Kate Bell
Denomy, Alexander J. “Courtly
Love and Courtliness.” Speculum:
A Journal of Medieval Studies 28.1 (1953): 44-63.
Although the terms “courtly love” and “courtliness”
are similar and related, they are clearly represented as separate entities in
the poetry of the Troubadours and literature of
Based on the documents Denomy uses, the reader arrives at an understanding of what courtly love is, but knows less of what courtliness is. Denomy explains this as a lack of knowledge and solid literature about the basics of courtliness because sometimes the writings of the Troubadours and other French literature contain opposing ideas. His argument then is somewhat unbalanced, lacking in a description of courtliness. The article’s terminology is confusing at times because Denomy has a few different names by which he calls courtly love and courtliness. His translations of the excerpts from poetry and literature clearly distinguish between the two ideas, but sometimes in his own analysis the distinction becomes confusing. The confusion especially arises when he starts switching names for courtly love and courtliness because there is not always a clear definition of which name belongs to each idea. This article is helpful in recognizing that courtly love and courtliness are not the same thing, and also helps to understand different aspects of courtly love in relation to the aspects of courtliness that were presented.
Ferrante, Joan M. “Cortes’Amor
in Medieval Texts.” Speculum:
A Journal of Medieval Studies
55.4 (1980): 686-695.
Ferrante argues
that courtliness is essential for courtly love.
Although “courtly love” is a modern term, the concept most definitely
existed as an important part of medieval society.
Direct quotations from medieval Provencal, French, Italian, and Middle
English texts are relied upon to describe and prove this point.
The term “Courtly Love” originates from the word court, referring to
the courts of kings and such. It
suggests that noble people who are involved in the courts are to participate in
it, and later the term developed to describe the behavior between a nobleman and
lady who are interested in having a relationship.
Courtly love was considered a game. Parents
trained their children to play this game that involves bravery, chivalry,
morals, and paradoxically the idea that almost anything can be justified when it
is for the purpose of love. Courtliness
was not always associated with love in a particularly moral and just way, but
rather some knights had a reputation due to their promiscuity and for even
bragging about it.
Many examples from
primary documents are given that clearly describe what it means to be courtly in
relation to love. However, Ferrante sometimes neglects to give an analysis of
the quotations she has used. The
thesis of this article is not extremely controversial, though the article serves
well as a collection of primary documents that have been examined and connected
in a precise manner. Ferrante chose
to leave words in their original language rather frequently, without including a
translation. Sometimes, translations
were provided once, and not again when the word was mentioned paragraphs later.
This lack of translations made the article hard to follow and would
likely be a hindrance to any reader who was not familiar with Provencal, French,
Italian, and Middle English.
Koenigsberg, Richard A.
“Culture and Unconscious Fantasy: Observations on Courtly Love.”
Psychoanalytic Review (
Koenigsberg draws a
parallel between Capellanus’s “Treatise on Love” which discusses the basic
“rules” of Courtly Love, and Freud’s “First Contribution to the
Psychology of Love,” which describes the qualities love as being ingredients
to a specific kind of “object-choice.” He
argues that the practice of Courtly Love was a social institution that developed
because of a basic human problem: the Oedipus conflict.
In both works, love is based on the suffering experienced by the lover
that is caused by his jealousy and unsatisfied desire.
In the process of correctly enduring his suffering and pursuing the
woman, the man is able to prove his greatness of character by his merit, and
doing so also proves his masculinity. The
Oedipus Conflict is resolved and the man’s feelings of inferiority disappear
because his greatness comes from the success of his own work, not anything given
to him by his father.
This article is
extra textual and employs a psychological-mythological critical approach.
Connections between the two works are based on the combination of
numerous individual motivations of many people to create a basic universal
motivation. It uses psychological
terminology that may not be familiar to everyone, and also assumes the reader
has a basic understanding of Freudian principles.
This is not surprising as it comes out of a psychological journal, and
could present difficulties for a reader that is unfamiliar with psychology.
Half of Koenigsberg’s argument is based on Freud’s Oedipus Conflict
theory, which is not necessarily the basis for man’s universal motivation to
overcome feelings of inferiority. I
would change the argument slightly, so that the father’s dominance over the
son in relation to the son’s sexual feelings towards his mother was not
considered the basis for feelings of inferiority.
Overall, this article is very useful because it discusses an interesting
and different viewpoint of possible reasons behind the development of courtly
love.
Spence, Sarah.
“’Lo Cop Mortal’: The Evil Eye and the Origins of Courtly Love.”
Romanic Review 87.3 (1996): 307-318.
Spence claims that courtly love developed as a way for
society to deal with envy and carnal desires and that the practice of courtly
love was an attempt to transform these things into something right.
She compares the symptoms of medieval lovesickness with the symptoms of a
person under the effect of the “evil eye,” and they are practically
identical. Lovesickness is usually
influenced by sight of the beloved, though it is not totally necessary.
The evil eye is a superstitious power that certain people have the
ability to harm another person with a gaze caused by the envy of something
material. In many ways, envy can be
fatally destructive to a person. Spence
says that the way to combat these problems is to turn the disease into the cure.
She says that when the person suffers through the practice of courtly
love, it can eventually make them a better person and that it is possible for
the envied person to find happiness in love.
Spence supports her points well with quotes from a range of different sources. The article employs an approach that uses folklore and superstition because it takes the writings of people from different societies and combines them to show the how the basic problem and motivation of envy can be transformed into something positive and fulfilling through the practice of courtly love. This is a useful article to anyone interested in researching courtly love. It reads well, and clearly supports the thesis in a well-organized way.