The matters to be spoken of are the romances (8)

'romances' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both states of affairs as well as being plural nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'the matters to be spoken of are' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'matters' could be 'res' (Re is an example) and 'res' is found within the answer.
'are' could be 'a' (short for 'are', historical unit of measurement) and 'a' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'the' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?