Courtly Love and Mediieval Romance - 7340 Words

Introduction The familiarity with the love tradition makes it easily mistakable for a natural and universal phenomenon and even brings a laxity of enquiring into its origins. However, it is difficult of not impossible to show love to be anything more than an artistic phenomenon or construct- a literary per formative innovation of Middle Ages. Courtly love was a medieval European formation of nobly, and politely expressing love and admiration. Courtly love was secret and between members of the nobility. (Simpson). The term courtly love was first popularized by Gaston Paris in 1883. It has since come under a wide variety of definitions and uses, even being brushed off as nineteenth-century romantic fiction. Its understanding, beginning,†¦show more content†¦In essence, courtly love was an experience between erotic desire and spiritual attainment that now seems contradictory as a love at once illicit and morally inspiring, passionate and disciplined, mortifying and exalting, human and inspirational (Newman). History Many scholars who have believed that courtly love was a historical development rely on historical literature. Courtly love is believed to have begun in southern France in the ducal princely courts of Aquitaine, Provence, and Champagne, ducal Burgundy and the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, a sufficiently peaceful yet isolated region, that was perfect to birth and develop such a movement from around the time of the First Crusade in 1099. In fact, many literary giants (Avignon, Toulouse, Nimes under the domaine of Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine) retreated in this region. In addition, the leisure class, the wealthy, and the self-sufficient society discovered a new craze in this area. The areas courts attracted intellectuals from all over, as the South was more liberal and pluralistic, with Arabs, Jews and Byzantines being among the residents of the area. Perhaps, even the men outnumbered the women in South France. Eleanor of Aquitaine brought the ideals of courtly love from Aquitaine to the court of France then to England where she was a queen to two kings. Her daughter Marie, who was the Countess of Champagne, introduced courtly love to the Count of