The romance is a literary genre difficult to define. It originated in medieval France in the period 1130-1150. The name 'romance' itself comes from the Medieval Latin romanice, meaning not about love, but something written in the vernacular. Originally written for the entertainment of the French aristocracy, the term 'roman' was applied to the popular courtly stories in verse which dealt with traditional matters. These traditional subjects were legends of King Arthur, of Charlemagne and his knights, and of classical heroes.

The romance was exported to England, and although translations usually adhered to the French original, the English also wrote romances with Germanic themes. Romances in Middle English appear relatively late in the history of the genre; the fewest are from the later 13th century, most from the 14th and 15th centuries. Common characteristics of the romance include the idealization of chivalry and courtly life, lack of historical accuracy, the predominance of formulaic characters, the presence of supernatural or magical elements, and the obligatory happy ending.

French romances were traditionally written in octosyllabic couplets, and the English used an adaptation of this form of verse, the four-stress couplet. Tail-rhyme-stanzas were a metre especially popular for public recital, but other romances were written in an alliterative or in a mixed metre.

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