IN MODERN ENGLISH LITERATURE THE
terms "romance" and "novel" still remain to some
extent distinct, but the mingling of the best elements of
both types by writers like Robert Louis Stevenson has
made it impossible to retain a sharp distinction. The
essence of medieval romance is most clearly exemplified,
not by modern prototypes, but in the distinction we
still retain in life between the terms "romance" and
"reality." The latter implies actuality, the former baseless
fancy divorced from life. And the world of medieval
romance is remote from life, even though the best ex-
amples do present inspiring ideals and noble characters.
Contemporary life and sentiment may be observed by the
discerning eye, but it is only incidental; the romancer
made no attempt to give a picture of life; he claimed to
relate historical events of the past, and, in order to make
them more pleasing, added every possible device to hold
the attention of his audience. The average audience of
every age and country demands from literature tales of
adventure; the average female audience also asks for love.
The outstanding features of medieval romance are, there-
fore, adventure and love, the love of a man for a woman
being the pivot, and the adventures framed to enhance the
portrayal of that love.

A highly educated and intellectual reader desires some-
thing more than romance; a flavouring of romance will
please him, but the essence must be based on reality; the
author must present great characters and great problems
of life. The concentration in the Middle Ages upon what
is exciting rather than what is inspiring was due to existing
circumstances. The people were neither sufficiently
intellectual nor sufficiently critical to appreciate literature

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