What is Medieval Courtly Love?
By: Shyanne Sarris
Courtly love was a European phenomenon that occurred due to the troubadours (one of a class of lyric poets and poet-musicians often of knightly rank… whose major theme was courtly love) (Merriam-Webster). “When courtly poetry flourished, in the High Middle Ages, it was basically oral literature; it was never read in private, but always recited in public to the accompaniment of music” (Moller). Medieval courtly love was an art that involved combining nobility and the practices of chivalry, within the courts across Europe during the 11th through the 14th centuries (Mark). Courtly love generally took place between a married woman and an unmarried man; however, one central aspect to note is that courtly love, though carnal, was rarely ever consummated (Herbert 3). The reason being is, “ Modern authors have unanimously realized that the consummation of courtly love would mean adultery” (Herbert 3). The consummation of courtly love would be problematic, because adultery was a sin.
The Rules of Courtly Love:
Andreas Cappelanus was a French, twelfth century author who wrote on the concepts of love. Cappelanus’ book,The Art of Courtly Love, was written at the behest of Marie de Champagne, the daughter of Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine. According to Cappelanus, there are thirty-one rules regarding the game of courtly love (Cappelanus 185-186):
- Marriage is no real excuse for not loving
- He who is not jealous, cannot love
- No one can be bound by a double love
- It is well known that love is always increasing or decreasing
- That which a lover takes against the will of his beloved has no relish
- Boys do not love until they arrive at the age of maturity
- When one lover dies, a widowhood of two years is required of the survivor
- No one should be deprived of love without the very best of reasons
- No one can love unless he is impelled by the persuasion of love
- Love is always a stranger in the home of avarice
- It is not proper to love any woman whom one would be ashamed to seek to marry
- A true lover does not desire to embrace in love anyone except his beloved
- When made public love rarely endures
- The easy attainment of love makes it of little value; difficulty of attainment makes it prized
- Every lover regularly turns pale in the presence of his beloved
- When a lover suddenly catches sight of his beloved, his heart palpitates
- A new love puts to flight an old one
- Good character alone makes any man worthy of love
- If love diminishes, it quickly fails and rarely revives
- A man in love is always apprehensive
- Real jealousy always increases the feeling of love
- Jealousy, and therefore love, are increased when one suspects his beloved
- He whom the thought of love vexes eats and sleeps very little
- Every act of a lover ends in the thought of his beloved
- A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved
- Love can deny nothing to love
- A lover can never have enough of the solaces of his beloved
- A slight presumption causes a lover to suspect his beloved
- A man who is vexed by too much passion usually does not love
- A true lover is constantly and without intermission possessed by the thought of his beloved
- Nothing forbids one woman being loved by two men or one man by two women
How is Courtly Love Different from Modern Love?
Though courtly love spawned the current form of romance and love, it is different in principle from the love of modernity. Modern love is complicated, even more so than courtly love. Due to the progressive LGBTQ+ community love takes many shapes, forms and genders. It is not as simple as a man or woman wooing one another. After the initial ‘spark,’ individuals begin to spend time with one another, because they want to. This time spent together eventually develops into what modernity refers to as love. Then, after both parties feel they are in love, one (or both) propose to the other and marriage generally follows. For medieval courtly love to occur, however, the woman was usually already married. In the medieval time period, marriage does not equal love. Marriage was generally a contract between two parties and the woman was the property of the man. And, according to Cappelanus’ first rule of courtly love, “marriage is no real excuse for not loving.” So, as a result of loveless marriage, individuals sought love (usually without consummation) with individuals outside of the marriage party. For the modern ideals of love, because our societies are largely monogamous, courtly love would still be considered cheating or adultery.
What are some Medieval Texts that Address Courtly Love?
Because poetry and stories were widely spread via oral performances it is assumed that the most popular of anecdotes were the ones eventually recorded on paper. Two prominent examples of courtly love in literature is Marie de France’s Lanval and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Both these pieces, among others, explore the rules and boundaries of courtly love.
Why is Courtly Love Valid in Modernity?
Pen, ink, words and paper are more powerful than the sword or span of time. Written records not only record culture, but transform it. In C.S. Lewis’ book The Allegory of Love, he stresses, “that the very notion of romantic, or passionate, love, or however you want to call it, was basically alien to all culture until the 11th century when Provençal poets created it” (Gobry). It is the power of poetry and stories that created romantic idealism. It is thanks to the written word that the notion of romantic love is woven into current culture. Recorded stories like Lanval and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight are some of the first in the genre of romance. It is important to understand the origins of courtly love, for from courtly love was born the Romance genre known and loved by the people of the twenty-first century. Without the work of twelfth century “troubadours [and] poet-minstrels” who knows if we would have our great romantic authors (Troubadour).
Works Cited:
Gobry, Pascal-Emmanuel. “Courtly Love And “The Traditional Family.”” Patheos, 21 January 2015. Accessed 19 October 2019. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/inebriateme/2015/01/courtly-love-and-the-traditional-family
Mark, Joshua J. “Courtly Love.”Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 03 Apr 2019. Accessed 19 Oct 2019.
Moller, Herbert. “The Meaning of Courtly Love.” The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 73, no. 287, 1960, pp. 39–52. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/537601.
Troubadour. Merriam-Webster. Accessed 19 October 2019. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/troubadour.