Entertainment / Literature / Courtly Love: (Medieval Frenchfin amour or amour courtois): Possibly a cultural trope in the late twelfth-century, or possibly a literary convention that captured popular imagination, courtly love refers to a code of behavior that gave rise to modern ideas of chivalrous romance. The term itself was popularized by C. S. Lewis' and Gaston Paris' scholarly studies, but its historical existence remains contested in critical circles. The conventions of courtly love are that a knight of noble blood would adore and worship a young noble-woman from afar, seeking to protect her honor and win her favor by valorous deeds. He typically falls ill with love-sickness, while the woman chastely or scornfully rejects or refuses his advances in public but privately encourages him. Courtly love was associated with (A) nobility, since no peasants can engage in 'fine love', (B) secrecy, (C) adultery, since often the one or both participants were married to another noble who was unloved, and (D) paradoxically with chastity, since the passion should never be consummated due to social circumstances, thus it was a 'higher love' unsullied by selfish carnal desires or political concerns of arranged marriages. In spite of this ideal of chastity, the knightly characters in literature usually end up giving in to their passions with tragic results--such as Lancelot and Guenevere's fate, or that of Tristan and Iseult.
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Love Adjective Synonyms: warmth, affection, attachment, fondness, tenderness, devotion, attraction, friendship, amity, regard, admiration, fancy, adoration, adulation, ardor, passion, fervor, rapture, infatuation
Love Noun Synonyms: darling, beloved, sweetheart, sweetie, sweet, honey, dear one, dearest, angel, turtle-dove, true-love, light of one's life, lover, paramour, mate, intended, betrothed, girlfriend, inamorata, lady-love, young lady, fiance, boyfriend, beau, inamorato, suito
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