1. Courtly Love Carrie Ho - Introduction Cindy Mi - Rules & Etiquette
John Duffell - Religion
Sabina Ambartsumyan - Literature

2. What is Courtly Love? Humility Andreas Capellanus: C. S. Lewis:
“Love is a certain inborn suffering derived from the sight of and excessive meditation upon the beauty of the opposite sex, which causes each one to wish above all things the embraces of the other and by common desire to carry out all of love’s precepts in the other’s embrace” (p.28).
C. S. Lewis:
Humility
Courtesy
Adultery
Religion of Love

3. Ovidian Origins of Courtly Love
Parody of the genre – Not meant to be taken seriously
Similar elements:
Extramarital
Secrecy
Man must give in to woman’s wishes
Jealousy
Ovid’s treatises on love
Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love)
Amores (Amours)
Remedia Amoris (The Cure for Love)

4. Other Conjectured Influences on the Development of Courtly Love
Crusades & the patronage system
Muslim Court poets (such as Ibn Hazm)
The Cult of the Blessed Virgin
An innate characteristic of the Germanic peoples (as suggested by Tacitus)

5. The Heyday of Courtly Love
Eleanor of Aquitaine and Countess Marie
Courts at Troyes and Poitiers
Chrétien de Troyes
Andreas Capellanus
Dissemination through translation

6. Something to Ponder In what ways has our culture still not
“Humanity does not pass through phases as a train passes through stations: being alive, it has the privilege of always moving yet never leaving anything behind. Whatever we have been, in some sort we are still” (p.1).
-C.S. Lewis
In what ways has our culture still not
completely left courtly love behind?

7. Rules and Etiquette
It’s a playbook of love with rules, plays & counter plays written for men (Walter)
Originally I was under the impression that this book taught men the proper way of acting towards women
After reading more into it

8. Seeking It Homosexuality Age Blindness Excess passion
VI. Boys do not love until they arrive at the age of maturity
Blindness
Excess passion
XXIX. A man who is vexed by too much passion usually does not love
“between two men or two women love can find no place” they are not fitted for the exchange of it not the practical nature of it
Can’t be too old or “the natural heat begins to lose its force”
The blind “cannot see anything upon which his mind can reflect immoderately, and so love cannot arise in him”
A slave to the passion and desire, constantly lusting after the next woman

9. Acquiring It Beautiful figure Excellence of character
XVIII. Good character alone makes any man worthy of love
Readiness of speech
IX. No one can love unless he is impelled by the persuasion of love
Great wealth
X. Love is always a stranger in the home of avarice
Readiness with which one grants that which is sought
If seeking a simple lover, then by all means entice her with your beauty
However, it is not guaranteed to last nor is it very manly to adorn oneself in a womanly fashion

10. Dialogue of Courtship Middle class man + middle class woman
Excessive praise of her beauty
Middle class man + noblewoman
Restrained praise of her beauty
Nobleman + middle class woman
Convince her that she is worthy of your love
Nobleman + noblewoman
Plead for love, but not shamelessly
for they “commonly delight in being commended and readily believe every word that looks like praise”
Restrained praise so as not to raise suspicion of false flattery
Unless she is not shrew in which case excessive praise will be appreciated

11. Retaining It Keep it a secret Do not annoy her
XIII. When made public love rarely endures
Do not annoy her
V. That which a lover takes against the will of his beloved has no relish
XXV. A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved
Otherwise it stops developing naturally, losing whatever progress was made
Sympathize with her troubles
Accede to all reasonable desires
Prepare to accede to unreasonable desires after asking for her reconsideration
Confess with downcast face if having offended her
Do not talk about her in the company of other men
Treat her like a stranger if meeting her on the street with group of other women
If he cheats he become entirely unworthy of his love and she must deprive him of her embrace for he no longer loves her
There is a great stain on the woman’s character if she continues to love him
However, it is alright if he was not seeking another but driven into it by an irresistible passion..he’s simply over-passionate
It is a common occurrence
Sex is a privilege while immodest that is most allowed to men
If a woman cheats she is unclean and is a disgrace to her lover so he should not even consider wanting her back

12. Do (not) commit adultery
I. Marriage is no real excuse for not loving
II. He who is not jealous cannot love
III. No one can be bound by a double love
XII. A true lover does not desire to embrace in love anyone except his beloved
XXI. Real jealousy always increases the feeling of love

13. XXXI. Nothing forbids one woman being loved by two men or one man by two women

14. Points to Ponder Has courtly love confused love with lust?
What are other possible interpretations of these rules?
Do people still abide by them today?

15. Love, Sex, and the Church
Christian theology had not explicitly said that the act of sex was sinful by nature
There was some inherent evil in sex ever since the fall
Gregory: The act is innocent, but the desire is evil
Hugo of St. Victor: Pleasure is evil, but not a moral wrong; not the sin, but the punishment of original sin
Peter Lombard - quotes Xystus the Pythagorian: Omnis ardentior amator propriae uxoris adulter est. “Any man who is too ardent a lover of his own wife is an adulterer."

16. Courtly Love & Christianity
A Tale of Two Women

17. Eve Augustine of Hippo: Doctrine on original sin Eve: Mother of sin?
Attitudes on women: Unclean, weak, inferior - even insane?
Courtly love tradition poses the idea that love/sex (even adultery) ought to be idealized, love is ennobling, women should be adored, should call the shots.
Loyalty & devotion to your lady, not to God or the Church
Courtly love stands in contrast to Church’s teachings; in 13th century these traditions are called heresy

18. Mary
Mary was a respected figure in Christianity in 1st millennium AD, but not as much as today
Cult of the Virgin Mary really developed in the 12th century - possibly a response to courtly love tradition?
Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, seems to provide the perfect antidote to lustful, adulterous, or secular attitudes
If courtly love made it acceptable to idealize women, did the Church channel this energy by making Mary the ideal woman?

19. What does this remind you of?
A love that is passionate, consuming
A love that is absolute in its loyalty
A love that one may have to suffer for
A love that is subservient, and that serves a higher ideal
A love from afar
A love that is transforming and transcendent
Does this not sound like the ideal love that one should have for God and/or the Church?

20. Courtly Love in Literature
Romance Of The Rose: a 13th century French poem written by two authors.
The English idea of courtly love was heavily influenced by French ideas and poetry.
Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde.
The Knight’s Tale

21. Literature: Religious
In Dante’s “The Divine Comedy,” courtly love is used in a religious tone.
In a Guido Guinizelli poem, feminine beauty can be used as a way to heavenly grace.

22. Arthurian Legends
Chretien de Troyes - Lancelot, The Knight of The Cart
Troyes took the Arthurian legends and added chivalry, and courtly love.
Sir Thomas Malory – La Morte D’Arthur
Stories about King Arthur’s knights included ideas about courtly love.
Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

23. Satire
During the later part of the Middle Ages courtly love became a topic for satire.
Andreas Capellanus’s “Art of Courtly Love” is now considered to be a satire by some scholars.
The second part of the “Romance of the Rose” is sometimes regarded as a parody of courtly love.
Several tales from The Canterbury Tales are satirical views on courtly love.

24. Works Cited
"Arthurian Literature & Art." Chivalry and Courtly Love. 8 July Pittsburg State University. 12 Oct 2006 <
Capellanus, Andreas. The Art of Courtly Love. Trans. John Jay Parry. New York: Columbia University Press, 1990.
Lewis, C.S. The Allegory of Love. London: Oxford University Press, 1968.
Newman, Francis X. The Meaning of Courtly Love. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1968.
Schwartz, Dr. Debora B.. "Backgrounds To Romance: Courtly Love." 6 Jan California Polytechnic State University. 12 Oct 2006 <