The 12th-Century Renaissance in Anglo-Norman England: William of Malmesbury and Joseph of Exeter

How did the ‘12th-century Renaissance’ impact on Anglo-Norman authors? This chapter explores the responses of two highly accomplished writers, William of Malmesbury and Joseph of Exeter, to the literary tradition in which they worked (such as epic and satire): by alluding to and skilfully modifying Classical (particularly post-Augustan) and late-Antique models, they masterfully played on their readers' recognition and expectations of familiar conventions of historiography, hagiography, and poetics so as to innovate and entertain, and in this way created something distinctive and fresh for their contemporary audience.