Chivalry+and+Courtly+Love

=__Chivalry and Courtly Love__= The Code of Chivalry 1. Always respect and obey the law unless the law is wrongful. 2. Exhibit self-control. 3. Never attack an unarmed foe. 4. Be polite and attentive. A Knight's Behavior For more information visit [|http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~shagin/WLchivalry.html] (BH)
 * Loyalty**- A Good knight is unbending in his commitment to those he is sworn to defend.
 * Nobility**- Nobility is the beginning of courtesy, and thus knights are to be polite and equitable to all as they develop and maintain a noble character through the ideals of chivalry.

**What is Courtly Love?** Properly applied, the phrase //l'amour courtois// identified an extravagantly artificial and stylized relationship--a forbidden affair that was characterized by five main attributes. In essence, the relationship was


 * Aristocratic. As its name implies, //courtly// love was practiced by noble lords and ladies; its proper milieu was the royal palace or court.
 * Ritualistic. Couples engaged in a courtly relationship conventionally exchanged gifts and tokens of their affair. The lady was wooed according to elaborate conventions of etiquette (cf. "//court//ship" and "//court//esy") and was the constant recipient of songs, poems, bouquets, sweet favors, and ceremonial gestures. For all these gentle and painstaking attentions on the part of her lover, she need only return a short hint of approval, a mere shadow of affection. After all, she was the exalted //domina//--the commanding "mistress" of the affair; he was but her //servus//--a lowly but faithful servant.
 * Secret. Courtly lovers were pledged to strict secrecy. The foundation for their affair--indeed the source of its special aura and electricity--was that the rest of the world (except for a few confidantes or go-betweens) was excluded. In effect, the lovers composed a universe unto themselves--a special world with its own places (e.g., the secret rendezvous), rules, codes, and commandments.
 * Adulterous. "Fine love"--almost by definition--was extramarital. Indeed one of its principle attractions was that it offered an escape from the dull routines and boring confinements of noble marriage (which was typically little more than a political or economic alliance for the purpose of producing royal offspring). The troubadours themselves scoffed at marriage, regarding it as a glorified religious swindle. In its place they exalted their own ideal of a disciplined and decorous carnal relationship whose ultimate objective was not crude physical satisfaction, but a sublime and sensual intimacy.
 * Literary. Before it established itself as a popular real-life activity, courtly love first gained attention as a subject and theme in imaginative literature. Ardent knights, that is to say, and their passionately adored ladies were already popular figures in song and fable before they began spawning a host of real-life imitators in the palace halls and boudoirs of medieval Europe. (**Note**: Even the word "romance"--from Old French //romanz//--began life as the name for a narrative poem about chivalric heroes. Only later was the term applied to the distinctive love relationship commonly featured in such poems.)

Websites 1.) [|__http://condor.depaul.edu/dsimpson/tlove/courtlylove.html__] 2.) [|__http://www.castles.me.uk/medieval-code-chivalry.htm__] 3.)http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~shagin/WLchivalry.html (TF)

This must be emphasized, since we so often think of courtly love as a special, self-conscious form of love, as if it differed from what one critic calls "ordinary love." For the aristocracy of Chaucer's time courtly love was the ordinary form of love, because of the very nature of their language. Of course, there was wide variation. As Chaucer tells the audience of Troilus, "Scarsly ben ther in this place thre/That have in love said lik, or don, all." And scarcely are there three writers, or even three works of the same writer, in which the idea of love or the words and actions of the lovers are the same. Yet this wide range of variation occurs within the limits defined by the language of courtly love. This identification of courtly love with aristocratic virtue is why Chaucer represents John of Gaunt as a courtly lover, suffering from a dangerous case of //ereos// in the //Book of the Duchess//. Of course, the representation is not direct, for the idea is not to particularize John as the Black Knight but rather to generalize him, to show how much he resembles the great courtly lovers of the past and thus to imply how much of their virtue he embodies -- to present him, that is, as a model of courtliness, speaking in the "settled language of the chivalric system." For more information: [|http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/special/lifemann/love/ben-love.htm] (BH)

I wanted to put these here because I think that there are some good ideals within the code of chivalry. Plus it's interesting to see how our ideas about chivalry and/or honor have changed with time. Sure, some of this is obviously outdated and probably not very useful, but some of it is still good advice; I'm sure you'll recognize which points are useful even today. //From Chivalry by Leon Gautier// //From the Rifts: England Supplement// I'm pretty sure I got this list somewhere else, but I haven't found out where. Still, some reference is better than none, so thanks to Jeremy Treanor for giving me this one.
 * The Code of Chivalry**
 * //The Ten Commandments of the Code of Chivalry//**
 * 1) Thou shalt believe all that the Church teaches, and shalt observe all its directions.
 * 2) Thou shalt defend the Church.
 * 3) Thou shalt respect all weaknesses, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them.
 * 4) Thou shalt love the country in the which thou wast born.
 * 5) Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy.
 * 6) Thou shalt make war against the Infidel without cessation, and without mercy.
 * 7) Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God.
 * 8) Thou shalt never lie, and shall remain faithful to thy pledged word.
 * 9) Thou shalt be generous, and give largess to everyone.
 * 10) Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil.
 * //The Code of Chivalry//**
 * Live to serve King and Country.
 * Live to defend Crown and Country and all it holds dear.
 * Live one's life so that it is worthy of respect and honor.
 * Live for freedom, justice and all that is good.
 * Never attack an unarmed foe.
 * Never use a weapon on an opponent not equal to the attack.
 * Never attack from behind.
 * Avoid lying to your fellow man.
 * Avoid cheating.
 * Avoid torture.
 * Obey the law of king, country, and chivalry.
 * Administer justice.
 * Protect the innocent.
 * Exhibit self control.
 * Show respect to authority.
 * Respect women.
 * Exhibit Courage in word and deed.
 * Defend the weak and innocent.
 * Destroy evil in all of its monstrous forms.
 * Crush the monsters that steal our land and rob our people.
 * Fight with honor.
 * Avenge the wronged.
 * Never abandon a friend, ally, or noble cause.
 * Fight for the ideals of king, country, and chivalry.
 * Die with valor.
 * Always keep one's word of honor.
 * Always maintain one's principles.
 * Never betray a confidence or comrade.
 * Avoid deception.
 * Respect life and freedom.
 * Die with honor.
 * Exhibit manners.
 * Be polite and attentive.
 * Be respectful of host, women, and honor.
 * Loyalty to country, King, honor, freedom, and the code of chivalry.
 * Loyalty to one's friends and those who lay their trust in thee.

I wanted to put these here because I think that there are some good ideas in these sets of rules. It's also interesting to see how our ideas about love have changed with time (OK, so we don't exactly have the idea of courtly love around anymore, but still). Some of this is certainly outdated and probably not very useful, but some of it is still good advice; I'm sure you'll recognize which points are useful even today. Both lists apparently come from the same source, //The Art of Courtly Love// by Andreas Capellanus. Thanks to Mark Lipsman for pointing out an error (now corrected) in point 2 of the second list below. //From The Art of Courtly Love by Andreas Capellanus// //From The Art of Courtly Love by Andreas Capellanus//
 * Rules of Courtly Love**
 * //The Twelve Chief Rules in Love//**
 * 1) Thou shalt avoid avarice like the deadly pestilence and shalt embrace its opposite.
 * 2) Thou shalt keep thyself chaste for the sake of her whom thou lovest.
 * 3) Thou shalt not knowingly strive to break up a correct love affair that someone else is engaged in.
 * 4) Thou shalt not chose for thy love anyone whom a natural sense of shame forbids thee to marry.
 * 5) Be mindful completely to avoid falsehood.
 * 6) Thou shalt not have many who know of thy love affair.
 * 7) Being obedient in all things to the commands of ladies, thou shalt ever strive to ally thyself to the service of Love.
 * 8) In giving and receiving love's solaces let modesty be ever present.
 * 9) Thou shalt speak no evil.
 * 10) Thou shalt not be a revealer of love affairs.
 * 11) Thou shalt be in all things polite and courteous.
 * 12) In practising the solaces of love thou shalt not exceed the desires of thy lover.
 * //The Art of Courtly Love//**
 * 1) Marriage is no real excuse for not loving.
 * 2) He who is not jealous cannot love.
 * 3) No one can be bound by a double love.
 * 4) It is well known that love is always increasing or decreasing.
 * 5) That which a lover takes against the will of his beloved has no relish.
 * 6) Boys do not love until they reach the age of maturity.
 * 7) When one lover dies, a widowhood of two years is required of the survivor.
 * 8) No one should be deprived of love without the very best of reasons.
 * 9) No one can love unless he is propelled by the persuasion of love.
 * 10) Love is always a stranger in the home of avarice.
 * 11) It is not proper to love any woman whom one would be ashamed to seek to marry.
 * 12) A true lover does not desire to embrace in love anyone except his beloved.
 * 13) When made public love rarely endures.
 * 14) The easy attainment of love makes it of little value: difficulty of attainment makes it prized.
 * 15) Every lover regularly turns pale in the presence of his beloved.
 * 16) When a lover suddenly catches sight of his beloved his heart palpitates.
 * 17) A new love puts an old one to flight.
 * 18) Good character alone makes any man worthy of love.
 * 19) If love diminishes, it quickly fails and rarely revives.
 * 20) A man in love is always apprehensive.
 * 21) Real jealousy always increases the feeling of love.
 * 22) Jealousy increases when one suspects his beloved.
 * 23) He whom the thought of love vexes eats and sleeps very little.
 * 24) Every act of a lover ends in the thought of his beloved.
 * 25) A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved.
 * 26) Love can deny nothing to love.
 * 27) A lover can never have enough of the solaces of his beloved.
 * 28) A slight presumption causes a lover to suspect his beloved.
 * 29) A man who is vexed by too much passion usually does not love.
 * 30) A true lover is constantly and without intermission possessed by the thought of his beloved.
 * 31) Nothing forbids one woman being loved by two men or one man by two women.

__[]__ (JL) (JL) Courtly love as a literary phenomenon reflects one of the most far-reaching revolutions in social sensibility in Western culture--the dramatic change in attitude towards women that began in the late eleventh century, spread throughout western and northern Europe during the twelfth century, and lingered through the Renaissance and on into the modern world where traces can still be found. In its essential nature, courtly love, or //fin' amors//, as the Provencal poets called it, was the expression of the knightly worship of a refining ideal embodied in the person of the beloved. Only a truly noble nature could generate and nurture such a love; only a woman of magnanimity of spirit was a worthy object. The act of loving was in itself ennobling and refining, the means to the fullest expression of what was potentially fine and elevated in human nature. More often than not, such a love expressed itself in terms that were feudal and religious. Thus, just as a vassal was expected to honor and serve his lord, so a lover was expected to serve his lady, to obey her commands, and to gratify her merest whims. Absolute obedience and unswerving loyalty were critical. To incur the displeasure of one's lady was to be cast into the void, beyond all light, warmth, and possibility of life. And just as the feudal lord stood above and beyond his vassal, so the lady occupied a more celestial sphere than that of her lover. Customarily she seemed remote and haughty, imperious and difficult to please. She expected to be served and wooed, minutely and at great length. If gratified by the ardors of her lover-servant, she might at length grant him her special notice; in exceptional circumstances, she might even grant him that last, longed-for favor. Physical consummation of love, however, was not obligatory. What was important was the prolonged and exalting experience of being in love. (BH) For more information: []