Courtly Love

   Hi everyone,

   just another medieval snippet!

   Courtly love was a literary movement conjured by the troubadours in Southern France in the 1100's. It combined refinement, chivalry, courtly manners and the veneration of nobly born women. Courtly love appeared as a backlash to the brutality of the era in an attempt to civilize the aristocratic levels in society. The movement spread throughout Europe and greatly effected troubadours and writers in England, Germany and Italy. Courtly love's influence was long reaching and aspects of this ideal were emulated by artists, poets and writers though the centuries; such as the Romantic poets and the Pre-Raphaelites of the late 19th century.

Nicole