Courtly

Selena, Elise, Christine, Maggie, Hediyeh

Overview

Medieval conception of nobly and chivalrously expressing love

Practiced with secrecy

Rarely took place within a marriage

Erotic desires

Spiritual attainment

Practiced in Ducal and Princely Courts:Aquitaine

Provence

Champagne

Documentation shows that it was practiced as early as the 11th century

Not popularized till the 1800’s

Term originated from the word “Amour Courtois”

1833- Gaston Paris

Woman as an ennobling sexual force

Controversial as it redefined original views of women

In opposition to ecclesiastical sexual attitudes

Civilizing effect on men

New perception of romance and love

Highest good

Famous Examples

King Arthur’s Court

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Stages

1. Initial attraction

2. Worship from afar

3. Declaration of devotion

4. Virtuous rejection

5. Renewed wooing

6. Moans of approaching death

7. Physical manifestation of lovesickness

8. Heroic deeds of valor

9. Consummation of secret love

10. Endless “adventure”

The Rise of Courtly Love

Ovid writes many poems discussing Love. The Seeds of courtly love are found in knightly chivalry. Courtly love has its beginnings in Southern France in the 12th century. Duke William IX of Aquitaine is the first named troubadour. His granddaughter Eleanor is born in 1122. Duke William dies when Eleanor is only five. Eleanor’s father dies in battle when she is fifteen. She becomes Duchess of Aquitaine.       Eleanor marries Prince Louis of France on July 25, 1137.

The Rise of Courtly Love continued…

King Louis VI dies in bed less then two weeks after his son’s marriage. Prince Louis and the new Princess Eleanor become king and queen of France.Eleanor spreads her ideas to the French court.       The royal couple have two daughters, Marie and Alix, but no sons. Louis and Eleanor divorce on March 21, 1152.Louis forces her to leave their two daughters with him. Eleanor once again rules Aquitaine in her own right. She marries Duke Henry of Normandy on May 18, 1152.King Stephen of England makes Henry his heir.             On October 25, 1154 King Stephen dies, leaving Henry as King.  Eleanor spreads her ideas to the English court.

http://www.kycraft.com/Media/windy-hill-giclees/2021_eleanor-of-aquitaine-s.jpg

The Height of Courtly Love Marie marries Henry the Count of Champagne in 1164 and becomes countess.       

She promotes courtly love.  

Marie has Andreas Capellanus write The Art of Courtly Love in 1184.

Courtly love spreads to the large and small courts of much of Europe.

An unusual example is seen in Barcelona, Spain during the reign of Juan of Aragon and Violant de Bar.

http://www.wordstagevt.com/images/eleanor.jpg

The Fall of Courtly Love

In 1372 Geoffrey de la Tour-Landry writes book on love for his daughters.  

He says that courtly love causes great sorrow.

He warns them that it is artificial, impractical, and perilous for the soul. By the late 15th century women are taken off of their pedestals.

The reformations of the 16th century turn eyes away from earthly love and towards God.

Echoes of courtly love are seen in modern romantic ideals.

http://spot.colorado.edu/~cowellj/French%201200/garden.gif

The Role of the Lady

Lady = Lord or Mistress of the affair

Feudalization of love Lover at the lady’s service, must be obedient and loyal

Object of adoration and target of wooing

Recipient of elaborate gifts Minimal response required

Sympathetic and Attainable or Standoffish and Unattainable

Common traits: remote, haughty, mysterious, difficult to please

Social Effects

Change in attitude towards women and increased agency

Legal and economic positions unchanged

First time women able to participate in love

Movement away from virgin/whore binary

Women considered to be more than just beloved objects

Had power and agency in sphere of love, courtship, marriage and passion

The Feminist Perspective

Idea of women as empowered and untouchable ladylove just a fantasy

Courtly love focuses on men at the expense of women

Precursor to highly misogynistic modern systems of love

The Rules by Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider (1995)

Offers model of femininity that mimics courtly love ideal + Claims to empower women, but actually puts all agency and power in the hands of men

The Masculine Role in the Game of Courtly Love

It would follow well that poems and literature would develop from a male perspective after the dissemination of epic poems and stories celebrating the prowess and valor of a strong masculine characterAs literature shifted away from epic poetry and towards stories focused around knightly quests and courtly love women were placed at the center of many literary compositions

However because women played a central role as the object of affection that does not imply that they played an active role that enabled them as strong or important figures in all cases

Courtly love was defined in masculine terms

Every lover regularly turns pale in the presence of his belovedWhen a lover suddenly catches sight of his beloved, his heart palpitates

Frustrating Pursuit or Powerful Persuasion

Compositions of courtly love often include

Men’s feelings that are expressedMen’s prowess and social standing that are at stakeMen involved in professing the art of love as ladylove stands aloof Man in pursuit of woman, woman takes secondary role as the hunted

Implications of Male Dominance within the context of Courtly Love

Courtly poetry serves as a template for further writings on women’s roles within the context of relationships

Applies across the board both in the writing of the medieval as addressed earlier in the book “The Art of Courtly Love” and in 21st century tales such as “The Rules: Time-Tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right (Fein and Schneider 1995)

Restricting appropriate female attributes to:

Remaining cool and aloofWithholding affectionIn essence “playing hard to get” in order to hold the lamenting pursuer captivePuts the female into a neat role in which all agency outside of the object of affection is stifled

Courtly Love: Who Needs It? Recent Feminist Work in the Medieval French Tradition E. Jane Burns. Signs, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Autumn, 2001), pp. 23-57 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3175865

Sire Gawain and the Green Knight

https://web.gsc.edu/fs/sprestridge/sirgawain.htm

The Pentangle ShieldPg. 30, lines 638-655

“As to his word most true And in speech most courteous

knight.”Faultless in his five sensesHis fealty was fixed upon the five woundsFive joys that the high Queen of heaven had in her childPortrays Mary inside the knotBeneficence boundless and brotherly love“And pure mind and manners, that none might impeach

And compassion most precious-these peerless five

Were forged and made fast in him, foremost of men.”

Rule #1 and #18pg. 45, lines 1272- 1275, 1281-1285,

1297-1302“For the nurture I have noted in thee, knight, here,

The comeliness and courtesies and courtly mirth-

And so I had ever heard, and now hold it true- No other on this earth, should have me for

wife,”“And ever the lady languishing in likeness of love.

With feat words and fair he framed his defense Fore were she never so winsome, the warrior

had The less will to woo, for the wound that his bane

must be“So good a knight as Gawain is given out to be

And the model of fair demeanor and manners pure,

Had he lain so long at a lady’s side, Would have claimed a kiss, by his courtesy, Through some touch or tric of phrase at some

tales’ end.”

Rule #25, #23, #8pg. 51, lines 1526-1530, pg. 56, lines

1733-4, pg. 57, lines 1788-92“ And you, that with sweet vows sway women’s hearts,

Should show your winsome ways, and woo a young thing,

And teach by some tokens the craft of true love

How! Are you artless, whom all men praise?

“But the lady, as love would allow her no rest.

And pursuing ever the purpose that pricked her heart,

Was awake with the dawn…”“Lady, by Saint John,

He answers with a smile, “Lover have I none, Nor will have, yet awhile.” “Those words,” said the women, “are the

worst of all…”

Rule #5, #13, and #4pg. 59, lines 1861-64

“And he granted it, and gladly she gave him the belt,

and besought him for her sake to conceal it well

lest the noble lord should know-and the knight agrees

that not a soul save themselves shall see it thenceforth…”

Increasing number of kisses

Failing the Test

Why the giving of the girdle is problematic

Breaking fidelity to liege lord

Cowardly

Excepted as aspects of courtly love

Dialogue and interlay of Christian knight and courtly love

Can they work at the same time?

Bibliography Capellanus, Andreas. The Art of Courtly Love. Trans. John J. Parry. New York: W W Norton & Co., 1969. Print.

Cross, Tom P., and William A. Nitze. Lancelot and Guenevere. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1930. Print.

Burns, Jane. Courtly Love: Who Needs It? Recent Feminist Work in the Medieval French Tradition.Signs, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Autumn, 2001), pp. 23-57 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3175865

Heckel, N.M. “Sex, Society and Medieval Women.” Robbins Library. 26 Oct 2009 <http://www.library.rochester.edu/camelot/ medsex/text.htm >.

Kilgour, Raymond L. The Decline of Chivalry. Glouchester: Peter Smith, 1966. Print.

Lewis, C.S. The Allegory of Love. "A Study in Medieval Tradition". Oxford University Press: 1936.

Marshall, James. “Rules of Courtly Love.” University of Maryland. 26 Oct 2009 <http://www.astro.umd.edu/~marshall/chivalry.html> 9 Apr., 2002.

Melani, Lilia. “Courtly Love.” Brooklyn College. 26 Oct. 2009 < http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/love.html > 17 Aug 2000.

Seward, Desmond. Eleanor of Aquitaine. New York: Times Books, 1979. Print.

Simpson, David. “Chivalry and Courtly Love.” The School for New Learning. 26 Oct 2009 < http://condor.depaul.edu/~dsimpson/tlove/courtlylove.html > 1998.