The Medieval World and Courtly Love
Courtly Love
| a contract for economic & political purposes |
| love developed after marriage, if at all |
| woman entirely subordinate to husband |
| compatible with one medieval attitude towards women: |
| a creature of unbridled appetite |
| must be restrained by husband's authority |
The ideal of the Lady on a pedestal |
| Blessed Virgin Mary w/ Christ child in arms |
| Bernard de Clairvaux (12th c): |
| Mary as the aqueduct that leads the waters of divine grace down to earth |
| God wills us to have 'everything through Mary' |
| 2) Courtly love (19th c term) |
| fin' amors 'refined love' |
| woman freq. of higher rank or older (Lancelot & Guinevere) |
| possibly reflecting feudal hierarchy |
| 'love-talking'; courteous behavior |
| but frequently not consummated |
| rejected marriage based on property & pedigree |
| substituted a relationship based on free choice |
| gave woman a higher worth & superior status to man's |
| 'heretical' adoration of woman |
| trades religious devotion for romantic devotion |
| e.g. Lancelot genuflects when leaving Guinevere's chamber |
| language of religion became more courtly |
| e.g. Dante's Divine comedy |
| source of modern notion of romantic love |
Origins of courtly love: two sources: |
| 1) Ovid (reign of Augustus) |
| The Art of Love and The Cure for Love |
| lovers take service in army of Cupid |
| they become thin & pale & sleepless |
| 2) lyric poetry of Moorish Spain |
| love as a reunion of parts of souls separated in the creation (Plato) |
| can only be felt for one person |
| but union of souls is more important |
| virtues of love, ennobling the character: |
Lyric poetry of the troubadours |
| Spain, Italy & esp. southern France in Provence & Aquitaine |
| parting of lovers after a night of clandestine enjoyment |
| the amorous advances of a knight to a shepherd girl |
| Most lyrics contain a lofty, sublimated passion, often unrequited |
| lady exalted by her beauty is high above her worshipper |
| inspiration to liberality & courage |
| granddaughter of William Duke of Aquitaine, first known troubadour |
| married Louis VII (1137-1180) of France |
| introduced fin' amors into the north |
| Louis had marriage annulled because no sons |
| Eleanor later married Count Henry of Anjou |
| who became King Henry II of England |
| daughter of Eleanor & Louis |
| married Count Henry the Liberal of Champagne in 1164 |
| after husband's death she established a 'court of love' |
| recitation of love lyrics |
| demande d'amor > debate on issues of love |
| a sophisticated, aristocratic form of entertainment |
The Three Estates
Feudalism: a hierarchical structure |
| the peasants and artisans |
| granted as a fief from an overlord |
| hierarchical stucture inherently unstable |
| only the wealthy could serve as knights |
| horses and arms expensive |
| The social ideal of chivalry |
| Ideal notion of knighthood: chivalry < OFr chevalier 'horseman' |
| "trouthe & honour, fredom & curteisie" |
| an attempt to Christianize & civilize the warrior |
| Invested with rank by both his lord & a priest |
| defender of the weak, poor & helpless |
| The clergy: mediators between god and humanity |
| vows of poverty, obedience, chastity |
| often isolated from the world |
| caring for the poor and sick |
| from Pope down to parish priest |
| cardinals & bishops usually nobles |
| parish priests often poorly trained |
| Wealth and prestige of the church |
| income from tithes and taxes |
| monasteries and high prelates often very wealthy |
| clergy and churches free from taxes |
| clergy tried in ecclesiastical courts |
| The peasants: laborers for all |
| peasants dependent upon their lord |
| who was both judge and police |
| received land and housing in return for |
| work and a percentage of their crops |
| 1/4 to 1/3 reserved for the lord |
| forests set aside as hunting and hawking preserves |
| peasants at the bottom of both social and ecclesiastical hierarchies |
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