What was NOT called courtly love in the

What was NOT called “courtly love” in the Middle Ages But properly called “fin amor”

The term “courtly love” is a 19 th century invention. • Was possibly coined by Gaston Paris, a translation from Provençal “cortez amors” • Much of the myth and literary viewpoints of courtly love were developed and elaborated on in the 19 th and early 20 th centuries • At this distance, it’s harder to be sure what the Middle Ages thought of the subject

Confluence of Forces • Introduction of stirrup in 8 th/9 th centuries led to class of warriors mounted on horseback— chevaliers • Set of behavioral expectations evolved for this class of warriors--chivalry

Cultural Imperatives • Social class distinctions—emerging concepts of feudalism • Church’s need to control civilian power structures • Late 10 th c. onwards—affective piety and worship of Virgin Mary as intercessor • Politics—Crusades and the disruption caused by travel and family separation • Economics—need for major noble families to move and divide households and circulate from one residence to another

Fin amor is a code of behavioral expectations that govern a particular class of people in a particular time frame It is a codified set of historical practices that governed and determined complex social, political, and class interactions.

Continental Influences • 11 th century troubadours and trouvéres • Southern and central France—particularly around the Angevin court—Andreas Capellanus (going back to Ovid) • Spread across Europe through vehicle of Crusades—at least some Arabic influence—really start to see it after 1 st Crusade (1099 C. E. )

Those pesky Angevins…

As codified by G. Paris, “courtly love” in a literary sense is • An idealizing love based on man’s sexual attraction to woman • Lover accepts beloved’s independence • Lover attempts to win beloved’s admiration by accomplishing noble deeds, living virtuously, and thus conveying renown to the lady—calls her midons (term of feudal vassalage) • Sexual satisfaction not always expected

Quickly popularized • C. S. Lewis, The Allegory of Love (1936) – Talked about “the religion of love” – Assumed that actual adultery was part of the system – Also assumed that humility and courtesy were parts of the system • Seen in a lot of later scholarship as a “truth” of the Middle Ages

The actual circumstances are harder to pin down • Hard to accept that nobility would patronize a system that encouraged adultery and infidelity (too dangerous to inheritance rights) • Church seems to have endorsed at least some of it as building moral virtue • Best to think of it as a highly-codified roleplaying game

“The Rules” • Largely those established in The Art of Courtly Love—complete with RPG scenarios • Govern behavior among people who are NOT married • Incorporate emerging cultural & religious expectations for behavior of chivalric class • Probably culminate in establishment of Order of the Garter (1344…or maybe 1348…) by Edward III • By Malory’s time, an archaic concept but still valued—practices mostly gone but attitudes remained.