#25 A (not-so-brief) Brief History of Romance

<p>We're still here a year later! In honor of our first birthday we're diving backwards into time to look at the evolution of the romance genre, and romantic literature, throughout the ages. Spoiler alert...it goes back further than the 1970s. WAYYYYYY further. Break out your snacks and a notebook, it's time to go to school. Now, this is not an official history; ask a number of different literary historians and they will all have different answers. This is just Jackie and Jen's observational opinion as professional readers. Other historians observations/theories are linked down below!</p> <p>Content Warning: discussion of rape and rape culture in earlier romance novels, language use, </p> <p><u>The etymology of a "romance"</u>:</p> <ul> <li>Romance novel-first attested to as a description for a novel in 1964- focused on the development of a romantic relationship; DERIVED FROM:</li> <li>Romance literature-extended in the 17th century to refer to love stories; DERIVED FROM:</li> <li>Romaunce - ca. 1300CE meaning "a story, written or recited, of the adventures of a knight, hero, etc., often one designed principally for entertainment." These medieval vernacular tales usually told chivalric adventures full of marvelous incidents and heroic deeds. In reference to literary works, often in Middle English meaning ones written in French but also applied to native compositions; DERIVED FROM:</li> <li>Romanz - Old French, originally an adverb, "in the vernacular language;" DERIVED FROM: </li> <li>Romanice Scribere - Vulgar Latin meaning "to write in a Romance language" (one developed from Latin instead of Frankish); DERIVED FROM:</li> <li>Romanicus - Latin meaning "of or in the Roman style;" DERIVED FROM </li> <li>Romanus - Latin meaning "Roman</li> </ul> <p><u>Terms</u>:</p> <ul> <li><i>HEA </i>- Happily Ever After</li> <li><i>HFN </i>- Happily ever after for now</li> <li><i>Oral Tradition</i> -  <ul> <li>Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cu