In the nineteenth century, the expression "high fantasy" occurs quite a lot with the apparent meaning of "vivid fantasy" or "extreme fantasy." I wouldn't count that kind of usage as a genre term at all -- more praise of the author's imagination.
I rather thought Lin Carter or L. Sprague de Camp came up with "high fantasy" as a genre term, but I may well be thinking of "heroic fantasy."
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Date: 2014-04-20 07:46 pm (UTC)I rather thought Lin Carter or L. Sprague de Camp came up with "high fantasy" as a genre term, but I may well be thinking of "heroic fantasy."