[4] The Draco (considered an epic by some critics, such as Irene Harris and Elizabeth Kuhl) was based largely on the work of Robert of Torigni and William of Jumièges' Gesta Normannorum Ducum.
[9] In the poem, Étienne names Morgan Le Fay definitively as the sister of the legendary King Arthur, and ruler of the isle of Avalon.
Aurell believes that Étienne, growing up at a time when the Normans were committed to gaining independence from France, was completely devoted to the cause of Henry II, and that this ideology is clearly visible in the Draco.
There are extensive passages devoted to the funeral rites of Matilda, who lived out her last twenty years at the priory of Notre Dame du Pré, on the outskirts of Rouen.
Initially, the Draco received no attention from scholars since, under the assumptions of how history ought to be written, it was deemed a failure, but when viewed from the latter perspective it is, according to Kuhl, an excellent example.