MEDIEVAL ROMANCE

1. MEDIEVAL ROMANCE

2. 1150-1250 • Had origins in southern France in the late eleventh century; moved North with Eleanor of Aquitaine. • Depicts Courtly Life • In its early stages, had a predominantly female audience • Demonstrates an interest in human relationships, adventure, magic, and love. • Was recognized as representing an ideal, unrealizable world.

4. 3 IMPORTANT ASPECTS of MEDIEVAL ROMANCE • CHIVALRY • COURTLINESS • COURTLY LOVE

5. CHIVALRY • Knights should demonstrate the following characteristics: • Prowess: Courage, strength, and skill in the use of weapons. • Loyalty • Generosity • Constancy • Sense of duty: to right wrongs and to help the poor, weak, and downtrodden (especially women) • Focus on achieving and maintaining reputation

7. COURTLINESS • Knights should follow the customs and rituals of the court: • Appropriate Dress and Manners • The ability to speak gently about love • Feeling and showing respect for the feelings and actions of others

8. COURTLY LOVE • Courtly Love is defined by the following characteristics: • Should be based in romantic love. • There should be a social gap between lover and beloved. • It should be distant and hard to achieve. • It should remain secret. • It should be practiced with mésure.

9. The Rules of Love • He who is not jealous cannot love. • It is well known that love is always increasing or decreasing. • When made public, love rarely endures. • The easy attainment of love makes it of little value; difficulty of attainment makes it prized • When a lover suddenly catches sight of his beloved his heart palpitates. • A man in love is always apprehensive. • He whom the thought of love vexes eats and sleeps very little. • A slight presumption causes a lover to suspect his beloved. • A true lover is constantly and without intermission possessed by the thought of his beloved. • The true lover believes only that which he thinks will please his beloved. • Jealousy, and therefore love, are increased when one suspects his beloved.