page_title: British literature
section_title: Late medieval literature: 1066–1485
hierarchical_section_title: British literature / Late medieval literature: 1066–1485
caption_attribution_description: English: How Sir Bedivere Cast the Sword Excalibur into the Water. Illustration from: Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur. London: Dent, 1894. Français&#160;: How Sir Bedivere Cast the Sword Excalibur into the Water (littéralement «&#160;Comment Sir Bedivere jeta l’Epée Excalibur dans l’eau). Illustration tirée de Le Morte d'Arthur par Sir Thomas Malory, London: Dent, 1894.
context_page_description: British literature is literature from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. Anglo-Saxon literature is included, and there is some discussion of Latin and Anglo-Norman literature, where literature in these languages relate to the early development of the English language and literature. There is also some brief discussion of major figures who wrote in Scots, but the main discussion is in the various Scottish literature articles.
  The article Literature in the other languages of Britain focuses on the literatures written in the other languages that are, and have been, used in Britain. There are also articles on these various literatures: Latin literature in Britain, Anglo-Norman, Cornish, Guernésiais, Jèrriais, Latin, Manx, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, etc.
  Irish writers have played an important part in the development of literature in England and Scotland, but though the whole of Ireland was politically part of the United Kingdom between January 1801 and December 1922, it can be controversial to describe Irish literature as British. For some this includes works by authors from Northern Ireland.
context_section_description: The linguistic diversity of the islands in the medieval period contributed to a rich variety of artistic production, and made British literature distinctive and innovative.
  Some works were still written in Latin; these include Gerald of Wales's late-12th-century book on his beloved Wales, Itinerarium Cambriae. After the Norman Conquest of 1066, Anglo-Norman literature developed, introducing literary trends from Continental Europe, such as the chanson de geste. However, the indigenous development of Anglo-Norman literature was precocious in comparison to continental Oïl literature.
  Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1100 – c. 1155) was one of the major figures in the development of British history and of the popularity of the tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain) of 1136, which spread Celtic motifs to a wider audience. Wace (c. 1110 – after 1174), who wrote in Norman-French, is the earliest known poet from Jersey; he also developed the Arthurian legend.) At the end of the 12th century, Layamon in Brut adapted Wace to make the first English-language work to use the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. It was also the first historiography written in English since the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
caption: Sir Bedivere casts King Arthur's sword Excalibur back to the Lady of the Lake. The Arthurian Cycle has influenced British literature across languages and down the centuries.
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