Of Keveloke,[3] Horne, and of Wade
In romances that ben of hem bimade,
That gestours dos of hem gestes,
At maungeres, and at great festes,
Her dedis ben in remembrance,
In many fair romance."
[1] Sir Beves of Hamtoun (Fr. 13 cent., Eng. 14 cent.).
[2] Character in romance of Tristrem, by Thomas the Rymer.
[3] Haveloke. For other metrical catalogues see first and second
prologues to Richard Coeur de Lion.--Ritson, Anc, Eng Metr.
Romances, i. 55.
Popular romances of this kind had a great influence
upon the lives of the people. The long lists of medieval
theology and sophistry usually laid before us, and the
great majority of the writings which have survived, sometimes
lead us to believe the culture of the Middle Ages
to have been of a more serious cast than it really was.
The oral circulation of romance literature must have been
enormous. The spun-out, dreary poems which now make
such difficult reading are infinitely more entertaining when
read aloud: the voice gives life and character to a humdrum
narrative, and the gestour would know how to make the
best of incidents which he knew from experience to be
specially interesting to an audience.
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