ROBERT OF GLOUCESTER

flourished 1260, 1300 early Middle English chronicler known only through his connection with the work called The Chronicle of Robert of Gloucestera vernacular history of England from its legendary founding by Brut (Brutus), great-grandson of Aeneas, to the year 1270. It was written, probably around 1300, in rhymed couplets. Two versions exist, and it is now believed that only one part, dealing with recent or contemporary eventsthe last 3,000 lines of the longer versionwas written by Robert. This supplies interesting details of the civil strife during the reign of Henry III and a vivid description of the Battle of Evesham that has the value of contemporary authority. The earlier parts of the work, based on the chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth, William of Malmesbury, and other minor sources, seem to have been written by different authors.