Courtly love was a secret, forbidden affair practiced by nobles in 12th century Europe. It was characterized by five attributes - it was aristocratic, ritualistic through gift exchanges, secretive with clandestine meetings, often adulterous, and inspired early literary works. The ideals of courtly love were documented in poems and songs by authors like Geoffrey Chaucer. Courtly love originated in 12th century Aquitaine, France and later spread to other European courts, lasting until the 14th-15th centuries. It ended following the Albigensian Crusade.

1. Shelly Castaneda
Abbie Medicus

2. What is Courtly Love?
• Courtly Love is a forbidden affair. Courtly Love is
characterized by five main attributes or characteristics.
– Aristocratic: courtly love was practice by
nobles and ladies.
– Ritualistic: Couple engage in courtly
relationship exchange gifts and tokens for
their affair.
– Secret: The lovers were in a secret society.
They were in their special world which
included a secret rendezvous, rules, code,
and commandments.

3. Character. Cont.
– Adulterous: Courtly love was extramarital.
It’s one of the principle for the attraction.
It gave an escape from noble marriage-
which was basically an alliance for political
or economic to produce royal offspring.
– Literary: Before courtly love was a real-life
activity, it was first brought up in theme
for imaginative literature.

4. Courtly Love Poems and Songs
• The ideals of courtly love was published in the
poems, ballads, writing and literary works.
• Geoffrey Chaucer was one of the most famous
authors writing about courtly love. One of his
famous works is Canterbury Tales.

5. The Rules of Courtly Love
• These “rule” were written by the 12th Century
Frenchman, Andreas Capellanus.
• These are some of the “Rules”
– Marriage is no real excuse for not loving.
– He who is not jealous, cannot love.
– No one can be bound by a double love.
– It is well known that love is always increasing or
decreasing.
– Real jealousy always increase the feeling of love.

6. Origins
• The origins are believe to be from Aquitaine
inn France during the 12th Century and then
spread to other European countries.
• Courtly love was practiced in English courts
from the 1300s to the 1500s

7. End of Courtly Love
• The era of Courtly Love ended with
Albigensian Crusade.

8. Work Cited
• Slide 1: http://condor.depaul.edu/dsimpson/tlove/courtlylove.html
• Slide 4: http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/courtly-love.htm
• http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/medieval/love.html