Robert Mannyng of Brunne Robert Mannyng of Brunne lived during the late thirteenth, early fourteenth centuries. He was an Englishman who took holy orders with the minor Gilbertines, a Puritan religious order. He wrote two major works: Handlyng Synne (first printed about 1303) and The Chronicle of England, produced in his old age in 1338. Brunne translated both Handlyng Synne and Chronicle from French or Latin works, altering them considerably in the process. Like many translators of this era, Brunne took many liberties with the works he translated. He adopted for his audience (the ordinary people of England), often adding