What is Courtly Love?
Courtly love is a term that was coined in Western Europe during the middle ages. It is used to definethe typically adulterous relationship between lovers of nobility. These relationships usually consisted of an aristocratic figure, generally a knight, who would do anything to prove his love for his lady. The damsel of his adoration being of equally high or higher ranking than the knight. To prove his devotion the knight is consistently tested. These tests included duals, heroic deeds, passionate writings, daring quests, and anything the noble lady requested. An example of a courtly gesture can be seen in the video below. Courtly love was an appealing concept to women of nobility looking for an intense display of love, because in the medieval times marriage, especially between aristocrats, marriage was a political, social, and power exchange and not an exchange of love. (1/2 throughout paragraph)
A test of love in a modern adaptation of the middle ages
Clip from A Knight's Tale (2001) (7)
Where Does Courtly Love Stem From?
The idea of courtly love comes from chivalric ideals. Chivalry is defined in the Dictionary as, "The sum of ideal qualifications of a knight, including courtesy, generosity, valor, and dexterity in arms" or "The rules and customs of medieval knighthood" (3). Chivalry was a key component of the end of the 11th century and continued until it evolved into the idea of a gentleman in the 16th century. These chivalric ideals combined with the influence of Feudalism directly led to the concept of courtly love. Feudalism was the, "...system of political and military relationships... characterized by the granting of fiefs, chiefly in the form of land and labor, in return for political and military services...", between those of nobility in the middle ages (4). Within the realm of courtly love a knight must show his chivalric qualities and prove himself worthy of his damsel. It was a tempting idea for many noble ladies who were traded like property, in the time of Feudalism. The requirements and guidelines of courtly love were outlined in the songs of the troubadours between the 11th and 13th centuries. Ars Amortia (The Art of Loving) by Ovid, was the original inspiration for courtly love (1). The poem itself is about sex and the art of seduction within poetry and the wider world (5).
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| An example of the music that troubadours and other musicians of the time followed. This piece if from a mid-13th century manuscript. (8) |
Troubadour
Troubadours were the poets and musicians of the 11th to 13th century. They were mainly in France and many of them were inspired by the ancient Greeks. The ancient Greeks created lyric poems of emotional but short passages as well as vocal compositions. The troubadours focused on a range of topics including love, chivalry, religion, politics, and more. Competitions or "tournaments of song" were regularly held for troubadours, to showcase their poems and music. These individuals messages spread the ideals of chivalry and led to the creation of courtly love. (6)
While courtly love is a novel concept, it was not a reality for the middle ages. It was created for literary purposes and to express the desires of nobility, who were in loveless marriages. It was an extremely captivating idea for those who were married for political reasons and not for love. Marriage was viewed as a financial contract between two families.
This fabricated idea has no correlation with the reality of the ways of christian marriage. These Christian marriages provided the foundation for social stability, in the middle ages, especially at the courtly level. Poets like William Morris thought of courtly love as a form of revolt against the medieval catholic church and their views. Decretals (see image to the left) outlined
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| Decretals of Pope Boniface VIII (Head of the Catholic Church (1294-1303)) (10) |
Chrétien de Troyes: Lancelot
A well known example of courtly love is the story of Lancelot and Queen Guinevere. Lancelot is a knight of King Arthur's court and he falls in love with the Queen. Throughout the story Lancelot attempts to prove his love to her by getting on the shameful cart to find her, rescuing her from her captor, jousting for her, not trying his best in battle when asked, doing his best in battle when asked, and overall protecting her and doing her bidding. In one scene he crosses the "sword bridge" in order to get to her, where she is being held prisoner (12). He puts himself at risk repeatedly in order to please her. (11)
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| A pillar of the Church of Sainte-Pierre in Caen depicts Lancelot Crossing the Sword Bridge to get to Guinevere |
Chrétien de Troyes: Erec et Enide
This text illustrates some key components of a typical marriage arrangement, in the medieval times. Erec asks Enide's father if he can fight for her in a tournament. Afterward he wins, he asks if he may have her hand in marriage. This results in Enide and her family profiting from Erec's status and wealth, as they are relatively poor. In return, Erec receives the honor of having the "fairest" maiden in all the land. All profit from this arrangement in some way. (11)
Works Cited:
1. "Courtly Love." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, Jan. 2018, p. 1. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=cc9f4aa2-61af-3598-a449-6b5a7638fa5c.
2. Peakman, Julie. "Poise and Passion in the Middle Ages." History Today, vol. 61, no. 8, Aug. 2011, pp. 36-41. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=9178ecdf-b049-30f9-8afe-d855f847358d.
3. “Chivalry Definition & Meaning.” Dictionary.Com, Dictionary.com, 2005, www.dictionary.com/browse/chivalry.
4. “Feudalism.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, Jan. 2018, p. 1. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=5b731a9d-8fc7-3964-823b-4aefef82f5f9.
5. Sharrock, A R. “Seduction and Repetition in Ovid’s Ars Amatoria 2.” (Manchester eScholar - The University of Manchester), Oxford University Press, 1 Jan. 1994, www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/uk-ac-man-scw:4b1080.
6. “Troubadours and Trouvères.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, Jan. 2018, p. 1. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=95d8a52d-ca10-351b-8dc6-3c2da54ec546
7. “William’s Act of Love | A Knight’s Tale | Love Love.” YouTube, YouTube, 11 Jan. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpfBSm_Mwlg.
8. Bovey, Alixe. “The Middle Ages- Literature, Music, Illuminated Manuscripts.” British Library, 30 Apr. 2015, www.bl.uk/the-middle-ages/articles/literature-music-and-illuminated-manuscripts.
9. Jeffrey, David Lyle. “Courtly love and Christian marriage: Chretien de Troyes, Chaucer, and Henry VIII.” Christianity & Literature, vol. 59, no. 3, spring 2010, pp. 515–530, https://doi.org/10.1177/014833311005900310.
10. Bovey, Alixe. “The Medieval Church: From Dedication to Dissent.” British Library, 30 Apr. 2015, www.bl.uk/collection-items/illustration-of-pope-boniface-viii-and-his-cardinals.
11. Chréstien de Troyes. Arthurian Romances. J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd, 1975.
12. “Crossing the Sword Bridge. Sir Lancelot of the Lake in Medieval Art.” DailyArt Magazine, 19 Oct. 2021, www.dailyartmagazine.com/crossing-the-sword-bridge-sir-lancelot-of-the-lake-in-medieval-art/.
I thought the concept of courtly love was very common in the middles ages so I was stunned to learn that it was mainly used in stories. I wonder if authors talked about adulterous courtly love in their writing to get people read it since it was so scandalous in medieval times.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though people in today's world are still looking for a similar type of "courtly love." It may not be through adulterous acts necessarily, but many women are obsessed with romance books because of this idea of unconditional love. It is interesting to see how things change over time but never completely disappear!
ReplyDeleteI though it was very interesting how courtly love was only common in writings and not in real life. I thought it was common in writing because of how common it occurred in people's lives. I also thought it was interesting how it was used as a way to fight against the Catholic church in a time when being Catholic was the norm and was it strange to be any other form of religion.
ReplyDelete