Layamon



Layamon or Laghamon (Laȝamon, Laȝamonn), occasionally written Lawman,  was a poet of the early 13th century and author of the Brut, a notable English poem of the 12th century that  was the first English language work to discuss the legends of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Layamon describes himself in his poem as a priest, living at Areley Kings in Worcestershire. His poem provided inspiration for numerous later writers, including Sir Thomas Malory and Jorge Luis Borges, and had an impact on medieval history writing in England.

Print-era editors and cataloguers have spelled his name in various ways including "Layamon", "Lazamon", or "Lawman". Brown University suggests that  the form "Layamon" is etymologically incorrect, while The Fifth International Conference on Laȝamon's Brut at Brown University mentions: "BL MS Cotton Caligula A.ix spells it "Laȝamon" (the third letter is called a "yogh").  BL MS Cotton Otho C.xiii spelled it "Laweman" and "Loweman".

Brut
Brut (ca. 1190) is a Middle English poem compiled and recast by the English priest Layamon. It is named for Britain's mythical founder, Brutus of Troy. It is contained in the MS. Cotton Caligula A ix, written in the first quarter of the 13th century, and in the Cotton Otho C xiii, about fifty years later (though in this edition it is shorter). Both exist in the British Museum.

The Brut is 16,095 lines long and narrates the history of Britain. It is largely based on the Anglo-Norman Roman de Brut by Wace, which is in turn inspired by Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, though is longer than both and includes an enlarged section on the life and exploits of King Arthur. The rhyming style is the alliterative verse line style commonly used in Middle English poetry.