Some old, old, old school rules of love
March 2, 2007
by Alex
2 comments
I remember our Old to Middle English literature class and one of our readings was Le Morte d’Arthur by Thomas Malory. Now in the course of that class, we were discussing all sorts of issues like how Lancelot’s romance with Guenevere brought upon the downfall of Camelot. Our class concession was Arthur was the one to be blamed for ever leaving Guenevere with a guy named Lance-a-lot. Hehehe. Yeah, can you leave your girl with a guy named “Totoy Mola?”
Anyway, with regard to that topic, we had a short discussion on the concept of courtly love (which was summarized in a treatise written by a guy named Andreas Capellanus). Courtly love was supposed to be the weltanschauung (a fancy German term for “world view”) of that period. With the belief that anyone who goes against it brought about the disorder that led to a culture’s downfall.
For those who are asking “Is chivalry dead?” then it’s probably a good idea for you to read up on Capellanus’ The Art of Courtly Love. Chivalry’s supposed to revolve around this concept. And for all you lovely ladies who have long sought for that knight in shining armor, here’s a bit of Capellanus. Make a check list if your guy believes in any of these. Guys, check this out too (and probably find out what an oafish brute you are, hehehe…).
