Courtly Love

Courtly Love:

Courtly love is when a man describes an idealized woman that he loves and is far out of his reach.  Usually she is unattainable because she is married, nobility, or lives far away.  In each of these three poems, the man is in agony because he has found the perfect woman, but she is out of reach.

“The Nightingale” by Jaufre Rubel pg 67-69

In this poem, Rubel compares the love of a man to that of a Nightingale.  He calls out, constantly trying to find his true love just like a Nightingale.  The man describes his ideal woman physically in the second stanza and compares her love to a precious gem.  Sadly though, he cannot reach her except in his dreams because she keeps running from him.  She does not feel the same love for him that he feels for her. 

“You’ve Asked, My Lords, For Song” by Bernart de Ventadorn pg 83-85

In this poem, Ventadorn does not really describe the ideal woman, but shows how she affects him.  He knows of the perfect woman, she is pretty and loves him, but he cannot reach her.  He is obsessed with her and she has his heart and soul.  He will not give up his love for her because it was given to him by God.  He will search until he finds her.

“Lady, Since You Care Nothing For Me” by Bertran de Born pg 151-155

This poem is about the perfect, idealized woman in the eyes of Born.  In the poem, the woman is unattainable because she does not care about the man.  He refuses to have any woman other than her because she is the perfect woman.  He forms the ideal woman by comparing her to other women who each have a few very good traits.  Not even a woman with all the specific traits of the women he mentions would compare to his beloved.