Literary Nonsense

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 14th 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 fever 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