The word ‘rimance’
(Old French) is based on repetitions of endings with the same sound.
Verse ends were then called ‘rimas’… the origin of the word rhyme. Germanic tongues were confounded, their language didn’t have the
rhythmic pattern of short and long syllables, so they couldn’t create verse in
a similar way. Instead, they invented alliteration for the telling of their
tales of ‘derring−do’. ‘Romantic
languages’ were named because of their even flow derived from Latin and Greek.
As Jose
Geraldo Gouvea says in a fascinating article on Quora −
‘Greek and Latin poetry was based on an even flow of long and short syllables. This is the original way of Indo-European verse. You find it in the Vedas too. What makes this type of poetry interesting is that you can feel the rhythm (ῥυθμός) as you read. Words dance in your mouth.’
Romance as we know it was born out of the human
need to sing or share verse about our great heroes, love songs or denigrate the
enemy! Since those who had formerly spoken Latin had lost contact with the
Graeco-Roman tradition they looked for inspiration elsewhere. Discovering their
vernacular included these lovely short and long syllabled words, someone had
the idea of alliterating and echoing vowels.
Cultures in the Iberian Peninsula learned from
the Arabs that by employing rhythm, Germanic alliteration isn’t needed − only at
the end. And the
Arabs used vowels to make their verse ends. The real marriage or love story of
romance is the coming together of rhythm and alliteration in a set number of
lines and ‘feet’ to produce all the wonderful rhyming verse as we know it today,
transported across the channel from France to England.
‘Rimance’ became ‘romance’ and meaning the
languages which were rich in poetry, stories of myth and legend − where
chivalry was every man’s aspiration and damsels did their best to look as if
they were in distress! Vernacular French
became the preferred language for this ‘lighter literature’ as opposed to law
ad serious matters, set in Latin. I prefer this etymological tale rather than
the suggestion ‘romantic’ simply comes from the word ‘Roman’ – it’s so much
more romantic…
What relevance has all this today and to
Beatons particularly? Well, you’re probably aware we use verse as part of our
brand. And couldn’t we all do with adding a dash of rhyme to our days? How
about engaging in a little traditional ‘romance’ and writing a verse to someone
who is special to you – a Valentine’s tradition? You don’t need a lover to be
romantic either, why not honour someone who once performed a chivalrous or kind
to you?
Liz Darcy Jones
House Poet
1with credit to Jose Geraldo Gouvea, Fiction
Writer and former History teacher