Description

Robert Manning (died c.1338) was a Gilbertine monk from Lincolnshire whose early English verse writings make him a notable forerunner of Chaucer. The first part of his Chronicle or Story of England translates into Middle English rhymed couplets Geoffrey of Monmouth's fabulous Latin history, as retold in the Roman de Brut of Wace, with some additions from Bede. Manning's express purpose is to let the people know which of their kings 'were fools and which were wise'. Beginning with the genealogy of the earliest British kings, he takes the story up to the death of Cadwaladr in 682. This edition, published in two volumes in 1887, was edited with an introduction and modern English side-notes by the scholar Frederick James Furnivall (1825-1910). Volume 2 also includes indexes of rhymes, names and subjects, as well as a glossary of Middle English words.