Medieval Romance: Knights, Legends, and Literary Evolution
Medieval Romance: A Literary Evolution
Romance, a genre that emerged in the mid-14th century, primarily features heroic adventures in prose or verse. These narratives are set in distant times and places, removed from everyday life. While love is not always central, it can appear as a secondary element. Many medieval romances incorporate supernatural elements, with knights battling mythical creatures or wielding magical weapons, exemplified by King Arthur’s Excalibur or Beowulf’s enchanted swords used against Grendel and his mother.
Early Texts and Societal Shifts
The late Anglo-Saxon period produced significant texts, including poems like The Battle of Maldon, written around the year 1000. Epic poems, where the hero embodies national virtues, are noteworthy. Societal changes were profound; Europe became Christian, promoting Christian values. This era saw the rise of the medieval knight, mirroring the epic hero in bravery, strength, fearlessness, and virtuousness, serving as a societal role model. Some knights possessed extraordinary abilities, such as Beowulf’s prowess in swimming and fighting sea monsters.
Romance as an Evolution of the Epic
In many ways, romance evolved naturally from the epic. The epic transformed to meet the needs of a changing society and audience, offering behavioral models. While the epic hero represented aristocratic ideals in Anglo-Saxon times, the knight became the model for aristocratic society in the 12th to 14th centuries and the Middle Ages across Europe, including Spain. In Spain, Don Quixote satirized the knightly ideal. These new writings also adopted continental metrical forms, notably the octosyllabic couplet, which could be integrated into various stanzaic forms and writing patterns.
Linguistic and Cultural Influences
This couplet form often replaced older Germanic poetic traditions, particularly for a continental audience. English nobility spoke French until the mid-14th century, familiarizing them with continental themes through French literature. Like the epic, romance was an aristocratic genre catering to aristocratic tastes. Early romances originated in French and continued to be written in French until the 14th century, when English began to gain prominence. The Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) significantly contributed to English replacing French as the dominant language among the English people.
Key Authors and Sources
Geoffrey of Monmouth, with his Historia Regum Britanniae, was a major contributor to romance. Influential French writers like Chrétien de Troyes created iconic characters such as Perceval and Lancelot, and introduced the Holy Grail. Earlier historians like Gildas, an Anglo-Saxon monk, wrote De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, detailing early Germanic settlements and figures later associated with King Arthur. Nennius’s Historia Brittonum also referenced characters contributing to the development of heroes and knights, including King Arthur. Later, Benoît de Sainte-Maure’s Roman de Troie influenced Guido delle Colonne’s Latin adaptation, Historia Destructionis Troiae.
The Matters of Romance
Romance is categorized by its “matters”: the Matter of Rome, the Matter of France, and the Matter of Britain.
The Matter of Rome
This matter encompasses stories of classical history and the classical world, including Greek figures like Alexander the Great, and themes such as the adventures of Aeneas, the siege of Thebes, and the Trojan War. The Trojan War is linked to England through the legend of Brutus, who supposedly founded “Brutannia” (Britain) after the war.
The Matter of France
Focusing on Charlemagne and his paladins, this matter draws from the history of the Frankish emperor. Texts like The Song of Roland, written in Old French and preserved in Anglo-Norman French, demonstrate its popularity in England during the 12th century.
The Matter of Britain
This matter centers on the Arthurian legend, featuring King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, and Queen Guinevere’s affair with Lancelot. It is one of the most prolific subjects in English literature, with numerous compositions dating from the 14th and 15th centuries, alongside earlier works.