Courtly Love

Fin’ amor or courtly love is a literary conception to express nobility or charity. Troubadours started this concept, so many French poems contain praising and glorifying lyrics. Guillem de Peiteus was known for first writer of courtly love, and in his poem A New Song for New Days indicates expressing his courtly love toward a woman.

Guillem acclaims that his courtly love is uncontrollable, and it is natural and holy. In second stanza, Guillem describes a woman as a “grace and beauty spring”. By looking at her, he cannot control his sprit, and his “heart won’t rest and can’t exult”. In third stanza, he also describes the courtly love relationship by using nature. His love is “the living tree stands”. This tree will overcome all night freezing rain, and eventually will spread “green leaves and boughs”.  Courtly love will endure and overcome hardships, and ultimately will achieve happiness. Moreover, Guillem uses holy words such as “grace”, “true”, “god”, and “oath”. By elaborating with these words, the woman seems very sacred and holy. Guillem utilizes pictures of natures and saintess to express the images of nobility and charity.

Marcabru indicate his courtly love toward a woman, but it is different from Guillem. Like Guillem, Marcabru also refers to god and natures, but he writes his poems more like a conversation between a man and woman. When the man starts his words, he calls the woman “Lass”. When the woman responds to that, she calls him “Sir”. These titles convey that the relationship between the man and woman is not normal, but it’s more formal and respectful each other. The titles bear a formal mood between the couple. Moreover, Marcabru indicates that the woman is pure and naïve (virgin). She says, “At your price I feel no urging/To sell my state as a virgin/For the whore that folks would call me.” Marcabru shows his courtly love that is a little bit different from Guillem by using conversational structure and different word choices.