A rhyming chronicle, as the Brut d'Angleterre and Le
Roman de Brut, by Wace (twelfth century). Brut is the Romance word
bruit (a rumour, hence a tradition, or a chronicle based on
tradition). It is by mere accident that the word resembles “Brute” or
“Brutus,” the traditional king. (See next column.)
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
