History 101 2/29/12

The Art of Courtly Love A. The concept of romantic love in the 21st century came from what was considered courtly

love that started in the tenth century. In The Art of Courtly Love, by Andreas Capellanus, the modern day reader gets a view of how love was defined in the 12th century. Love was perceived as something different in the 12th century than it is now, since a person did not marry for love back then. Andreas Capellanus argues that courtly love could only be between a couple having an affair, not between a married couple. B. Andreas Capellanus, author of The Art of Courtly Love, was a writer during the twelfth

century. His private life still remains a mystery to many, but he was thought to have been of French origin since he was also known as Andre le Chapelain. He was also thought to have been a courtier of Marie of Troyes (Parry 3). At the time the book was written the intended audiences were nobility and men and women of the middle class. Peasants, nuns and prostitutes were not considered worthy of true love (Capellanus, 142). The book was written as an informative essay written to a man named Walter, who is an unidentified man that claims he has fallen in love. The book then goes on to explain what love is, its effect and how it can be obtained. It is not sure if the author has a direct knowledge of courtly love since little is known of his life. It seems he does not agree with what he has written about true courtly love because in the third book he gives many reasons why a person should reject true love and says a person should not practice what was said in the first and second books. Since he seems to make a complete turn in the way he presents true love, it makes his work seem ambivalent and unbelievable.

Capellanus starts off by defining what love is. It is a suffering from having an obsession with someone of the opposite sex (Capellanus, 28). It is a suffering because there is always some sort of fear: that the other person doesnt love them back, will find him ugly or that rumors will spread of his love. This type of true love is supposed to be kept secret otherwise it will not last. True love can be between any man and women, but not between two people of the same sex (Capellanus, 33). The five ways love may be acquired are by: a beautiful figure, excellence of character, extreme readiness of speech, great wealth, and the readiness with which one grants that which is sought. The first and second way play a huge role, but the last three are of little importance. The first two are still play a huge role today. He says that a love based on a beautiful figure is doomed to fail from the very beginning because when love is revealed, it does not help the lovers worth, but brands his reputation with evil rumors and often causes him grief (Capellanus 33). The girls chaperone becomes suspicious of the guy and gives her no opportunity to talk to him. The best way to acquire love is through that persons character (Capellanus 33). After a love is consummated it may be increased if one of the lovers feels real jealousy or shows anger at the other because the other lover is afraid it will not last forever. It also increases if the two lovers cant see each other often because it increases their desire to do so. Since most of these true loves happen between two people not married it should be kept secret, but if it lasts after it has been made public love increases (Capellanus 153). Love decreases though if the lovers have too much time to see and talk to each other or if one lover demands the love of the other instead of it being freely given, which is why the author says love cannot happen between two people that are married (Capellanus 154).

Capellanus also gives the 31 rules of love according to the King of Love. He describes a few physical expressions such as turning pale and an increase in heart rate associated with seeing ones true love. They also say that marriage is no real excuse for not loving and every thought should be of your love. The last rule says that a lover can never have enough of the solaces of his beloved (Capellanus 185), but earlier in the book the author says that spending too much time together decreases love. In book three, the author talks about rejecting this so called true love after explaining about how great it is in his first two books. He goes on to say that since this true love usually happens between two married people that arent married to each other, it is against Gods wish. He also says that any man who devotes his efforts to love loses all his usefulness (Capellanus 187). After the first 2/3 of the book explaining about how great this true love is, the abrupt change in book three leaves the reader wondering which stance the author actually takes and how much of the book is accurate. According to Capellanus, true love is not necessarily between a husband and wife, and usually remains a secret (Capellanus 33). This book gives us an insight of what the attitudes towards love were during the twelfth century. Andreas Capellanus description of love is not the same type of love we would think of today, but are different than the type of love we usually associate with this time period. The author defines love as a certain inborn suffering derived from the sight of and excessive meditation upon the beauty of the opposite sex, which causes each one to wish above all things the embraces of the other and by common desire to carry out all of loves precepts in the others embrace (Capellanus 28). While it is not seen as a suffering anymore, love today is

still similar to this description. We still get excited when we see the one we love, and want to always be with that person. When speaking about the five ways to acquire love, Capellanus puts a huge emphasis on a persons character. Physical beauty is not as important as was often thought during this time period. It was thought that if a woman wore too much makeup or a man cared too much about how their body looked, they were trying to cover up a bad or lacking character. A person wants a partner who has an honorable character because then they wont stray and cheat While that is not the only deciding factor of love today, we do still place a big emphasis on honor when choosing a partner. He says that love increases if the lovers see each other rarely and with difficulty, for the greater difficultythe more do the desire for them and the feeling of love increase (Capellanus 153). In todays time, if a married couple hardly ever see each other it isnt considered a great marriage and usually ends up in divorce. He also says that too many opportunities for exchanging solaces, too many opportunities of seeing the loved one, too much chance to talk to each other all decrease love (Capellanus 154). I dont feel that this is the case in todays time. While you dont need to spend all your time together, I dont think spending a lot of time together will decrease your love for each other.

Outline Thesis: Andreas Capellanus argues that courtly love could only be between a couple having an affair, not between a married couple 1. According to the author, love is: a. a suffering from having an obsession with someone of the opposite sex. (Capellanus,28) b. a certain inborn suffering derived from the sight of and excessive meditation upon the beauty of the opposite sex, which causes each one to wish above all things the embraces of the other and by common desire to carry out all of loves precepts in the others embrace (Capellanus 28) 2. What makes a person fall in love a. 5 things a girl must have: a beautiful figure, excellence of character, extreme readiness of speech, great wealth, and the readiness with which one grants that which is sought (Capellanus, 33) b. Later goes on to say that if you love someone because of their beauty it is doomed to fail. 3. The author says there are ways a person can retain their love a. Must be kept a secret i. when love is revealed, it does not help the lovers worth, but brands his reputation with evil rumors and often causes him grief (Capellanus 33). b. Strive to please your beloved

c. Many ways to maintain love (Capellanus,153) i. If a person dreams about their loved one ii. If they dont see that person often iii. If made public and love survives 4. There are many reasons the author says love cannot be between a man and wife. a. Since marriages were arranged in the 10th century, a person could not fall in love with their spouse because they didnt pick them. b. If a person sees their spouse too frequently love cant grow. 5. Some scholars say that The Art of Courtly Love is not an accurate description of what courtly love was. a. Capellanuss third book is completely different from the first two. i. Says that there is no such thing as courtly love (Capellanus, 190) ii. Love is a type of prison for a man (Capellanus,187) iii. If a man devotes all his efforts to love he is seen as useless b. The author also contradicts himself i. One of the five things a women must have for a man to fall in love with is beauty but then he later says that if thats the only reason a man falls in love with a women, that love is doomed to fail. ii. Says love must be kept a secret from others but then later says that love can increase if it becomes public and still lasts. iii. Also says that spending too much time together will decrease love but in his 31 rules of love he says a lover can never have enough of the solaces of his beloved (Capellanus 185)

Bibliography Capellanus, Andreas. The Art of Courtly Love. Translated by John Jay Parry, 28-36, 151156, 177-200. New York. Columbia University Press, 1990. John Jay Parry. Introduction to The Art of Courtly Love by Capellanus, Andreas. 3-24. New York. Columbia University Press, 1990.