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According to themedieval poetJean Bodel, theMatter of Rome (French:matière de Rome;Latin:Res Romana) is theliterary cycle ofGreek and Roman mythology, together with episodes from the history ofclassical antiquity, focusing on military heroes likeAlexander the Great andJulius Caesar. Bodel's division of literary cycles also included theMatter of France and theMatter of Britain (although "non-cyclical"romance also existed).[1] The Matter of Rome includes the Matter of Troy, consisting of romances and other texts based on theTrojan War and its legacy, including the adventures ofAeneas.[2]
Classical topics were the subjects of a good deal ofOld French literature, which in the case of Trojan subject matter ultimately deriving fromHomer was built on scant sources; since theIliad and theOdyssey were unknown, medieval Western poets had to make do with two short prose narratives based on Homer, ascribed toDictys Cretensis andDares Phrygius. The paucity of original text did not prevent the 12th century Norman poetBenoît de Sainte-Maure from writing a lengthy adaptation,Le Roman de Troie, running 40,000 lines.[2] The poems that were written on these topics were called theromans d'antiquité, the "romances of antiquity." This name presages theanachronistic approach the medieval poets used in dealing with these subjects. For example, in the epic poemsRoman d'Alixandre and theRoman de Troie, Alexander the Great, andAchilles and his fellow heroes of theTrojan War were treated as knights ofchivalry, not much different from the heroes of thechansons de geste.[3] Elements ofcourtly love were introduced into the poems; in theRoman de Thèbes, a romantic relationship absent from theGreek sources is introduced into the tale of Parthenopæus andAntigone. Military episodes in these tales were also multiplied, and used to introduce scenes ofknight-errantry andtournaments.
Another example of French medieval poetry in this genre is theEneas, a treatment of theAeneid that comes across as being a sort ofburlesque ofVirgil's poem. Sentimental and fantasy elements in the source material were multiplied, and incidents fromOvid, the most popular Latin poet of the Middle Ages, were mixed into thepastiche. ThePhilomela attributed toChrétien de Troyes, a retelling of the story ofPhilomela andProcne, also takes its source from Ovid'sMetamorphoses.
Geoffrey Chaucer'sTroilus and Criseyde is an English example, with Chaucer adding many elements to emphasize its connection with the matter.[4]: 30–1 He also brought the story into line with the precepts ofcourtly love.[4]: 35–6
This anachronistic treatment of elements from Greek mythology is similar to that of theMiddle Englishnarrative poem "Sir Orfeo", where the GreekOrpheus becomes the knight Sir Orfeo who rescues his wife Heurodis (i.e.Eurydice) from thefairy king.
Principal texts of the Matter of Rome include: