Robert Of Gloucester

Robert Of Gloucester (flourished 1260–1300) was an early Middle English chronicler known only through his connection with the work called “The Chronicle of Robert of Gloucester”—a 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 events—the last 3,000 lines of the longer version—was 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.