Write
a Short Essay on Middle English Romances.
The French
Influence during the Anglo-Norman period was instrumental in producing a rich
body of secular romantic literature- the Romances which form a considerable
part of Middle English Poetry. The Romances had flourished as a literary type
in France in the later part of the Eleventh century, and it nearly took two
centuries for these French tales to appeal in English. Before the time of
Malory these legendary tales of Normans and the Teutons were written in verse.
At first they were composed by the Norman poets in Norman-French, but about
1250 these themes were rewritten in English, for by that time the Norman-French
lost its dominant position and the English spirit and the English Language
began to assert its supremacy and prevailed.
The Romances
were fascinating poetic tales which recount the valiant and marvelous
adventures of medieval heroes or knights. They frequently deal with the
extravagant and the supernatural and show glimpses into the cherished
religious, political and courtly ideals of the Middle English Period. As
distinguished from the French, the English Romances concentrate more on the
action and are more concerned with unusual plots and situations than they are
with analyzing delicate sentiments or with detailing the finer points of
courtly love. Though they have some points in common with the epic, they mostly
lack structural unity. The characters are not so well defined, they are types
rather than individuals. The plot conforms to a pattern that of the ideal
knight, and within the pattern there is a little room for individual variation.
The Romances were, indeed, an aristocratic genre reflecting the tastes and
ideals of the nobility.
The great
numbers of these Romances can be classified, according to the Thirteenth
century French Poet Jean Bodel, under the categories --- The Matter of
France, The Matter of Rome, and The Matter of
Britain. There is, however, another important category which on the
analogy of Bodel’s classification has been called The Matter of England.
In the great majority of cases the English versions of these stories are
translations or paraphrases of French, which in turn, often take back to Latin,
Greek or Celtic sources. The Matter of France largely deals with
the exploits of Charlemagne and his knights, and the chief of these cycles is
the French national epic Chanson de Roland, which celebrates the
heroism of Roland in his last fight against the Saracens. The cycle, though
very popular in other countries of Europe, did not take root in the English
soil, probably because of its want of variety, the vogue of Arthurian stories
and an anti-Gaelic spirit. Only a few specimens in English have survived, of
which Rouf Coilyear, Sir Ferambus, Geste of Robinhood
may be mentioned.
The Matter of
Rome consists
largely of tales from Greek and Roman sources, and deals with the mighty
exploits of Alexander, the siege of Troy and Thebes and classical legends as
occurring in Virgil and Ovid. The Destruction of Troy and King
Alisaunder may be taken as typical of this class. They set forth the
ancient classical world interpreted in terms of medievalism. The ruling motive
of these classical romances is that of depicting the heroic element in humanity
and of pointing out the glories of invincible knighthood.
The most
interesting of the Romances are those which deal with the exploits of Arthur, a
Celtic chieftain of the Sixth century and his knights of the Round Table. They
belonged to The Matter of Britain. The sources of the English
Arthurian romances are nearly all French, though the introduction of the
Arthurian legends in England owes much to Geoffrey’s Historia and
Layamon’s Brut. The English accepted Geoffrey’s history but made
King Arthur into an English national hero. These romances, however, have lost
the old heroic note of Chanson de Roland, and treat the practice
and ideals of courtly love. Of the Arthurian Romances Arthur and Merlin,
Sir Tristram, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight are
the finest of all Middle English Romances for its masterly put, descriptive
power, character—portrayal, and blending of epic and lyrical elements.
The Matter of
England
has also greater importance in the group of Romances, because it deals with the
early English history and its heroes. They spring directly from the English
soil and reflect the Viking atmosphere of the Tenth century England. King
Horn, Havelock the Dane, Guy of Warwick, Bevis of Hampton are the best
among the English Romances of The Matter of England group. In
them may be perceived an undeveloped chivalry with reminiscences of Old English
life and thought.
In addition to
the Romances of these “four matters”, Middle English literature has a number of
miscellaneous romances on a great variety of themes derived from different
sources and traditions. Some of those romances, notably, Flores and
Blauchefleur, The Seven Sagas of Rome and Sir
Orfeo, have touches of Oriental fables. Some like Ipomedon, Amis
and Amiloun, and The Squire of Low Degree are studies of
knightly character, some others are specially William of Palerne,
dwell on the Constance theme. Many others combine history with folk-lore and
are products of the romance tradition in its later stages.
These romances
may truly be judged as the reflection of the age. The medieval passion for
pomp, pageant and pictorial beauty and superstition, the love of bizarre and
fantastic, are all captured in them. The society painted in exclusively
aristocratic and feudal, from which the “common herd” has been excluded. The
romances, again, move largely amidst abstractions. The problems of actual life are
carefully avoided; the material treated consists of the problems of the courts
of love and situations arising out of the new-born chivalry.
Indeed, the
medieval English romances have many defects. They are intolerably long-winded,
discursive and full of digression, and minuteness of description. Their
aristocratic tone tends to become wearisome by its very monotony. Chaucer with
his keen insight and strong human sympathies was aware of these absurdities and
wrote Sir Thopas as a parody on romances. Moreover, the Romances,
with the exception of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, lack
uniformity and polish of style. The handling of the rhyming couplets, except in
cases like Havelock or Sir Orfeo, does not always
attain the excellence of the French form. But with all their shortcomings, the
Romances are important because they are human documents and not simply dry
history. Despite the changes in time, society, belief and language, they remain
essentially close to us by virtue of the common and unchanging humanity whose
life and aspirations they reflect and upon which all literature in the last analysis
relies for its interest.
****
Comton Mullick (M.A in English, C.U) (B.Ed, RKMSM).
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