Medieval Romance

Pronunciation

/rəʊˈmæns/

Definition

Romance is a genre, developing from the mid-14th century, which deals with love or heroic adventures both in prose or verse form. The plots are set in distant times and distant places, remote from everyday life. The supernatural element is present in many medieval romances.

Etymology

Medieval romance appears in England in a time period (1066-1485, from Anglo-Saxon rule to Norman Feudalism) in which a massive cultural shift was occurring, two languages affected the Anglo-Saxon tongue: Latin - the language of the clergy and the law - and French - the language of the upper class.

The word romance originates from the French word romanz. It defined works written in languages deriving from Latin. It indicated verse narrative in a vernacular language (from Latin "romanice scribere" to write in a Romance language, a language derived from Latin).

Then the word romanz was applied to works written in a vernacular language in general. Later it evolved to signify works telling stories about love and chivalry.

Sources

Romances were a logical production of medieval times. Romancers put on the page their highest conception of greatness: a king or a knight, like Arthur or Charlemagne. But they created a new Arthur and a new Charlemagne. They took the classical Charlemagne and knights together with their arms and armours and mingled them with superstitions and myths.

The romances caught the popular imagination. The figures of Arthur and his Knights became models. The ideas of chivalry contained in romances began to influence real life.

Features

The plot is usually long and presents many incidents, adventures, battles, exploits. The narrative is quite vague and so is the setting (in time and in place). The characters are scarcely delineated. The heroes are good or bad knights. The female characters are always beautiful and inclined to love. The style is simple and direct, with any trace of wit or of humour.

Classification

Romances may be classified as follows:

1. The matter of France: romances related to Charlemagne and his 12 knights,
2. The matter of Rome: romances telling about classical and mythological heroes,
3. The matter of Britain: romances connected with Arthur and his knights, like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Le Morte Arthur.

Examples

Here are three key examples. Firstly, 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' is a famous 14th-century poem. It tells the story of a brave knight who accepts a dangerous challenge from a mysterious green stranger and goes on a journey to prove his honour. Secondly, 'Le Morte d'Arthur' by Sir Thomas Malory provides a full account of King Arthur's life, focusing on his knights and the sad collapse of his kingdom. Finally, 'King Horn' is one of the earliest English romances. It follows a prince who is forced to leave his home but eventually returns to reclaim his throne and marry his true love. By applying our structured framework to these specific titles, you will be able to identify the typical themes of the genre much more clearly.