A Medieval Woman's Commentary on 'The Art of Courtly Love'

Author’s Preface

Having recently acquired and thoroughly studied the now well-known treatise The Art of Courtly Love by the clerk Andreas Capellanus, I feel myself compelled to compose a commentary on said text.  For while Capellanus purports to expound to his readers “the way in which a state of love between two lovers may be kept unharmed and likewise how those who do not love may get rid of the darts of Venus that are fixed in their hearts,” Capellanus’ text is directed at a male audience, to teach them how they might successfully woo a woman.  Although he attempts to explore both the masculine and the feminine sides of a courtly romance, I feel quite strongly that he has omitted or passed over some of the more salient bits of advice which it would do a courtly woman well to remember if she should go out in search of a romantic liaison. Thus, I hope to provide a supplementary text to Capellanus’ work which will make it more useful and accessible to a female reader -- provided, of course, that she is herself a woman of elevated rank and noble character.

Chapter I. What Love Is

Capellanus states that love is “a certain inborn suffering derived from the sight of and excessive meditation upon the beauty of the opposite sex.” He characterizes it as an all-consuming poison which, when administered into the body and mind, can only be cured by the realization of that love which a man holds in his heart. I say that this cannot be entirely true.  For while the causes and afflictions of lovesickness are well-known today, it remains a point of fact that only a man can be struck with such a state of madness, for lovesickness does not affect women.  It stands to reason then, that when a woman is approached by a man in the throes of lovesickness, it is her duty to act as the more responsible, rational party.  While the man may be overcome with passion by excessive meditation on the object of his love, it is the woman’s duty to examine the particulars of the situation – how will such a match affect her social status?  Can the man be trusted to keep the union a secret?  Is the man truly as noble as he claims?  For example, in Hartmann von Aue’s romance, Iwein, it is Iwein who suffers from unrestrained desire for the noblewoman Laudine, while Laudine herself makes the calculated choice to accept Iwein as her partner for the simple reason that she requires someone to guard her homeland in her stead.  Were she to have given herself to a man who, though ingratiating and of noble demeanor, did not have the means to protect her property, she would have found herself in a most unfortunate plight indeed.  A woman should thus bear in mind that love has two sides: it is an emotion which strikes at the heart and the mind, but it is also a social and diplomatic game, which must be carefully orchestrated lest the woman find herself disenfranchised by a poor match.  The lady should therefore be careful that she does not throw caution to the wind, and endanger her social or financial status merely for the sake of a frivolous tryst.

Chapter II. Between What Persons Love May Exist

Capellanus begins with the lofty sentiment that “a true lover would rather be deprived of all his money and of everything the human mind can imagine as indispensable to life rather than be without love....”  Thankfully, he soon goes on to say that it is unwise for a man to waste all his wealth on impressing and wooing a woman, for poverty will soon leave both in a state of misery.  I will add that, especially for a woman, it is important that she choose a lover of some means and social status.  For although it may seem a charming daydream to embark upon a courtly romance simply to sate the pangs of love and desire without thought for anything else, the truth is that in our world today, a woman is defined by the men to whom she attaches herself.  A woman may (with the proper education, wealth, and power) achieve a level of independence for herself, but it is very often the case that she falls under the aegis of some man.  Thus, it would behoove a woman to choose a lover who can increase her own social standing and secure her position in the world, and to shun any man who, through intemperance, poverty, or lack of status, might decrease her reputation or her rank. 

Chapter III. Where Love Gets Its Name

Capellanus states that “love gets its name (amor) from the word for hook (amus), which means ‘to capture’ or ‘to be captured’….”  I will say only that, just as a clever beast would not find itself ensnared in a huntsman’s trap, so too should women be vigilant that they do not unwittingly fall prey to the machinations of an unworthy man.

Chapter IV.  What the Effect of Love Is

It may be true that a man who finds himself bathed in the light of love will strive to improve himself so as to attract the attention of a woman – as Capellanus says, love “can endow a man even of the humblest birth with the noblest character” and “adorns a man….with the virtue of chastity.” Still, a woman should be careful that the nobility of character and virtuous conduct of a man is indeed a true reflection of their inner self, and not merely a pretense put on to woo an unsuspecting maid.  Furthermore, one should note that while love may have salubrious effects, it can also lead a man into penury of conscience.  Consider the case of Equitan, the king of Nantes, who fell in love with the wife of his seneschal.  As Marie de France makes known to us, he was once a courtly man with a character befitting his stature, one who “was much admired, and/Much beloved in his own land.”  Yet, as Marie counsels, “long life is not the recompense/For love without measure or sense….[R]eason can’t be kept in love.”  Indeed, in his overwhelming desire for the seneschal’s wife, Equitan agrees with her plot to murder her husband so that he himself might marry her.  Discovered by the seneschal in flagrante delicto with the seneschal’s wife, “to cover his vile, base, low shame” he willingly leaps into the tub of boiling water reserved for the murder of the seneschal, and thus brings about his own demise.  That so noble and lofty a man as Equitan would, for the love of a woman, betray his bond of loyalty to the seneschal, plot to have an innocent man murdered, and eventually meet his own end in so ignoble a fashion, testifies to the fact that, while love may have an ennobling quality for some, it can also have quite pernicious effects.  Be careful, ladies, that you choose your lover wisely, and do not permit his devotion to you to lead him astray.

Chapter V.  What Persons Are Fit for Love

Capellanus claims that a woman may only seek love between the ages of twelve and fifty, while for a man the parameters are between the ages of fourteen and sixty.  For one who is too young cannot yet comprehend the true nature of love, while one who is too old has lost too much of the natural heat of the body, and therefore can no longer truly experience love.  Yet Capellanus adds an interesting caveat: while most people say that a boy may begin to pursue love at the age of fourteen, Capellanus states that “before his eighteenth year a man cannot be a true lover, because …before this age a man has no constancy.” Yet I argue that inconstancy is not determined altogether by age.  For in the case of the knight Iwein, although he was a grown man, nevertheless he abandoned his bride to go sporting and questing with his companion Gawain, and so lost track of his obligations to the lady Laudine that he altogether violated his promise to return to her within the space of a year.  By this it is proved not only that inconstancy may arise at any age, but also that the common accusation levied against women – that they are all inconstant and untrustworthy – is itself farcical.  For while some women may be afflicted with an inconstant and intemperate disposition, others have shown themselves to be wholly devoted to their lover, as in the case of Heloise and Abelard.  Heloise willingly gave up all that she had grown to know and love, and took the veil at Abelard’s behest, solely out of her feeling of love and devotion towards him.  Thus, inconstancy is a quality which arises in some, but not in others, regardless of sex or age.  Be ever constant, and choose a man who shows no signs of inconstancy in his own behavior. 

Chapter VI. In What Manner Love May Be Acquired, And In How Many Ways

Capellanus very wisely advises women to “seek as a lover a man of praiseworthy character – not one who anoints himself all over like a woman or makes a rite of the care of the body….”  For a man of noble character is the most fitting sort of lover, since “if a wise woman selects as her lover a wise man, she can very easily keep her love hidden forever….”  The secrecy of the affair is, of course, tantamount to its success.  The adultery between Equitan and the seneschal’s wife was revealed, and it culminated in their most gruesome deaths.  Likewise, the hero Lanval was nearly condemned as a traitor and thrown into jail, for foolishly revealing his love to the Queen Guinevere.  In both these instances, man and woman would have been better off had they never spoken of or made plain their love to anyone.  It is even found in the songs of the troubadours, that love should be a secret practice between two individuals, for the moment that love is revealed, it begins to dissipate.  As a final point, Capellanus counsels us that “a married woman changes her status to match that of her husband, but a man can never change his nobility by marriage.” Therefore, while a woman seeks to enjoy the love of a man who is worthy of character, it is also useful to consider that man’s social rank.  For a woman of lower social rank can quickly move up in the world, should she attach herself to a more powerful man.  Yet, once again, soundness of character must come first.  For the seneschal’s wife certainly improved her lot (at least temporarily) by taking up with the king Equitan, and could even have become a queen herself.  But Equitan’s predisposition for treachery and disloyalty undid them both, and so she would have been better to have found a lowlier, but more morally sound, match. 

Afterword

Thus concludes my brief gloss on the first book of Andreas Capellanus’ Art of Courtly Love.  I pray that I have, through a combination of literary allusion and worldly wisdom, made it clear what sort of love a noblewoman should pursue, what traps and pitfalls she should shun, and how she might best benefit herself from an appropriate match.  I would encourage all of the readers of this text to keep it close at hand when perusing the Art of Courtly Love, for it will prove an insightful and edifying companion to the methodology of courtly love laid out by Capellanus.  Of course, love is an intricate and delicate matter, and should your own love fail, the responsibility lies not with me (for I have given you most sound advice) but with the circumstances of your own liaison.  This being said, I wish all my readers the best of luck in their search for love, and hope that I have been able to safeguard them from any tragedy. 

N.B. Quotations have been drawn from the following sources:

Capellanus, Andreas.  The Art of Courtly Love. Translated by John Jay Parry.  New York: Columbia University Press, 1960.

Shoaf, Judith P. University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, "The Lais of Marie de France: A Verse Translation." Accessed April 1, 2014. http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/jshoaf/Marie/.