The English Ennius
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Layamon (fl. c. 1200), who made a late Anglo-Saxon paraphrase of Wace's Roman de Brut, has been so called, but the title is usually given to Chaucer.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “The English Ennius” mean?
Layamon (fl. c. 1200), who made a late Anglo-Saxon paraphrase of Wace's Roman de Brut, has been so called, but the title is usually given to Chaucer.
Is “The English Ennius” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.