Medieval Romance

The word romance comes from the Old French term "romans," which was used to differentiate the language of the people from the language of the Church and also to identify the supposedly historical French poems.

The Church wrote and spoke Latin, a language little changed from classical times. The lay population spoke French, which was continuously evolving from Celtic and Germanic influence; "romans" was the term for this language. Because literatures in France were originally written in Latin, when they began to be written in the language of the people they were called "romans." These literatures were loosely-based historical accounts; "from the beginning the authors who used the vernacular realised that they must please as well as edify, that history would not be acceptable to their patrons unless made entertaining" (Taylor 2).

Legends, folk-lore, superstitions, etc. were added to the mix to please the audience, and "historical truth became almost entirely lost" (2). Any declarations of "historical truth" were simply for convention. The audiences wanted entertainment, not dull fact (much like today), and writers of romans acquiesced. Romance, therefore, originally meant historically-based literatures written in French.

Romance flourished in France from 1150-1250; those composed at later dates were usually re-imaginings of the first efforts.

What is medieval romance?

Medieval romance is the name given to the "pretended historical accounts" of men such as Charlemagne, King Arthur, etc (2) [the emphasis is on "pretended," because religious writings and those that are honest attempts at recording history are not considered romance], and became classified by distinctions coined by Jean Bodel, an early French writer: "The Matter of France," which groups together those romances dealing with Charlemagne; "The Matter of Britain," grouping together those romances dealing with King Arthur, his knights, and also those based on English traditions which arose in England during Norse rule; "The Matter of Rome the Great," being the group of romances with classical subjects/sources (15).

No matter the classification, the main concerns of romance are adventure and love. It is "a tale of adventure in which knights, kings, or distressed ladies, motivated by love, religious faith, or the mere desire for adventure, are the chief figures" (Harmon 310). Or "a tale of knightly prowess, usually set in remote times or places and involving elements of the fantastic or supernatural" (Loomis x). Writers did not care to re-create a true picture of life but aimed to create dashing, idealized heroes leading exciting adventures spiced with idealized love; the goal was to capture the attention of the audience. The audiences were not educated nor were they critical; they wanted to be entertained (again, much like today). Day-to-day life for most people was unchanging and dreary; romances were escapism. According to Taylor: "the tastes which arise only from boredom and lack of occupation, then as now, cannot inspire great literature; they can only inspire romance...even to-day scholarship and sound critical judgement are confined to a comparatively small section of the people, sufficiently large to encourage some good literature, but not large enough to permit the bulk of modern fiction to be of more value than medieval romance" (212).

Such criticism aside, in order to understand how romances became sensationalized we must go back to epic poetry. Epics were popular when countries possessed national unity and engaged in national warfare (national in the sense of fighting for the best interests of the group--whether or not it be an actual "nation" in the sense we use it today). Heroes were realistic and their exploits treated seriously; the stories were usually "new" to the audiences and the listeners were rapt, waiting to know if the hero is about to meet his demise. No extras were needed, since the tales were life-like and the characters were not infallible. It was this lack of infallibility of the heroes which would hold the audience's attention--how will the brave and skillful fighter survive? The ability of a realistic hero to face great odds was at the heart of heroic poetry.

Such poetry can only exist in united societies. "Heroic poetry is the name given to that poetry which voices the feelings and aspirations of a nation animated by some one strong national sentiment against the menace of an external foe" (7). Examples include Homer's Illiad, Virgil's Aeneid, Beowulf, La Chanson de Roland .

Once a society begins to segregate, as in the case of feudalism, heroic poetry loses appeal since there is no longer any uniting sentiment. The French period of romance was a feudal one, emphasizing strict class distinction and civil warfare. Because people's lives were confined to castles and thus devoid of much physical or mental stimuli, stories of great national heroes did not capture much interest and poets therefore added more novelty, sensationalism, and mystery to existing stories.

"Heroic poetry is characterized by simplicity and naturalness, romance by fantasy and exaggeration" (9). Romance was thus evolving into a genre typified by exciting adventures, emotional excess, idealized behavior, and superstition, focused on a hero who sought deadly adventure for the sake of the adventure and who could withstand odds no human could realistically withstand. Unreal, perhaps, yet stimulating to static lives.

Although romance took on an unrealistic focus it still followed certain conventions drawn from real life. Christian morals find their way into most romances, even though often intermingled with pagan belief systems. Chivalrous conduct, arising from the feudal system and Christian morals, were a strong force within romances. Such conduct included loyalty to duty, courtesy, and service to the oppressed. Loyalty was paramount in a hierarchical social system, courtesy and service to the oppressed was the ideal in a religious system focused on humility and godliness.