[TY] The Rules of Courtly Love (long)

[meridies@web.ce.utk.edu]

Poster: meridies@web.ce.utk.edu

m'lords and m'ladys --

	I discovered these rules while browsing a lovely book which I have
recently purchased.  I thought that some were still true today while others
may have changed over time.  The book is called _The Book of Courtly Love
-- Medieval Stories and Songs_, edited by Robert Yagley.  "The Rules" comes
from _The Art of Courtly Love_ by Andreas Campellanus, written in the late
12th century.  

The Rules 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 arrive at 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 impelled 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 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 early 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 to flight an old one.
18.  Good charachter 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, and therefore love, are increased 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 from being loved by two men or one man by
two women.  

So, what do ya'll think about those?  Here's another gem from the same book.  

"The Envoys of the Heart Should Be"
by Giraud Calanson (trans. from Provencal by John Rutherford) 

The envoys of the heart should be 
The noble deeds of chivalry: --
A daring charge, an escalade, 
A knight or banner captive made; 
A pass against a host maintained, 
A name through trials borne unstained --
Thus love most eloquently speaks;
This is the language a maiden seeks.  


Actually, I think I agree totally with the last poem and a little with "The
Rules."  

				Amarantha 



********************************
Michelle Evans
levans1@mail.bleckley.public.lib.ga.us
********************************


=======================================================================
List Archives, FAQ, FTP:  http://sca.wayfarer.org/merryrose/
            Submissions:  atlantia@atlantia.sca.org
        Admin. requests:  majordomo@atlantia.sca.org