Geoffrey Gaimar (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1130s), also written Geffrei or Geoffroy, was an

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 *Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature *Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...

chronicle A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and ...

r. His contribution to medieval literature and history was as a translator from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

. His ''L'Estoire des Engleis'', or ''History of the English People'', written about 1136–1140, was a chronicle in eight-syllable rhyming couplets, running to 6,526 lines.

Overview of his work

The ''L'Estoire des Engleis'' opens with a brief mention of

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as ...

, whose actions affect the plot of the interpolated tale of Havelok the Dane. That aside, most of the first 3,500 lines are translations out of a variant text of the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of A ...

'' and subsequent portions from other (Latin and French) sources that remain unidentified. Gaimar claims to have also written a version of the '' Brut'' story, a translation of

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography ...

's chronicle ''

Historia Regum Britanniae ''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. ...

'' (c. 1136) into

verse, which was commissioned by Constance, wife of Ralph FitzGilbert, a

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

landowner. Constance appears to have been implicated in the writing process. Gaimar's translation, if it existed, antedated Wace's Norman ''Roman de Brut'' (c. 1155), but no copy of Gaimar's ''Brut'' (also known as ''L'Estoire des Bretuns'') has survived, being superseded by the latecomer.Ritson notes: "poet anterior to Wace, etc." Ian Short argues that Gaimar's ''Estoire des Bretuns'' was no more than a short

epitome An epitome (; gr, ἐπιτομή, from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents " ...

of the pre-Arthurian section of Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', which might explain why Wace's later, full translation of the text became more popular and ultimately superseded Gaimer's. Gaimar did not create two separate and distinct chronicles, and the two ''estoires'' were merely the former and latter sections of a long-running history starting from the

Argonauts The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, ''Argo ...

' quest for the

Golden Fleece In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where ...

to the reign of William II "Rufus" (died 1100) that Gaimar set out to write. Gaimar's scheme was greatly expanded in scope from the translation work on Geoffrey of Monmouth, the former part, which the patron had requested. Ironically, it was solely the latter part covering the Anglo-Saxon period that was transmitted by later copyists, as a continuation to Wace. The scribe of one such copy, in a late 13th-century manuscript ( B.L. Royal 13 A xx i), dubbed the portion with the title ''Estoire des Engles''. The so-called "lost ''L'Estoire des Bretuns''" (History of the Britons) was an expedient term coined by 19th-century commentators."Lestorie des Bretons" as spelt in: A version of Havelok the Dane occurs at the beginning of ''L'Estoire des Engles'', which must have originally been interpolated in between the history of the Britons and the history of the English, serving as a bridge. Unlike the Middle English version of the legend, Gaimar's version connects Havelok to

(making him responsible for destroying the Danish kingdom that Havelok would inherit.)There is also an Anglo-Norman lai version, but that is thought to be later and derived from Gaimar. Additionally there is a mention of a sword, Caliburv. 46, (

Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...

), pointing to Gaimar's knowledge of Galfridian legendary history that predated the advent of Wace's ''Brut''.

Explanatory notes

Citations

Bibliography

;Texts and translations * * *. Archived from the origina
Vol. I TextVol. II Translation
on 7 August 2007. * * ;Studies *Bratu, Cristian, "Translatio, autorité et affirmation de soi chez Gaimar, Wace et Benoît de Sainte-Maure." ''The Medieval Chronicle'' 8 (2013), pp. 135–164. *Harper-Bill, Christopher & van Houts, Elisabeth (eds.), ''A Companion to the Anglo-Norman World'', Boydell, 2007. . *Legge, Mary D., ''Anglo-Norman Literature and its Background'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, 1963. *Short, Ian R., "What was Gaimar's Estoire des Bretuns?", in: ''Cultura Neolatina'' 71, 2011, pp. 143–145. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaimar, Geoffrey Anglo-Norman literature 12th-century English historians Norman-language poets 12th-century births 12th-century deaths English chroniclers 12th-century translators

Overview of his work

See also

Explanatory notes

Citations

Bibliography