The biblical paraphrase appeared in French from the 1190s, notably with a poem by Herman de Valenciennes that his most recent editor entitled Romanz de Dieu et de sa mere. The rapid and important success of this text is palpable through the 37 manuscripts listed to date, including two that can be dated back to the late twelfth century, at the very time of the poem's composition. The fact that half of these manuscripts are of Anglo-Norman origin also indicates that the popularity of this vernacular paraphrase seems particularly well established in the Anglo-Norman world. The tradition of biblical paraphrase in the vernacular, which, in Britain, was already an ancient tradition, as well as the existence, at least since the year 1000, of books consisting only of vernacular texts, probably helped to promote the manuscript transmission of this biblical paraphrase in the Anglo-Norman world. Furthermore, different elements (marginal commentaries in Latin, the presence of the text in monastic libraries, or in bilingual or even trilingual manuscripts) indicate that the poem of Herman de Valenciennes circulated as well in the clerical circles as in those of the small secular nobility. Despite the claims of its author who said he was addressing those who do not understand Latin, his text has reached a wide audience that was not limited to illiterati. Finally, by the nature of his work based on the Sacred Scriptures, Herman de Valenciennes presents throughout his text comments on the stakes of translation ‘in romance’. Here again, the reflections of Herman de Valenciennes found a particular resonance in the Anglo-Norman context where a true ‘culture of translation’ had developed. While on the continent the reception of his text fluctuated, especially regarding its generic status (romance, chanson), the reception of the Bible of Herman de Valenciennes and the Assumption Notre-Dame in the Anglo-Norman world was rather characterized by its precocity and its fidelity to the original text.

Parmi les plus anciens manuscrits en langue française, la part des manuscrits anglonormands est considérable. Pour les manuscrits datables du xii e siècle, au moins les deux tiers des manuscrits conservés sont clairement d'origine anglo-normande. Une nouvelle culture du livre manuscrit se met ainsi en place dans un domaine linguistique particulier.