A Long Historical Path of Courtly Love in Literature
The Middle English Age can be divides between the time before Chaucer and after Chaucer. He was the most determined figure in classifying Middle English and the literary and cultural figure. Around this time Anglo-Saxon dominance came to an end and Norman too over. It was in 1215, when Magna Carta was issued. Around 1250 French begin to loose its prominence. It was also the time of Holt Crusades. Literature of Love and the beloved who left for war front became the themes of the time. Middle English Age emerged with War Literature and Religiuos Literature as major part of Literary writings. The Literature of Romance also began to take influence. It was the Love and the Courtly Romances which values Chivalry the most. The romance of the knights and its travels. This was not for the ordinary two people. The concept of local tradition of ballad began to emerge during this period. Roman de la Rose or The Romance of the Rose considered the most influential text of the middle age. It laod to the foundation of particular kind of romances.
The courtly love was the most influenced system of romance in the middle age, It has no relation with marriage. During this age men and women were married by the wishes of the family members keeping the economic and political togetherness at top priority. But the Churc h insisted that marriage need to be valid with the consent of both husband and wife. On the other hand courtly love was outside this arranged marriage. Physical relationship was prohibedden. Love in was chivalric, politicised and reflects the social aspect of the time.
Knights in the middle ages were simple warrior and armed men know for their valour. But in the 12th century the character transformed due to the sophisticated change of the court. Andreas Capellanus wrote The Art of Honest Loving for Marie de Champagne. He insisted the political and the Aristocratic life of a knight. Battle and courage became the other thing for a knight. They need to be parfect courtier, musician, sportsman, and a philosopher. They fight for their love and honour. There is a commitment that binds the love with death at the end. Lover’s Tragedy emergerd as a new concept in the middle age. Tristan and Iseult , Lancelot and Guinevere, Romeo and Juliet, Heloise and Abelard. Love is closely linked to death. This encouraged them away from betrayal. It prescribed social and aristocratic conduct that led to marriage.
Overall, I strongly believe that courtly love has been passed throughout the years, managing to evolve from Shakespeare to today's hits. Courtly love has been expressed and also changed of evolution. Sadly, people do not go around reciting poems to our loved ones or neither do people normalize just read poetry for the hell of it. Instead, today we show courtly love throughout books, music, and movies. An example of courtly love in a song is called ‘Crazy For This Girl’. The song expresses and shows story about a guy who loves this girl, but really the girl has no understanding that he has these feelings for her. An example shows in these lyrics “You look at her she looks at me, shes’ got me thinking about her constantly, but she don’t know how I feel”. I think that this piece best represents the “unforbidden” love seen throughout the song. The boy would like to get the girl, but isn’t sure how.
