After two paragraphs of Capellanus’,
The Art of Courtly Love, I felt like
I just read the classification of a stalker. The examples of what torments a
man before “love becomes equally balanced on both sides” (Capellanus, 30) are obsessive
and superficial. One fear made me shake my head more than the others: “[I]f he
is rich, he fears that his parsimony in the past may stand in his way” (Capellanus,
30). The ugly man and the poor man’s fears are valid but superficial; however,
the rich man’s seems like an obsessive person purposely creating reasons to
torment himself.
The rest of the book implicates how
the rules of courtly love are distasteful and delusional. First, courtly love
appears to be homophobic: “Whatever nature forbids, love is ashamed to accept”
(Capellanus, 32). I instantly thought that according to the rules of courtly
love, a man raping a woman will shame love less than a homosexual couple. Then,
love has an age criteria. While men have a minimum age requirement, women have
a cut off age. The ages fall into the age ranges for procreation. While I think
there should be a minimum age to fully understand love, a woman is capable of
having a passionate relationship after the age of fifty. The book ends with the
story of the knight and his British lady. It is in the style of a bad
role-playing game with ridiculous quests for reciprocated love. By the end of
the story, King of Love proclaims the thirty-one rules of courtly love. The thirty-one
rules support adultery and obsession, and they are mainly based on superficial
grounds. My favorite one could possibly kill a person: “He whom the thought of
love vexes eats and sleeps very little” (185).
Courtly love stories appealed to
the rich, who were literate and could afford leisurely activities. Many wealthy
couples were married based on status rather than attraction or love; therefore,
many unhappy marriages existed. The story in Capellanus’ book illustrates a
woman able to persuade a man to do anything to please her. This tells me that
the tales of courtly love were written mainly for a female audience. The
audience is not interested in reading stories similar to their own mundane
marriages. Instead, they are interested in indulging in stories about a fantasy
life within social acceptance. This is why the love is never between
homosexuals and the main characters are within the higher social classes (lady
and knight). What more could a woman want than a man tormenting himself until
he is willing to do anything for his lady love? Who wants to read a story about
a man wooing an old lady?
Courtly love stories seem comparable to the romantic steamy beach reads with a twist of prejudice and obsession.
