Home › Glossary › Letter L

Layamon

Literary Character
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Twelfth-century English poet who authored the “Brut,” a chronicle of Britain blending history and legend in early Middle English alliterative verse.

Detailed Definition
Layamon’s alliterative chronicle adapts Wace’s French "Roman de Brut" into English, blending history and legend to forge a national epic. In poetry, he appears as a foundational figure in English literary history, symbolizing the vernacularization of Arthurian myth and the poet as cultural transmitter in post-Conquest England.
Example
Example in poetry:
Layamon’s "Brut" constructs Arthur as English national hero through alliterative verse; His adaptation of Wace gives Merlin prophetic depth as character; Layamon’s use of English (vs. French/Latin) creates a vernacular poetic persona; His work bridges epic and romance character traditions.
Additional Notes
Layamon, an early Middle English poet, adapted Geoffrey of Monmouth’s chronicle into alliterative verse; his literary characters—Arthur, Merlin, kings—fuse British myth with Christian providence, key for tracing the vernacularization of heroic persona in post-Conquest England.
Also Known As
Laȝamon
Skip to main content