Courtly Love and Romance Literature

A quick review

Romance Literature

• Romance-when you hear the word, you probably think about love; however, that is not where the word originated.

• It was taken from the French romanz, and referred to the Latin language spoken by the Romans.

• French and many other languages were derived from the Latin, hence, romance languages.

Romance languages:

• The romance languages include French, Italian, Spanish, Latin, and Portuguese.

• Romance literature became synonymous with specific literature written in the French vernacular language, commonly spoken at court. It also reflected the culture of the court.

Women’s influence on romance literature

• This literature was written primarily for the interest of the women in court, who were interested in the roles of women in such stories.

Royal Women• Eleanor of Aquitaine:

Queen of France and

then of England, along

with her daughter Marie,

both had a strong

interest in music, poetry

and the arts. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Eleanor marrying Louis VII of France

Courtly Love

• Troubador Poetry-written for the women of court and depicted the style of courtly love they preferred. Women were usually older than the knight or lord who performed the deeds and the love won was strictly plutonic.

• The knight was subjected and loyal to the king, and in turn, was also expected to show the same affections for the queen, ladies, and dames at court. Unfortunately, this was only done in the poetry, not in reality.

Favors

• The ladies of court would encourage the knights to perform noble deeds and often gave them tokens to herald them on to complete the task, thus winning her “love”.

The grim reality• The reality of the times was that marriages were not

performed or entered into because of love, but rather because of strategic planning. Young women were betrothed to the man who would bring her status and security, and men would look to inherit land, properties, and titles by marrying the woman.

Romance?

• Women of the court may have been more entertained by the thought of romantic love due to the lack of it in their real lives. Some theorize that it serves as a model for young lords who are not yet married, so as to behave in a way fitting their station in life.

Works cited

Eleanor of Aquitaine: Eleanor marrying Louis VII of France, 1137. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Web. 26 Mar.2011.

"Troubadours & The Beloved."Re-Vision Radio. The Gypsy Scholar, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2011. <www.revradiotowerofsong.org/9philosoquestromance.html >.