Maistre Wace

Lé poète nouormand Wace - Maistre Wace, comme i' s'appelle li-même tchiquefais dans ses vèrsets - fut né en Jèrri au 12 ième.siècl'ye. Autant qu' nou-s-en sache, i' vivait d'vant 1135 et 'tait acouo pliein d'vie en 1174. I' pathaît qué cèrtains dotchuments donnent lé nom d'fanmil'ye Wace (ou Guace) comme étant bein êtablyi dans l'Île à ch't' êpoque-là, ouaithe qué la grand' partie des gens du 12 ième. siècl'ye né fûssent connus qu' par un p'tit nom. Pus tard nou trouve lé nom Vasse ou Wace mentionné souvent assez dans les r'cords dé Jèrri, et ch'la jusqu'à la fin du 16 ième. siècl'ye.

Dans tchique temps dans sa jannèche Wace fut env'yé à Caen pouor être êdutchi, et i' restit probabliément eune partie d'sa vie en Normandîe, à êcrîthe comme gângne-pain. Il écrivit gentiment d'tchi, mais ses pus fanmeuses poésies fûdrent lé Roman de Brut et lé Roman de Rou - les deux dé grand' valeu hîstorique. I' fut "clerc lisant" à Caen et il eut des grands succès, étant rêcompensé sustout par lé rouai Henri II. Mais, pus tard dans la vie, dans sa vieillèche à Bayeux, i' r'dévînt pauvre et dêcouothagi et il est tout probabl'ye qué ch'tait là tch'i' mouothit.

(Du Bulletîn d'Quart d'An d'L'Assembliée d'Jèrriais)

Se l'on demande qui ço dist,
qui ceste estoire en romanz fist,
jo di e dirai que jo sui
Wace de l'isle de Gersui,
qui est en mer vers occident,
al fieu de Normendie apent.
En l'isle de Gersui fui nez,
a Chaem fui petiz portez,
illoques fui a letres mis,
pois fui longues en France apris;
quant jo de France repairai
a Chaem longues conversai,
de romanz faire m'entremis,
mult en escris et mult en fis.
Par Deu aïe e par le rei
--altre fors Deu servir ne dei--
m'en fu donee, Deus li rende,
a Baieues une provende.
rei Henri segont vos di,
nevo Henri, pere Henri. (Roman de Rou III 5299-318)

All we know of Wace is to be found within his poems. The preceding excerpt from the Roman de Rou, representing almost all the biographical details available, was written near the close of his career when he may have wished to leave behind more than a record of only other people's lives. Wace wove his own life into the poem, unfortunately omitting his birthdate, which, scholars speculate, falls between 1090 and 1110, with 1100 being the date commonly accepted.

The name "Wace" or "Guace" possibly comes from the Teutonic Wazo, an older form of the modern French Gace or Gasse, or as some would have it, the vernacular form of Eustache. Wace appears to have had no other name, single names being a not-uncommon occurrence in the twelfth century; before the reign of Henry II, surnames were rare though not unknown. There have been persistent attempts to tack on a Christian name, whether Robert, Richard, or Matthieu. As a name, "Wace" is recorded as being in use in Jersey until the end of the 16th Century.

Wace's ancestry may or may not have been humble: some sources think he was of "noble race," his mother the daughter of Toustein, chamberlain to Robert I of Normandy. Or Wace may have been the son of a carpenter who helped to construct the fleet for the Norman Conquest, or who knew those who had participated and passed on their recollections to his son. From his boyhood on an island, Wace gained first-hand knowledge of the sea and sea-going craft, which he put to good use later in detailed maritime descriptions.

The firmest evidence for upper class lineage lies with the fact of his being sent away to be educated: as a child, Wace was sent to Caen in Normandy to learn Latin ("a letres mis"). The farmers and fishermen who composed the population of Jersey could not have aspired to higher education except by seeking to enter the priesthood. If Wace had come from a seigneurial family, there would be reason to expect some record of that fact, and the threat of poverty that hung over his head throughout his lifetime would have been diminished. A background as a member of the petty nobility, with a respect for education and the need to make a living, might best describe his circumstances.

Around 1130 Wace returned to Caen and became clerc lisant, an ecclesiatical position with unspecified duties generally thought to have included writing, composing, and reading aloud. "To read" in the Middle Ages meant to teach publicly; a maistre lisant would indicate an authoritative teacher. In the Latin of the charters, teachers were indicated as "magister" or "magister scholarum". Wace, it may be supposed, was a clerc lisant who became a maistre lisant, the Maistre Wace who names himself fifteen times in his writings, proudly using the designation "maistre" ten times to indicate that he was a professional man, proud of his occupation and of his standing within it. In fact, he was a man of many overlapping professions: teacher, translator, historian, poet, canon - evidently winning the respect of his peers in each of these fields.

(From "Wace: His Literary Legacy" by Marleen Hacquoil)

Dans l'Vièr Marchi

In the Royal Square, not far from the steps of the Old Library, is a plaque commemorating one of the first Jerseymen who can be identified as a real historical personality.

That Jerseyman was Maistre Wace, the 12th century poet, whose romances were written for the great and good in Caen, the Norman city where he was educated, took holy orders and seems to have lived for much of his life.

Appropriately enough, the Royal Square plaque bears a quotation which indicates that although Wace apparently left his native Island at an early age, he was proud of his origins.

In unembellished Norman French, the quotation, which is taken from Wace's 16,000-line 'Roman de Rou', reads: 'Jo di è dirai ke jo sui Wace de l'isle de Gersui.'

Translating as 'I say and will say that I am Wace of the Island of Jersey' this plain, uncompromising statement sounds very much like the blunt assertion of a man determined to stay in touch with his cultural roots.

Sadly, we know little of Wace beyond the fact that he was trained as a cleric, received the patronage of Henry II and served as a canon at Bayeux.

It seems that Henry, who ruled Normandy as well as England, became familiar with Wace's first great work in verse, 'Le Roman de Brut', during visits to Caen.

This epic poem, which deals with the history of Britain, also runs to 16,000 lines and was probably calculated to appeal to the tastes of the King and his court.

Poetry has seldom earned anyone much money and royal patronage would have been a welcome source of income.

However, had Henry been looking for historical accuracy, he would have been disappointed.

'Le Roman de Brut' is based on Geoffrey of Monmouth's 'History of the Kings of Britain' and treats such figures as King Lear and King Arthur as real people rather than mythological characters.

The 'Roman de Rou', on the other hand, is an account not only of real people but also of real events, the exploits of the Dukes of Normandy.

The poem was commissioned by Henry but, even after 14 years of effort, it remained unfinished, leading the King to command one of Wace's rivals, Benoit de Ste Maure, to finish the job.

Despite remaining incomplete, the 'Roman de Rou' covers plenty of ground, including the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, a date which, with scant justification, is often regarded as the first important point in Jersey history.

In fact, by the time Duke William had earned the right to be called the Conqueror, six Dukes of Normandy had already ruled over the Channel Islands. We must also remember that Wace was far removed in time from the events he celebrated in verse.

He gives a lively account of the Norman conquest but there is no reason to believe that it is a reliable reflection of what really happened - not least because he was writing to please one of the Conqueror's descendants.

It is often suggested that Wace's Christian name was Robert, but in reality we have no idea what his full name might have been.

The Robert comes from a mistranslation of the dedication of one of his works which was written 'for the use of Robert, son of Tiout'.

Elsewhere Wace refers to himself only as Maistre Wace, so it is possible that in common with many other people of his age, Jersey's first man of letters was known by only one name.

Jersey Evening Post 27/1/2000

Dans l'Vièr Marchi

The first English translation of an epic poem by Jersey's most eminent writer, Maître Wace, was launched on Monday in the members' room at the Société Jersiaise.

Wace, who was born in the Island but spent much of his life in Normandy, wrote the 17,000-line Roman de Rou for King Henry II of England in the 12th century, but it was not until four years ago that an English version of the work began to take shape.

The long and painstaking task of translating Wace's Old French account of the Dukes of Normandy, the Battle of Hastings and the rise of the Norman kings of England was undertaken by Professor Glyn Burgess, the head of the French department at the University of Liverpool.

However, the project was initiated by the Société as one of its projects to mark the beginning of the new millennium and it was overseen by publications committee chairman Roger Long.

At the launch, the Bailiff, Sir Philip Bailhache, who wrote the translation's foreword, said that if the English have Shakespeare, Germany Goethe, and France Molière, Jersey can be proud to say that Wace is its literary hero.

Describing the poet as 'un vrai jèrriais', Sir Philip also said that he had formed the impression that Wace was more interested in the truth than in propaganda.

That, he explained, was a Jersey characteristic, adding: 'The Jerseyman has great respect for royalty and is loyal as any subject is likely to be. But he is not going to kowtow to the king, because he knows that in a sense he is as good as the king.'

Introducing the translator, who travelled to the Island for the ceremony, Sir Philip, said: 'This is a marvellous publication and we owe a great debt of gratitude to Professor Burgess.'

Calling the Roman de Rou 'his baby', the professor said that the process of translation had given new meaning to the saying 'art is long but life is brief'.

He also paid tribute to Elisabeth Van Houts, who supplied extensive historical notes to complement the text, and to Anthony Holden, whose version of the manuscript provided the raw material for translation.

Earlier, Roger Long had explained that he had managed to persuade the contractors working on the States building to remove the scaffolding which has concealed the Wace plaque for many months.

This, he explained, would enable Lionel Wace, a member of an organisation called the Writers' Alliance for Cultural Education - WACE - who travelled from Canada for yesterday's event, to view the Island's memorial to its foremost poet at first hand.

In common with other members of WACE, Mr Wace takes a deep interest in the poet and suspects that he might even be a descendant.

Mr Long, who likes to describe Maître Wace as a 'local author', also stressed that Professor Burgess's translation is not merely a work of local interest but one of international literary and historical significance.

JEP 14/5/2002

Roman de Rou

La Lanch'chie du Roman de Rou dé Wace

Chronique Ascendante du Roman de Rou

Prologue du Roman de Rou

L'Eglise dé St.-Brelade et Maistre Wace. - A.D. 1111.

Lé vier Lîngo Gèrriois et Robert Wace

Deux lettres dans l'"Victorian" en 1871

À Robert Wace

Lé Monûment-Wace

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