Unlike the later form of the novel and like the chansons de geste, the genre of romance dealt with traditional themes. These were distinguished from earlier epics by heavy use of marvelous events, the elements of love, and

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Many medieval romances recount the marvellous adventures of a chivalrous, heroic knight, often of super-human ability, who, abiding chivalry's strict codes of honor and demeanor, goes on a quest, and fights and defeats monsters and giants, thereby winning favor with

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In late medieval and Renaissance high culture, the important European literary trend was to fantastic fictions in the mode of Romance. Exemplary work, such as the English Le Morte d'Arthur

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In later romances, particularly those of French origin, there is a marked tendency to emphasize themes of courtly love, such as faithfulness in adversity. From c. 1760 – usually cited as 1764 at the publication of Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto – the connotations of

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Many influences are clear in the forms of chivalric romance.
Folklore and folktales
The earliest medieval romances dealt heavily with themes from folklore, which diminished over time, though remaining a presence. Many early tales

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During the early 13th century, romances were increasingly written as prose, and extensively amplified through cycles of continuation. These were

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The Acritic songs (dealing with Digenis Acritas and his fellow frontiersmen) resemble much the chanson de geste, though they developed

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