Courtly Love

Courtly Love is most definitely a romantic notion as "Romance" is defined and thought of today but much different for medieval times. in the 12th century poetry and literature, romantic writings became popular. The audience was largely women. These romantic narratives were pure fantasy with no connection to reality. Women were dominant in the stories and men were more submissive and more focused on love. This was a stark difference from reality where marriages were based more on the nobility and what love. In 21st century narratives, the idea of Courtly Love typically did not involve love between husband and wife but more often a knight and possibly an often married woman. This notion could have been away that married women fantasized about escaping the reality of their own marriages which involved little in the way of romantic gestures or feelings. as pointed out in the article "Backgrounds to Romance", these narratives may have also served the purpose of showing young men the need to show some level of respect and compassion for women. I believe this could have been the beginnings of a culture shift in which men became more aware of women's feelings and the need for respect. Although I am sure at that time this awareness was very small, but the seeds were planted. Today there is a strong awareness of this need and has become a societal norm.