of the _Anglo-Saxon Chronicle_, which was written at Peterborough.

See the extract, describing the miserable state of England during the reign of Stephen, in _Specimens of Early English_, Part I.
It was about the year 1200 that the remarkable work appeared that is known by the name of _The Ormulum_, written in the North-East Midland of Lincolnshire, which is the first clear example of the form which our literary language was destined to assume.

It is an extremely long and dreary poem of about 10,000 long lines, written in a sadly monotonous unrimed metre; and it contains an introduction, paraphrases relating to the gospels read in the church during the year, and homilies upon the same.

It was named _Ormulum_ by the author after his own name, which was Orm; and the sole existing MS.

is probably in the handwriting of Orm himself, who employed a phonetic spelling of his own invention which he strongly recommends.