Robert of Gloucester and the Medieval Chronicle

AbstractThe verse chronicle attributed to Robert of Gloucester has been variously interpreted as appealing to a sense of Englishness derived from the Anglo‐Saxon past, or constructed through anti‐Norman sentiment, or seeking to unify those of Anglo‐Saxon and Norman descent within an English identity. These debates also contribute to, and draw on, the evidence that the Chronicle provides for the history of the English language. Yet we remain without a modern critical edition of the text, and it is clear that its textual tradition is complex and would repay detailed study in its own right. Along with a need for greater study of the manuscript tradition of the Chronicle, some under‐explored parts of the text, such as the pre‐Arthurian period, merit more work, as do its literary qualities. While the poetic efforts of ‘Robert of Gloucester’ have often been disparaged, we should bear in mind that our aesthetic and literary judgements are quite different from those of past societies – and it is always worth attempting to understand the literary qualities of medieval texts on their own terms.