One thousand, one hundred and sixty years in time and space had elapsed since God in His grace came down in the Virgin, when a cleric from Caen by the name of Master Wace undertook the story of Rou and his race; he conquered Normandy, like it or not, against the arrogance of France which still threatens them – may our King Henry recognise and be aware of this. He who has very little income has very little benefit from it. But largesse has now succumbed to avarice; it cannot open its hands, they are more frozen than ice. I do not know where largesse is hidden, I can find no sign or trace of it. He who does not know how to flatter has no opportunity or place in court;* many people are forced to await their turn. It was not at all like this at the time of Virgil and Horace, nor of Alexander, Caesar or Statius; then largesse had strength and virtue. (1–16)

I want the subject of this first page to be King Henry, who took as his wife Eleanor, a lady of noble birth; may God inspire both of them to good works! They do not let me waste my time at court; each of them rewards me with gifts and promises. But need, which sails and rows swiftly, often presents itself and often forces me to make pledges in order to obtain money.* Eleanor is noble and both kind and wise; she was Queen of France at a young age. Louis took her as his wife in a marriage of great power; they went on a lengthy crusade to Jerusalem and each suffered great hardship and pain there. On their return, the queen, on the advice of the barons, was parted from him on grounds of consanguinity.* But this separation did her no harm; she went to Poitiers, her native home, to which she was the sole family heir. King Henry, who held England and all the coastal land between Spain and Scotland, from shore to shore, took her as his wife and made a rich marriage. People often talk of him and his courage, and of the evil-doers he destroys, like birds trapped in a cage.