French Romance Poem Types

Chant royal is a fixed verse form of French origin. This poem type was developed in the 13th to 16th centuries. While the form has gone through multiple variations, the most common format in the modern era utilizes 11-line verses followed by a 5-line envoi, all with strict rhyme schemes and a refrain that appears at the end of every verse.

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Aubade poems are “daybreak” love songs that welcome the new morning but also lament the end of the night. Thus, it is typically about lovers parting at dawn. The earliest forms of aubade originated in France in the 12th century. It is actually an adaptation of the Old Occitan lyric poetry alba, which means sunrise.

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