A Companion to Medieval Popular Romance (review)

This collection of essays seeks to address a critical lacuna by offering an examination of Middle English popular romances as a coherent literary category, whilst acknowledging wide variation and lack of cohesion in the representative texts, which differ widely in matters such as subject, themes, and form. A fundamental challenge inherent in this purpose is to attempt a workable, if not necessarily decisive or stable, definition of ‘popular romance.’ This largely involves examination of the term ‘popular,’ which, as Rosalind Field and other contributors show, has a variety of connotations. While the meaning ‘of the people’ suggests simply an ordinary or non-aristocratic literature, ‘popular’ may convey a more complex system of meanings, notably in critical writings, which often utilize the term pejoratively, for example to imply, as Phillipa Hardman observes, unsophisticated narratives for an uneducated audience (150). In face of this, Hardman convincingly argues that some versions of the narratives were intended specifically for a youthful readership, evidenced by their focus on children or family groups, and the upbringing and education of the young.

The issue of audience reception is part of the problem of definition: some extant compilations suggest a solitary readership; others, as Gillian Rogers notes, were commissioned for an individual family; but it is also apparent, as Karl Reichl points out, that the popular romances were ‘meant to be heard’ (133), and both Reichl and Maldwyn Mills agree that it is likely that some manuscripts were used as performance texts by professional entertainers. Metrical forms, conversely, prove to be less problematic. Ad Putter concludes that their wide variety demonstrates that popular romance exhibits a ‘metrical adventurousness’ similar to that found in Middle English poetry more generally (131).

The volume also addresses key thematic concerns. Raluca Radulescu compares prevalent narrative elements and modes of self-identification in the popular narratives to those found in other types of romance, offering a broad survey before providing a closer focus on ‘pious heroes,’ ‘feisty females,’ and narrative self-consciousness. Joanne Charbonneau and Désirée Cromwell consider gender and identity, observing that many of the texts explore correct and incorrect behavior through the operation of ‘displaced’ central figures, whilst the plots move from disorder to a resolution that emphatically reiterates cultural norms. Thomas H. Crofts and Robert Rouse, addressing nationality and nationalism, find that the texts do not provide a unified articulation of national identity, but may instead prioritize a hero’s Christianity over his Englishness, explore tensions between regional and national government, or maintain an objective stance when a pro-English or anti-French slant might be expected.

Post-medieval receptions are also considered. Noting a critical tendency to ignore the relationship between popular romances printed in the sixteenth century and their medieval predecessors, or indeed each other, Jennifer Fellows focuses on five romances found in Cambridge, University Library MS Ff.2.38 and finds variety in their treatment in early print redactions. Many of the essays offer detailed engagement with academic responses, and Cory Rushton’s essay, which closes the volume, specifically addresses modern popular and scholarly receptions. Having noted the enduring quality of the themes of popular romance, as evidenced by many types of modern fiction—fantasy, science fiction, westerns, and video games—that are founded on the romance template, Rushton examines scholarly responses to popular romances, which, he observes, have in the past tended to suffer through frequent juxtaposition with ‘Sir Thopas’ and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, although their own value is now increasingly recognized. (References to Arthurian texts occur throughout the collection, with focused discussions by Mills and Rogers, Hardman, and Rushton.)

The editors offer the volume as ‘part of the modern project of recuperating “medieval popular culture”’ (3), and the variety of topics and approaches in the collection results in a successful mission. An extensive bibliography is supplied, which will be useful to the researchers and students specified as the book’s target audience. There...