In his influential work, The Allegory of Love, C.S. Lewis addresses the notion of courtly love by assigning it the characteristics of humility, courtesy, adultery, and the religion of love. He also goes on to claim that this notion of love is based on the lord-vassal relationship as he wrote, “The lover is the lady’s ‘man.’ He addresses her as midons, which etymologically represents not ‘my lady’ but ‘my lord.’” In the courtly romance, The Romance of Tristan and Iseult, the concept of courtly love exemplifies the characteristics of the feudalization of love put forth by C.S. Lewis, transforming the chief dilemma faced by Tristan into Roland. Through an exploration of the dynamics of loyalty, duty, and the four characteristics of the feudalization of love, this essay will examine how Tristan’s adherence to the codes of courtly …show more content…
While Tristan and Iseult continue to have the same feelings, Tristan’s predicament was causing himself, and those around him, too much pain and suffering than he could bear. In the Song of Roland, the main character, Roland, finds himself in his own lord-vassal dilemma. From the surface, it appears that Roland’s conflict is whether to blow the horn or not, when the issue is whether he is willing to sacrifice his pride and ego for the sake of being a good vassal. As Oliver begs Roland to blow the horn, Roland refuses as the text states, “Roland replies: ‘That would be an act of folly; // Throughout the fair land of France I should lose my good name.’” This excerpt highlights how Roland is more concerned with his image and self-love than how he can best serve King Charlemagne, which would ultimately lead to his downfall. Overall, the dilemma that Roland is facing is rooted in his egocentric nature and fear of not living up to the expectations of the perfect
From the beginning of fiction, authors have constantly exploited the one topic that is sure to secure an audience: love. From the tragic romance of Tristan and Isolde to the satirical misadventures in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, literature seems obsessed with deciphering the mysteries of affection. The concept most debated is the question of where the line falls between lust and love and what occurs when the two are combined, and few portray it more clearly than Edmund Rostand in his French drama Cyrano de Bergerac. The influence of fickle physical attraction and deep romantic love on each other are explored by the interactions of the four main characters: De Guiche, Christian, Roxane, and Cyrano.
Marie de France’s “Lanval” is a Breton lai dominated by themes common to 12th century literature, which through its exploration of love, erotic desire, wealth, gender and community, tells the story of a young knight who finds himself caught between two worlds: his lover’s and his own. Forced to separate these societies by a warning in which his lover states, “do not let any man know about this…you would lose me for good if this love were known” (Lines 145-148), Lanval must keep his love a secret and exist apart from the Arthurian world into which he was born. Consequently, romantic love between Lanval and his fairie queen exists conditionally, that is upon Lanval’s physical and emotional isolation. This restriction suggests that romantic love, as described in terms of erotic desire and physical/emotional devotion throughout “Lanval,” is unsuited for existence in the mundanity of Arthurian society. Therefore, Lanval’s solitude is necessary for his maintaining his relationship with the fairie queen, a fact that suggests the incompatibility of romantic love with Arthurian society, as Marie depicts it.
The elements of courtly love operate at several levels simultaneously in The Knight of the Cart; they are expressed by the behaviors of Lancelot, Queen Guinevere, Meleagant and other characters in the story. Two vividly deployed elements are the concepts of loyalt...
In The Lais of Marie de France, the theme of love is conceivably of the utmost importance. Particularly in the story of Guigemar, the love between a knight and a queen brings them seemingly true happiness. The lovers commit to each other an endless devotion and timeless affection. They are tested by distance and are in turn utterly depressed set apart from their better halves. Prior to their coupling the knight established a belief to never have interest in romantic love while the queen was set in a marriage that left her trapped and unhappy. Guigemar is cursed to have a wound only cured by a woman’s love; he is then sent by an apparent fate to the queen of a city across the shores. The attraction between them sparks quickly and is purely based on desire, but desire within romantic love is the selfishness of it. True love rests on a foundation that is above mere desire for another person. In truth, the selfishness of desire is the
Bloch, R. Howard. Medieval Misogyny and the Invention of Western Romantic Love. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1991.
Beyond the battle scenes, Roland is true to the era in its portrayal of vassalage between a lord and his liegeman. In her introduction, Dorothy L. Sayers defines vassalage as "a personal bond of mutual service and protection between a lord (seigneur) and his dependant, and was affirmed by an oath and the rite of "homage"." The Song of Roland undeniably represents the bond between lord and vassal. For instance, when Roland agrees to lead the rearguard, although his place is usually with the vanguard, he does because of his bond of fealty to his Uncle Charlemagne. When Charlemagne offers him half the army, Roland refuses because it is more appropriate, for the ...
Medieval and Renaissance literature develops the concepts of love and marriage and records the evolution of the relation between them. In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Christian love clashes with courtly love, as men and women grapple with such issues as which partner should rule in marriage, the proper, acceptable role of sex in marriage, and the importance of love as a basis for a successful marriage. Works by earlier writers portray the medieval literary notion of courtly love, the sexual attraction between a chivalric knight and his lady, often the knight's lord's wife. The woman, who generally held mastery in these relationships based on physical desire and consummation, dictated the terms of the knight's duties and obligations, much like a feudal lord over a vassal. This microcosm of romance between man and woman was anchored by the macrocosm of the bonds among men and their fealty to their lord. The dominance of women and fealty to the leader in courtly love contrasts with the dominance ...
In a relationship, Love is a feeling that humans share with a special person. Some bonds could be mutual, while others are dissociated. During the Medieval period, love affairs were dominated by one gender, men, and the women had little or no control over decisions. Before a gentleman married a lady, the gentleman first boasted about her beauty, championed the cause of the lady, and did whatever the lady requested. The era was influenced by knights, and dictated by honor and chivalry that each knight had to display to their king and queen. As a gentleman, a knight had to be just at all times, especially toward ladies. At this time, there was a king named Arthur. King Arthur had a flourishing kingdom that abruptly ended. Later on, many authors recounted the story of the reign of King Arthur. Sir Thomas Malory published Le Morte d’Arthur, and Geoffrey Chaucer published The Wife of Bath’s Tale. Although both of these books recount the reign of King Arthur, the stories are very diverse and unique in their own way. Both stories demonstrate for a relationship to be successful, both partners must be submissive, must be brave, and must be willing to learn from mistakes.
One way the author persuaded people into joining the crusades was through Roland’s character. Roland was King Charlemagne’s nephew, an epic hero and the model of knighthood. Roland is seen as a great knight because he is great on a horse and equally great with weapons. During the battle Archbishop Turpin speaks to Roland about what a good knight should possess, “Who bears arms and sits astride a good horse. In battle he should be strong and fierce, or else he is not worth four pence.” (89) This idea of good battlefield and horseman skills is repeated many times throughout the poem. Roland is also seen as a Christ symbol during the narrative. During the first part of the poem, Roland is a sacrificial Christ, who dies freely. Roland does not call for the help of King Charlemagne until he knows that he will die, sacrificing willingly his life for the Christian cause. It is fitting that a member of the clergy, Turpin the archbishop, signals when to sound the horn. When Roland’s demise nears, the religious symbolism ...
Romance can be defined as a medieval form of narrative which relates tales of chivalry and courtly love. Its heroes, usually knights, are idealized and the plot often contains miraculous or superatural elements. According to Tony Davenport the central medieval sense of romance is ' of narratives of chivalry, in which knights fight for honour and love.' The term amour coutois ( courtly love) was coined by the French critic Gaston Paris in 1883 to categorise what medieval French lyricists or troubadours referred to as ' fin armors'. Romances and lyrics began to develop in the late fourteenth century England, author like Chaucer or Hoccleve produced some of the first english medieval narratives. But how does medieval literature present the expericence of romantic love. In order to answer this question this essay will focus on two tales from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales: the Knight's Tales and the Franklin's Tales. It will show that medieval romance can be used as a vehicle to promote chivalric behaviour as well as exploring a range of philosophical, political, and literary question.
“The Knight’s Tale”, for example, uses the concept of a knight not only to parody the concept of the hero, but also to question the well-established courtly love convention. This last concept refers to a set of ideas about love that was enormously influential on the literature and culture of the medieval times for it gave men the chance to feel freely. Also, it gave women the opportunity to be an important element in the story – not only decorative. However, when scrutinizing the tale, the readers can realise that all the aspects of a knight’s love are exaggerated and conveyed throu...
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, “A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved”. The stories of Marie de France and Chrétien de Troyes illustrate the conventions of courtly love.
“The Wife of Bath’s Tale” is written in an entertaining and adventurous spirit, but serves a higher purpose by illustrating the century’s view of courtly love. Hundreds, if not thousands, of other pieces of literature written in the same century prevail to commemorate the coupling of breathtaking princesses with lionhearted knights after going through unimaginable adventures, but only a slight few examine the viability of such courtly love and the related dilemmas that always succeed. “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” shows that women desire most their husband’s love, Overall, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” shows that the meaning of true love does not stay consistent, whether between singular or separate communities and remains timeless as the depictions of love from this 14th century tale still hold true today.
The Song of Roland inherently is an epic about the values of knights. The courage, selflessness, respect, honor, and devotion are key characteristics of Roland, Oliver, and Thierry. Lord and vassal relationship occupied a significant place in the chivalric code: and Roland, Oliver and Thierry serve as examples of faithful vassals, who primarily things about his promise to serve the king. Indeed the honor of the knight lies in allegiance to his word and valor. Thus, Roland, Oliver, and Thierry put all of their lives on the altar of serving their
The tales of King Arthur and many of their numerous characters are well known in literature. The Arthurian world is one of the great myths of modern times. Those great pieces of literature have many common themes, one of them being courtly love “L’amour Courtois”. This paper talks of courtly love as seen in King Arthur’s world especially examining “Yvain or the Knight with the Lion” and “Lancelot: or the Knight of the Cart”. Furthermore, one of the goals is to show how that courtly love could be seen in today in our world.