His poem had a significant impact on medieval history writing in England and the development of Arthurian literature[2] and subsequently provided inspiration for numerous later writers, including Sir Thomas Malory and Jorge Luis Borges.
It is largely based on the Anglo-Norman Roman de Brut by Wace, which is in turn inspired by Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae.
Among the new material Layamon provided were an account of the birth of Merlin and one of the origins of the Round Table,[3] as well as details of Arthur's departure by ship to Avalon to be healed by the elf-queen.
Print-era editors and cataloguers have spelled his name in various ways, including "Layamon", "Lazamon", or "Lawman".
Brown University suggests that the form "Layamon" is etymologically incorrect; the Fifth International Conference on Laȝamon's Brut at Brown University stated, "BL MS Cotton Caligula A.ix spells it 'Laȝamon' (the third letter is called a "yogh").