Essay about Courtly Love - 1043 Words

During the Middle Ages, Courtly love was a code which prescribed the conduct between a lady and her lover (Britannica). The relationship of courtly love was very much like the feudal relationship between a knight and his liege. The lover serves his beloved, in the manner a servant would. He owes his devotion and allegiance to her, and she inspires him to perform noble acts of valor (Schwartz). Capellanus writes, in The Art of Courtly Love, â€Å"A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved†. The stories of Marie de France and Chrà ©tien de Troyes illustrate the conventions of courtly love. According to Capellanus, â€Å"Good character alone makes any man worthy of love†. In Lanval, the fairy lover chooses†¦show more content†¦At his first encounter with a maiden, he greets her and seeks to please her, albeit clumsily. When the maiden at King Arthur’s court is struck by Kay, Perceval pledges that â€Å"she will be well avenged† before he dies (Lawall 1340). When the maiden Belrepeire comes to him at night, pleading for protection, Perceval comforts her and promises to â€Å"restore peace to all [her] land† (Lawall 1348). Perceval sees the maiden’s request as â€Å"an opportunity for [him] to win fame† (Lawall 1347). His love for inspires her to do bold, daring deeds. He therefore boldly defends the castle against the besiegers, winning the love and heart of the maiden. Perceval is kind to every maiden he meets. When he encounters a maiden weeping over a dead knight, he inquires after the matter. When he meets the maide n whose lover has forced her into penance, he seeks to comfort her. A good lover also treats his beloved with respect. Perceval’s mother tells him that the man â€Å"who wins a kiss from a maiden receives much† (Lawall 1334). She advises Perceval not to take more than a kiss from a maiden. Perceval takes her advice too literally when he kisses the first maiden he meets â€Å"willy-nilly twenty times without stopping† (Lawall 1335). However, when the maiden at Belrepeire comes to him in the night partially unclothed, Perceval does nothing more than kiss her. Capellanus further states that â€Å"every act of a lover ends with in the thought of his beloved†. Perceval’s mind is often onShow MoreRelatedThe Law of Chevalrie: Courtly Love Essay1240 Words   |  5 PagesIn order for there to be a set of laws established for the knights of the Anglo-Saxon era, the law of chevalrie was created. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has some insight into the rules of chivalry concerning one specifically: courtly love. The rules of â€Å"courtly love† require wit and deceit with an intention of good behind it. The chivalric rules in this aspect require a good and clever battle with words rather than swords. 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However, is this statement completely true, or does it offer false hope to anguishing lovers? In fact, are the rules and costs of loving and being loved so great that in fact it is actually better to never have loved at all? When pondering these questions, oneRead MoreCourtly Love Essay2157 Words   |  9 Pagesart of Courtly Love today? De Amore, written by Andreas Capellanus is a treatise about the art of courtly love. Douglas Kelly, in his article mentions that, â€Å"This disconcerting treatise provides us with the only true art of courtly love that we possess, but it also contains a very harsh attack against love. The antithetical attitude towards love is all the more astonishing because Andreas, although a churchman, devoted far more space to the instruction on how to love and the praise of love than toRead More A College Student’s Approach to Courtly Love Essay3059 Words   |  13 PagesA College Student’s Approach to Courtly Love The term courtly love is a highly ambiguous one. 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He was an Arian Christian and believed that ChristRead More Knighthood and Courtly Love in the Time of King Arthur Essay1753 Words   |  8 Pagesthat, Perceval loves him mother dearly. Perceval may not have been the most sophisticated man around, however, when he did know how to do something he did it exceedingly well. He could not forget his love for his God though. God was a huge factor for knights and their beliefs. â€Å"Perceval, the story relates, had lost his memory so totally that he no longer remembered God.† (Story of the Grail, 457) Once Perceval found his way back to God, he was seen as the better knight because of his love for Him. Ultimately