Courtly Love
In many cultures of modern day society, marriage is viewed as a commitment you make with the person you love. This, however, was not the case for marriages between people of noble status during the medieval times. These marriages were often arranged by the parents of the spouses. This meant that in most cases you would marry someone that you do not love. Despite these arrangements, people still had the opportunity to be with the person they want through courtly love. Courtly love refers to love between two people outside of marriage, usually a knight and a noblewoman. This can also be with someone who is already married to another person, however, lovers often swore to secrecy. The idea of courtly love was originally a thing only found in literature during that time, but it eventually found its way into the royal court.
Chivalry
People often say chivalry is dead, but for lovers during the middle ages, it was very much alive. Chivalry and courtly love are very closely related. Chivalry consists of the idea of how a knight acts and his values. Chivalry in reference to love is how a knight treats his lady. A knight is expected to be loyal, courteous, and a gentleman. This, however, did not refer to peasant women, only to women of high class belonging to an aristocratic family. Although there was no official, written code of chivalry during the Middle ages, it is a word commonly used in present day to describe these practices. The closest thing to a knight's “code” would be the rules of courtly love. These rules were written by Andreas Capellanus, a 12th century Frenchman, in De Amore, also commonly referred to as “The Art of Courtly Love.” It is believed that he composed this treatise due to a request made by Marie, the daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the Countess of Champagne. De Amore contains 31 rules of courtly love:
“1. Marriage is no excuse for not loving.
2. He who is not jealous cannot love.
3. No one can be bound by a double love.
4. It is well-known that love is always increasing or decreasing.
5. That which a lover takes against the will of his beloved has no relish.
6. Boys do not love until they arrive at the age of maturity.
7. When one lover dies, a widowhood of two years is required of the survivor.
8. No one should be deprived of love without the very best of reasons.
9. No one can love unless he is impelled by the persuasion of love.
10. Love is always a stranger in the home of avarice.
11. It is not proper to love any woman whom one would be ashamed to seek to marry.
12. A true lover does not desire to embrace in love anyone except his beloved.
13. When made public, love rarely endures.
14. The easy attainment of love makes it of little value; the difficulty of attainment makes it prized.
15. Every lover regularly turns pale in the presence of his beloved.
16. When a lover suddenly catches sight of his beloved, his heart palpitates.
17. A new love puts to flight an old one.
18. Good character alone makes any man worthy of love.
19. If love diminishes, it quickly fails and rarely survives.
20. A man in love is always apprehensive.
21. Real jealousy always increases the feeling of love.
22. Jealousy, and therefore love, are increased when one suspects his beloved.
23. He whom the thought of love vexes eats and sleeps very little.
24. Every act of a lover ends in the thought of the beloved.
25. A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved.
26. Love can deny nothing to love.
27. A lover can never have enough of the solaces of his beloved.
28. A slight presumption causes a lover to suspect his beloved.
29. A man who is vexed by too much passion usually does not love.
30. A true lover is constantly and without intermission possessed by the thought of his beloved.
31. Nothing forbids one woman being loved by two men or one man by two women” (Downes).
Overtime researchers have speculated that the purpose of the piece was most likely satirical, given its tone throughout. Whether this is true or not, it still gives a general idea of the behaviors of courtly knights in regards to their lover.
Courtly Love in Literature
There are many stories of courtly love and romance portrayed through poetry throughout medieval literature. Romance became very popular in stories during the middle ages, however, most stories did not have the “happily-ever-after" fairy tale endings. Some romance poems included The tale of Tristan and Isolde, Aucassin and Nicolette (one of the first with a happy ending), and Roman de la Rose, which was one of the most popular romance poems from this time.
Roman de la Rose
Roman de la Rose was a french allegorical poem. Guillaume de Lorris began writing the first 4,058 lines around the year 1225. He was unable to finish it, and the poem was picked up by Jean de Meun in about 1280, who continued the story and provided it with a proper ending. “. . . The poem is composed of more than 21,000 lines of octosyllabic couplets and survives in more than 300 manuscripts” (Britannica). Guillaume’s first part of the poem was told through dream visions. In the dream of the 25 year old lover, he is lead to a walled garden. “The Garden of Love is an odd place. . . Nature is tampered with so that the trees are carefully laid out and ugly ones excluded” (Delahoyde). As he picks a blossom from a rosebush, the God of Love shoots him with his arrows several times. Because of this he was now fated to loving this single flower for life. He then begins his journey to obtain the Rose, his new love. He faced many obstacles, and after overcoming them, at last he was able to pluck the rosebud. In the end of the poem, however, the lover awakens from his dream.
Conclusion
In conclusion, what began as a concept only seen in literature soon became a reality for lovers during the middle ages. Courtly love provided a different perspective on marriage and love. It greatly influenced literature and culture from that time, and continues to influence us today.
Sources
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Roman De La Rose.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/Roman-de-la-rose.
Delahoyde, Michael. “The Romance of the Rose.” The Romance of the Rose, public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/medieval/rose.html.
Downes, Jeremy. “Pretty Good Books.” The Rules of Love, 2000, webhome.auburn.edu/~downejm/capellanus.html.
Nice work overall, though there are some minor formatting issues that show you may not have been listening. Also, the citations for the pictures were supposed to be part of your resources, and not a caption. I did enjoy the article and liked that it took a very lengthy idea and simplified it.
This article gave me a great inside look to what medieval love was really like. This essay explained how it differed from old-fashioned fairy tales. I also liked that you quoted the "31 rules of courtly love". Overall you did a good job.
Incredibly well organized: everything is in very appealing placement. Although it would have been better if you had used real life examples of courtly love in the middle ages. The pictures are amazing and very pleasant to look at, and they don't break the article apart. Lastly, you delved into the subjects of this article at just the right level. Nothing flies right by, and nothing overstays its welcome, and the transitions are very solid. I'm amazed; 9.5/10.
Your article was well formatted. I like how the pictures were in order and went with the words. The article was worth reading.
Your essay really grabbed my attention and your introduction was really interesting too. Your information was really good also.