Brunne, ROBERT OF

Brunne, ROBERT OF, the name by which Robert Manning, a monk of the order founded by St Gilbert of Sempringham, is usually designated. His monastery was in South Lincolnshire, near the modern town of Bourn, and he lived in the reigns of Edward II. and Edward III., and probably died about 1340. His chief work is his Handlyng Synne, a free and amplified translation into English verse of William of Waddington's Manuel des Pechiez, with such judicious omissions and excellent additions as made his version much more entertaining than the original. The purpose of the book was to convey religious instruction to the people in the agreeable form of moral anecdotes. It is of great importance from the linguistic point of view as one of our best landmarks in the transition from the early to the later Middle English. He also made a new version in octosyllabic rhyme of Wace's Brut d'Angleterre, and added to it a popular translation of the French rhyming chronicle of Peter Langtoft of Bridlington. Robert deliberately wrote in English instead of French, in order to reach the common people, to give them the means 'for to haf solace and gamen, in felauschip when tha sit samen [together].'