"Wace's Roman de Rou relates the origins of Normandy from the time of Rollo (Rou) to the battle of Tinchebray. Commissioned by Henry II, it was intended both to celebrate the Norman past and to justify the right of Norman rulers to the throne of England. The accounts it gives of the early life of William the Conqueror and of the battle of Hastings, which occupy a substantial portion of the work, make it a valuable historical document as well as an important work of literature." "Wace related the events partly in Alexandrines and partly in the octosyllabic rhyming couplets used by the romance writers of the day. At a time when the boundary between romance and history was blurred, he created a cast of characters and recounted a series of battles and adventures in a style which is the equal of any of his contemporaries."--BOOK JACKET.