Courtly Love Flashcards
What is the importance of Eleanor of Aquitaine? (How is she portrayed on her sarcophagus and why?)
Eleanor contributed so much to literature (as a patroness of troubadour poetry). She supported poets and troubadours which helped develop literaure. She helped shape the cultural and social landscape.
Troubadour poetry developed at her court in Poitiers
She is portrayed on her sarcophagus reading a book.
The effigy is also an indication of the undergoing shift, in Medieval Europe, from a predominantly oral culture to a written culture based on books.
Who were the troubadours? Where did courtly love poetry originate and when? What was it about?
Troubadours were poets/musicians who performed.
Courtly Love poetry originated in Southern France, Occitania, in the late 11th century.
It was about the secret love of the poet for the lady of higher status, wife of a Lord of the castle….It’s about longing. A knight-lover pledges obedience to his lady.
What are some of the key rules of courtly love conduct (see Andrew the Chaplain’s treatise De Amore)?
- A lover eats and sleeps very little.
- When a lover catches sight of his beloved, his heart palpitates
- Every lover turns pale in the presence of his beloved
Remember Courtly Love (a) West..
a. Courtly love poetry is the first elaboration of a romantic love ethic in the West.
Remember Courtly Love (b) Language…
b. Its language, Occitan, became the first literary language of Europe since classical times.
Remember Courtly Love (c) Church…
c. With the Occitan troubadours we have the first example of a sophisticated Medieval culture that is entirely secular, developing outside church culture.
Remember Courtly Love (d) Vernacular
d. Courtly love represents the first great flourishing of European literature in a vernacular (common language of a people, such as Italian, French, Occitan, Portuguese, etc., as opposed to Latin.)
