Courtly Love In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Words: 1322
Pages: 6

The Court: Courtly Love How is the court determined? In the middle ages, someone in control establishes the court. In many stories, there is a court formed by a king. Courtly love is a major part of the court throughout the history of literature. Courtly love is brought upon many poems and stories read by several of us today. Through evolution, the court and courtly love have changed. The elements, history, and evolution of the court are apart of literature. What elements are in the court? Elements can be determined throughout the court in Finlayson’s article, “Sir Gawain, Knight of the Queen, In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” In the court a major element is romance. “Its function here is to steer the poem away from the epic potential …show more content…
Courtly love brought major interest to poets throughout history. Courtly love can be referred to as a secret love. In Medieval times, poets wrote their stories with a theme of courtly love. The man falls in love with a married woman or a woman falls in love with a married man. Courtly love begins in Jeffrey’s article “Courtly Love and Christian Marriage: Chretien de Troyes, Chaucer, and Henry VIII,” and courtly love is described as always a literary convention of sorts and an undergirding value of Christian marriage. In the article, it says courtly love began in the twelfth century. The article mentions how courtly love goes against Christian marriage because many times a person falls in love with someone who is married to another person. Many times courtly love is referred to adultery. Stories in today’s world would be considered adultery. With courtly love, it is sinful to those committing …show more content…
In a story, there is a court with courtly love that is about a forbidden relationship between two people; which can be referred to Murray’s article, “Marie de France, Ethicist: Questioning Courtly Love in Laüstic,” when the author talks a lot about Laüstic and breaks down the story. Murray comes to a conclusion that the lady and the knight do not come to a happy ending. The lady had ruined her relationship with her husband because he felt as if she were in love with another man. Instead of having a Christian based love, the lady decided to go the sinful way. This poem represents what courtly love is and how many characters are seen to be selfish and disloyal. Dante’s Inferno is mentioned in “Courtly Love and Christian Marriage: Chretien de Troyes, Chaucer, and Henry VIII,” Jeffrey suggests that Dante’s fifth canto of the Inferno, “In which Paolo and Francesca are found among the damned for reading the Lancelot story as a prompt to adulterous armor, indicates clearly enough that literalist romanticizing was a possibility.”
We learn that as these stories evolve, other poets reveal courtly love as a sinful thing and they will go to hell for it. Courtly love has evolved through literature and one can realize that it is a different kind of love. Not only does it involve entertainment and amusement as one reads, but also brings forward sin and religion to the poem. With creativity in “Courtly Love and Christian Marriage: Chretien