the Latin text. Passages suggestingthe Vulgate ratherthan the
Variantare scatteredand insignificant beforethe reignof Vortigern;but from
Merlin's prophecyof Vortigern'sdeath to the end of the work,the Vulgate is
used unmistakablyand somewhatfrequently.2'
Wace, the Variant, and the Vulgateagree in sayingthat the name of Brutus's
city on the Thames, NovamTroiam,was corruptedto Trinovantum; but only
Wace and the Vulgate have at this point the fur-ther informationthat the city
was later renamedKaerlud,fromwhichWace independentlyderivesthe names
Londeniand Lundres.22 XVhenConanus sends to Dionotus in Britain asking
wives forhis men in Armorica,Wace and the Vulgate explain,as the Variant
does not,that he wantedto avoid mixingBritishwithGallic blood (vv. 6009-12;
20See above, n. 7.
21If Wace did not have the Vulgateat the beginningofhis work,the factwould explainhis omis-
sion of the Vulgate's account of Innogen's griefat leaving her familyand her native land, and of
Brutus'sattemptsto comforther "donec fletufatigatasopori summittitur"(p. 237; cf. 1.243-48and
textualnotes,vv. 616-17; notedby Houck, p. 187). This is just the kind ofthingWace liked and he
wouldhardlyhave leftit out ifhe had seen it.
22Vv. 1224-38; 2.1-5; p. 252. The Varianthas this later (3.330-34), as do the Vulgate (p. 801) and
Wace (vv. 3757-84).

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 Monmouth'sHistoria Regum Britanniae 681
5.342-45; p. 350). When the Britons accept Merlin's advice that they bring
StonehengefromIreland, the Variant alone omits their decision to resortto
arms ifthe Irish tryto preventthem(vv. 8089-90; 8.197-98: p. 411). Wace and
the Vulgate give the name (Bretel'Britael)of the followerof Gorloiswhose ap-
pearance Merlin assumed on Uther's visit to Ygerne in Tintagel; the Variant
does not have it (v. 8714; 8.400-16; pp. 425-26). The Variantdoes not mention
the letterArthursent by his messengersto Hoel in Armoricaasking for aid
againstthe Saxons, but merelysays that Arthurwas advised to ask foraid and
thatHoel grantedit (vv. 9145-46; 9.38-43; p. 435). In the account of the Battle
of Mons Badonis, the Variant says that Arthurroused his men, "magnanima
voce acclamante"; the Vulgate says that he "nomen sancte marie proclamat"
and, later,that he invokedGod; Wace employsa directquotation,"Deus aie,
sainte Marie."23The Variant omits fromthe list of guests attendingArthur's
Pentecostalfeastat Caerleonon Usk thethreearchbishopsnamedby theVulgate
and Wace (9.279-98; p. 453; vv. 10290-96). The Variantlacks the statement,
commonto Wace and the Vulgate,that even if the servicesin the two churches
at thisfeasthad lasted all day, no one would have tiredof them (vv. 10435-36;
9.309; p. 456). Its account of the games afterthe feast is shorter,lackingthe
statements,forexample,that in thosedays knightsworearmsof one color,that
no woman admittedto her love any man who had not proved himselfin arms
threetimes,forwhichreason men were the noblerand womenthe morechaste,
and that the victorsin the games were rewardedby Arthur(vv. 10493-538;
9.313-17; pp. 457-58). WrhenArthurhas his dream of the combat betweenthe
dragonand the bear, the Variantsays only that it was interpretedin different
ways; both Wace and the Vulgate give two interpretations(vv. 11267-76;
10.29-30; p. 469). The Variantsays that the club of the giantwithwhomArthur
foughtwas "magni ponderis," the Vulgate that it was "sumere quam duo
iuuenesuix a terraerigerent,"Wace that it "mult esteitgrossee quarree,/ Dui
paisant ne la portassent/ Ne de terrene la levassent" (vv. 11492-94; 10.66; p.
472). The Variantlacks the detail that the young men of Arthur'shost urged
Gawain, as he was settingout on the embassyto the Emperor,to do something
so that they mighthave occasion to fightwith the Romans (vv. 11677-84;
10.102-105; p. 474). And as a final example, the Variant omits the story of
Brian and the venisonwhichhe providedforCadwallon in the latter'sillnessby
cuttingit fromhis own thigh.24
23 V. 9342; 9.81; p. 439. The two sourcesare closelyinterwoven here,however,for Wace follows
the Variant's"Plus quam quadringentitam ab Arturoquam a suis illo primoimpetuceciderunt"
(9.82-84) whenhe says, "Quatre cenz il suls en ocist,/ Plus que tute sa gentne fist"(vv. 9355-56).
The Vulgate has him kill fourhundredand seventy,and makes no comparisonwith the number
killedby his men (p. 439).
24 Vv. 14186-222; 11.215-16; pp. 517-18. Hammer,p. 11, notesthis omissionas an exampleofthe
Variant'stendencyto tone down unpleasantdetails. Many of these details,in having whichWace
agrees withthe Vulgate against the Variant,are also foundin the Second Variant,on the text of
whichHammerwas workingat the timeofhis death. They do not,ofcourse,provethat Wace knew
the latter.I foundno evidencethat he did knowit duringthe examination,admittedlynotthorough,
whichI was permittedto make by the courtesyof ProfessorThomas Jones,UniversityCollege of
Wales,Aberystwyth, in whosehandsHammer'smaterialsforthistextnoware.

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682 Monmouth'sHistoria Regum Britanniae
It is clear that Wace employedtwo main sources in the compositionof his
Roman de Brut,the Variant,whichhe used principally,and the Vulgate,with
whichhe supplementedthe Variant,especially in the latter part of his work.
That thereweretwosuch sourcesis preciselywhatGaimartellsus in theepilogue
to his Estoire des Engles25- the book that Walter Espec got fromRobert of
Gloucester,and "Le bon liuerede Oxeford,/ Ki fustWalter larcediaen" (vv.
6465-66). Which,ifeither,of these two books of Gaimar's was the Variantand
which the Vulgate will probably never be known with certainty;but in the
absence of evidence,it would seem most likelythat Gaimar's two books were
the same as those used by Wace. However that may be, the Variant cannot
be dismissed,as it was by Parryand Hammer,26 as merelya late recensionof the
Vulgate; rather,the question of the orderand relationshipof the Variantand
the Vulgateis ofmajor importanceto thehistoryofGeoffrey's work,particularly
so if Hammer was rightin believingit impossiblethat the Variant was from
Geoffrey's pen. And any similaritiesbetweenthe Variantand the Welsh Bruts27
are at most evidence that the Bruts derive fromthe Variant; they cannot be
used as groundsforsuggestingthat the Variantwas producedby a Welshman.28
But theseare mattersforfurtherstudy,not to be gone intohere.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA

25 Lestoriedes Engles solumla TranslacionMaistre Geffrei Gaimar,ed. Sir Thomas DuffusHardy

and Charles Trice Martin, Rolls Series, I (London, 1888), vv. 6436-67. I followAlexanderBell,
"The Epilogue to Gaimar's 'Estoire des Engleis,' " MLR, xxv (1930), 52-59, in the interpretation
of a confused,no doubt corrupt,passage, and findin it referenceto two books. Tatlock, Legendary
History,pp. 453-454,foundtwo references to one book. His cavalierdismissalofGaimar'sstatement
as that ofa man who was not "clear-minded,"and of Bell's conclusionsas merely"ingenious"is to
be explained,notso muchby theevidence,as by thedifficulties it wouldhave caused himto admitthe
existenceof two books.
26 Miscellany... Presentedto Leon E. Kastner,p. 368; Variant,pp. 17 ff.
27 Parry,
p. 368.
28 As by Hammer,p. 19.

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