A Brief Survey of Middle English Metrical and Alliterative Romance

 

Simply speaking, romances are fantasies in which the authors make the fullest use of their imagination and fancy and create an ideal world, which bears little or no semblance with real life. In the middle of the fourteenth century a revival of the old English alliterative verse occurs through romances, which develops – side by side with religions literature. This literature is inspired by French romantic poems and centers around Chivalry. There is an absence of originality but the fervour of nationalism is present in the literature of this period. Heroes and subjects connected with Britain are given reference in the romantic cycles of chivalry. British stories are valued most and the native poets get material for their original works.

Thus a series of romances appear with the Old English epic versification and French romance invested with dignity and stately splendor. In the Middle English period literature of the 14th and 15th centuries is much more diversified than the previous Old English literature and a very great number of romances can be classified according to subject, through it should be noted that they are both alliterative and rhyming in metre. A variety of French and even Italian elements influenced Middle English literature, especially in southern England. In addition, different regional styles were maintained, in literature and learning had not yet been centralized. For these reasons, as well as because of the vigorous and uneven growth of national life, the Middle English period contains a wealth of literary monuments not easily classified. However, the romances of that period are grouped in three categories. The romances which deal with English history are known as ‘The matter of England’; romances dealing with king Arthur is called ‘The Matter of Britain’; romances dealing with classical theme is called The matter of ‘Rome the Great’; with the French legends is called ‘The Matter of France’. The Middle English literature of the 14th and 15th centuries is much more diversified than the previous Old English literature.

Among the English historical romances king Horn, Havelock The Dane, Guy of Warwick and Bevis of Hampton are the best. In Bevis of Hampton has lively characterization of Josiane the heroine and Ascapart the giant, but the theme is well-worn – of a faithless wife, a murdered husband and father, a disinherited son, and an intruding tyrant. There is some interest in Bevis’s vengeance on his father’s murderer and his own wrongdoex, appropriately named Sir Murdour; and his horse Arundel and sword Morglay rank well among those favourite properties of Romance.

 In ‘the matter of Britain’ the Arthurian cycle covers a lot of romances. Tristrem, Arthur and Merlin Ywain and Gawain, Morte d’ Arthure are notable. The best of this group of Sir Gawayne and The Grene Knyght is a secular work based on all the earlier Arthurain romances specially perceval of Chrestien de Troyes.

This is one of the four alliterative poems contained in a single manuscript MSS – the other poems being Pearl, Purity, and patience. The author of these poems M.S.S. is unknown but surely he would have known courtly society, been familiar with castles, banquetings and hunts and tournaments. Sir Gawayne and Grene knight (late 1300s), has the central character Sir Gawayne who holds the place of honour, for attractiveness of personality. He is the best beloved comrade of Arthur. He is the mirror of knighthood, truest of speech and fairest of farm, very perfect and gentle. In the story we find that the giant like Green knight enters into the great Hall of Camelot on a giant horse, when king Arthur is celebrating Christmas among the knights of the Round Tables. His aim is to challenge Arthur’s knight. He is ready to allow his head struck off if the same thing is agreed to by any knight within a year and a day. Gawain takes the axe and cuts the head of the knight. The giant collects his head coolly and asking Gawain to keep his word turns back. After a year Gawain leaves in search of the green knight. On Christmas ever he reaches a castle and is well received there. After a maze course a Green Knight is found, but by the magic of green silk Gawain resists his own death. Later he returns to the court with triumph. Thus the tale is told of the knight's resistance to the blandishments of another man's beautiful wife.

The shorter alliterative vision poem, The Pearl, written in northwest England in about 1370, is a discussion between the poet and the pearl. It is doctrinal, but its tone is ecstatic, and it is far more deliberately artistic. Here is sincerity, passion, love and beauty. Here the pearl is of hope, beauty and Christianity. Apparently an elegy for the death of a small girl (although widely varying religious allegorical interpretations have been suggested for it), the poem describes the exalted state of childlike innocence in heaven and the need for all souls to become as children to enter the pearly gates of the New Jerusalem. The work ends with an impressive vision of heaven, from which the dreamer awakes. The other two poems Patience and Purity are didactic and of lesser importance than the Pearl.

Apart from above poems Coilzear and Sir Ferumbras are the French romances grouped under ‘The Matter of France’. Again, William of Palerne and Floris and Blauchefleur have two interesting subjects – of missing heir and of the love of a king’s son for a captive maid. Amisand Amiloun is the superior for pathos and beauty. In the Roman stories, king Alisaunder and The Destruction of Troy are long alliterating with popular classical theme.

The Middle English romances are in most cases meant to supply amusement and entertainment to the listeners. They perform the part of picture palaces in the Middle English England. Yet with the popularity of alliterative verse a more serious view is given to the romance. They bear historical value, charm of nature and wild scenery, high ethical ideal and a great literary craftsmanship.

👉Rise, Evolution, and eventual Decline of Middle English metrical and alliterative romance

👉 Timeline Survey of Middle English Metrical and Alliterative Romance

12th Century (Late)

• Introduction of Romance Literature:
  Romance literature began to enter England during the Norman influence, with French courtly romances setting the foundation for future English adaptations. Early forms of romance were predominantly in prose or verse, heavily influenced by French and Latin traditions.

13th Century (Early-Mid)

• Emergence of Metrical Romance in English:
  By the 13th century, English poets started adapting French romances into English, using rhymed couplets and focusing on themes of chivalry, love, and adventure. Notable examples include works such as King Horn and Havelok the Dane, both of which focus on legendary heroes and their exploits. These romances were generally written in octosyllabic couplets and were meant for oral performance.

14th Century (Early)

• Rise of Alliterative Romance:
  Around the early 14th century, a revival of the Old English alliterative verse form appeared, producing a distinct genre of alliterative romance. This poetic form was characterized by the use of alliteration (the repetition of consonant sounds) rather than rhyme. The alliterative romances combined traditional Old English techniques with the themes of chivalry and adventure found in the French-inspired metrical romances.

14th Century (Mid-Late)

• Key Alliterative Romances: Some of the most famous alliterative romances, such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Awntyrs off Arthure, were composed during this period. These works often drew on Arthurian legends, focusing on the trials and tribulations of knights in fantastical settings. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is particularly noted for its complex structure, moral depth, and symbolic richness.

• Metrical Romances Continue:
  Metrical romances, which used rhyme instead of alliteration, continued to flourish alongside their alliterative counterparts. Works like The Romance of Eustace the Monk and The Tale of Gamelyn were written in rhymed couplets or stanzas, maintaining the tradition of heroic and romantic tales. These stories were popular among a wider audience and were often read aloud at feasts and gatherings.

Late 14th Century

• Influence of Chaucer and Narrative Verse:
  Geoffrey Chaucer, through works like The Canterbury Tales, introduced new narrative techniques that blended romance, social satire, and other literary forms. Although Chaucer's influence moved away from the strict metrical and alliterative forms, his work marked a significant turning point in the development of English verse and the way romances were written and understood.

15th Century (Early-Mid)

• Decline of Alliterative Romance:
  By the 15th century, the alliterative romance began to decline, with the rhymed metrical form gaining more popularity. The last significant alliterative romance works, such as The Siege of Jerusalem, appeared in this period, but the style eventually fell out of favor as more continental influences reshaped English literary traditions.

• Continuation of Metrical Romance:
  Metrical romances continued to be produced well into the 15th century, though they began to lose their prominence to more modern forms of storytelling, such as the prose romance and emerging dramas.

Late 15th Century

• Transition to Prose and Early Modern English Romance:
  With the printing of Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory in 1485, the tradition of Arthurian romance reached its zenith. Malory’s work, while prose, was heavily influenced by both metrical and alliterative traditions, marking a transition from medieval romance to early modern literary forms.

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