Courtly Love
Lovers in the Codex Manesse, circa 1340.
What is Courtly Love?
In the Middle Ages, marriage did not always revolve around the concept of true love. Marriage brought more of a "material advantage" to the couple and their families, leaving little room for romance (4). According to Syed Rafid Kabir from History Cooperative, courtly love is "a medieval concept that romanticizes an idealized and often unattainable form of love, characterized by devotion, chivalry, and poetic expressions of longing" (2). In other words, this expression of love often involved a knight and a noble lady, one who was usually married or simply beyond reach. This chivalrous endeavor was typically kept secret, sparking illicit emotions through literature. The connection between the unreachable lady and the knight usually focused more on the emotional and mental attraction than the physical aspects and was almost always unrequited (2).
Origin of Courtly Love
According to Joshua J. Mark from the World History Encyclopedia, this love poetry originated in Southern France during the 12th century (5). Mark continues with discussing the origin of courtly love, highlighting the beginnings of the name, quoting Scholar Lee Smith saying, "The term itself dates back only to 1883 CE when Gaston, Paris coined the phrase Amour Courtois to describe Lancelot's love for Guinevere in the romance Lancelot (c. 1177 CE)" (5). Interestingly, courtly love came to be recognized from the works of traveling poets and troubadours, most famously William IX, who was Eleanor of Aquitaine's grandfather (5).
Guide to Courtly Love: Rules
In the 12th Century, there were rules women and men were expected to follow. The four main rules are as follows:
Marriage is no excuse for not loving
One who is not jealous cannot love.
No one can be bound by a double love.
Love is always increasing or decreasing.
These rules suggest that the main idea of courtly love is, according to the World History Encyclopedia, "never static but always dynamic, unpredictable, and ultimately unknowable" (5).
Courtly Love in Literature and Art
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Courtly love became a well-known genre during the Middle Ages. According to Herbert Moller's article "The Meaning of Courtly Love," this genre was typically "oral literature" and rarely "read in private, but always recited in public to the accompaniment of music" (6). The prominent motifs of this poetic genre surround an inaccessible woman, a sworn knight, a forbidden love, and the dangers of said forbidden love (5).
Moller continues the discussion of the genre of courtly love, expressing that the poet is wholly occupied with "the amorous cult of a lady" who encapsulates "all of his thoughts, feelings, and actions" (6) These ideas of courtly love are seen in many works, most notably in the forbidden love of Lancelot and Guinevere in Chrétien de Troyes' Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, and Marie de France's Lanval and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (7).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64qMWtLgCtY
Works Cited
- “Courtly Love.” Bell Shakespeare, www.bellshakespeare.com.au/courtly-love. Accessed 7 Sept. 2024.
- Kabir, Syed Rafid. “Courtly Love: An Idealized and Unattainable Love.” History Cooperative, 19 Feb. 2024, historycooperative.org/courtly-love/#more-34966.
- Lovers in the Codex Manesse, circa 1340. Jan. 2022. The Honest Broker, https://www.honest-broker.com/p/a-strange-medieval-manuscript-taught. Accessed 7 Sept. 2024.
- Medieval Courtly Love, www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-knights/medieval-courtly-love.htm#google_vignette. Accessed 8 Sept. 2024.
- Mark, Joshua J. “Courtly Love.” World History Encyclopedia, https://www.worldhistory.org#organization, 9 Sept. 2024, www.worldhistory.org/Courtly_Love/
- Moller, Herbert. “The Meaning of Courtly Love.” The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 73, 1960.
- Sarris, Shyanne. “Early British Literature.” Early British Survey, 2024, sites.up.edu/earlybritishsurvey/50-shades-of-courtly-love/#:~:text=Two%20prominent%20examples%20of%20courtly,Gawain%20and%20the%20Green%20Knight.
I really enjoyed reading your blog. I thought everything was well thought out, and you executed every idea the best way you could.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a really good job laying out the information for this topic! Everything flowed smoothly, and you covered a lot of context to help us better understand courtly love.
ReplyDeleteYou did a really good job laying out the information and clearly describing what courtly love is. I really liked the section guide to courtly love and the rules. Having that was a nice example of what people back then expected out of courtly love.
ReplyDeleteIn medieval literature, I think I love this topic the most. If you're interested in learning about more of the rules of courtly love, I highly recommend reading "The Art of Courtly Love" by Andreas Capellanus. I used him as a source last semester when I wrote about this topic. In addition, there are a lot of different ways that courtly love takes shape in romance stories of the Middle Ages. Love potions, forbidden love, etc.
ReplyDeleteI am personally an avid romance reader, so I absolutely love reading about courtly love. I think you did a really good job about covering the basics of courtly love, and I liked the rules you included. One thing I always find fascinating about courtly love is how its often in conflict with a knight's chivalry and his duty to the King. It creates an interesting dynamic and makes for some great stories.
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