Introduction
In the medieval era, chivalry and nobility were central to the notion of love. This period was filled with stories of gallant knights who ventured off on quests and provided different services, usually at the request of women who were the objects of their courtly love. The literary fiction written for the pleasure of the wealthy elite is where this style of love first appeared. Even yet, as time went on, ideas about love evolved and attracted a wider audience. They looked for love in places other than marriage, giving rise to courtly love as a form of romantic interaction within a wider social context. However, marriage between members of the same family was forbidden. In the medieval period, there was a cultural shift in how society viewed women and their emotions. Courtly love established norms for acts of infidelity and sexual activity. This paper seeks to demonstrate the author’s belief on the concepts of love between people of opposite sexes, clergy, right ages to love, those fit to love and retaining the love using specific passages.
Capellanus Beliefs in The Art of Courtly Love
Between What Persons Love Exist
In this passage, Capellanus believes that love should only exist between people of opposite sexes lest there is no love. According to the author, two people of the same sexes cannot engage in love as they lack the capacity to satisfy the sexual needs of each one of them (Capellanus 30). Capellanus stresses the fact that “whatever nature forbids, love is ashamed to accept” (Capellanus 30). By this, he takes a stance that he only supports what nature supports and that which appears morally upright amongst a larger number of people globally. Love always thrives where a man is ready to embrace and realize satisfaction to the woman that they love. This according to Capellanus is the propelling factor towards realizing a fulfilled mandate for love.
The author perceives that nothing can be compared to the act of love and that he who is in love may be deprived of either money or any other thing that life offers. Love between people of opposite sexes can be compared to a wise person who is ready to plan his expenditure based on their preferred size of their patrimony (Capellanus 30). In the book, the author clarifies that “when a man comes to poverty and want he begins to go along with his face downcast and to be tortured by many thoughts, and all joyousness leaves him” (Capellanus 30). Great love is always nourished by ability of the man to create wealth which can sustain the love. He says that “poverty has nothing with which to feed its love” (Capellanus 30). Therefore, love will start to reduce whenever two people of opposite sexes lack the wealth to sustain their love.
Additionally, Capellanus, out of his own experience, believes that when poverty enters into a relationship between two people, then, the things that nourish love begin slowly to leave. Capellanus advices that there is need for people in love to always embrace acts of generosity in a love and avoid prodigality as it is the breeding grounds for poverty that can spark same sexes love. Capellanus indicates that “…nothing which a lover gets from their beloved is pleasing unless she gives it of her own free will” (Capellanus 31). The author believes that people of the same sex cannot guarantee one another the exchanges that love offers nor can they practice the natural acts that are associated with love. By this, they stress on the need for opposite sexes love which can guarantee enough sexual satisfaction for both parties involves.
People Fit for Love
In this passage, Capellanus believes that as a man reaches his sixth decade of life and a woman her fiftieth, age becomes a barrier to his passion developing into love. Reason being, at a certain point of time, the body’s inherent heat becomes less effective. This causes a man to encounter many problems and distresses him with many diseases, and there are no solaces in the world for him but food and drink. In the book, the author says that “before his eighteenth year a man cannot be a true lover, because up to that age he is overcome with embarrassment over any little thing” (Capellanus 32). It is for this reason that no girls nor boys under the age of twelve nor boys under the age of fourteen are allowed to enlist in the army of love.
Man cannot be a genuine lover until after the age of eighteen, since before then he is filled with shame over even the smallest of things. This is emphasized when Capellanus says that “before this age a man has no constancy, but is changeable in every way…” (Capellanus 32). According to the author, a boy within the said tender age cannot comprehend all the mysteries related to the realm of love. Therefore, there is always a need to ensure that a man comes up of age before engaging in acts of love with a woman. This will ensure that both parties are mature enough before being genuinely in love.
In addition, Capellanus believes that “blindness is a bar to love.” Love only thrives and breeds where a man can see anything over which their mind can reflect concerning love. However, the author believes that blindness acquired after a matured love cannot have any impact to the love and may therefore last even after the man becomes blind. Similarly, the author stresses how excess passion may prevent love from thriving. According to Capellanus “men who are slaves to such passionate desire that they cannot be held in the bonds of love” (Capellanus 32). They compare excessive passion in a man to lust like that of a shameless dog. Men should not have lust over every type of a woman that they come across but rather invest their love in a single woman who they are ready to build a family together. There is that which separates human love to that of the animals. Capellanus therefore clarifies that human love is associated with true nature unlike animals whose love is moved by low nature. This difference of reason is the key difference that sets apart all other animals from human beings.
The Love of the Clergy
Capellanus takes a different stance in this passage concerning the love of the clergy members. According to the author’s belief, the clergy is often considered as one of the most noble class considering the nature of their calling. Their nobility can be regarded to come from God bosom and which has been granted to them based on the will of Go. Capellanus claims that “he that touches you touches me” to illustrate how noble the clergy members are noble in the sight of God (Capellanus 142). Additionally, he believes that a clergy should not look for love as evidenced by the nature of the nobility that they possess and carry. They need to shun any form of bodily pleasure hat may cause them to lack the devotion to the nature of their calling.
The clergy should denounce themselves from the works of love and delight from all aspects related to flesh that can hinder their calling. Based on the belief in the book, the clergy should take upon the sacredness of the Lord in their quest to seek the clerical nobility. The author also believes that the noble nature of the clergy calling results from Gods grace and not from the ancestors. Therefore, any form of secular power cannot deprive them of this nobility, but God alone through His grace. According to the author, “…God alone has the privilege of this kind of nobility be annulled if His commands are violated” (Capellanus 142). Therefore, Capellanus stresses the need for the clerk to shun away from love due to the nature of their clerical nobility.
The author also believes that a clerk should put aside any form of uncleanliness of the body lest they will be deprived of the special nobility that has been bestowed upon them. Clerks should always apply and speak of their desire to enter into the list of love to Lord’s service based on the ranks and standings of their parents. This move will assist them to desist from the desires of the flesh and the sinful nature of humans. They need to shun any form of bodily pleasure hat may cause them to lack the devotion to the nature of their calling (Capellanus 142). The clergy should denounce themselves from the works of love and delight from all aspects related to flesh that can hinder their calling. Based on the belief in the book, the clergy should take upon the sacredness of the Lord in their quest to seek the clerical nobility (Capellanus 142). The author also believes that the noble nature of the clergy calling results from Gods grace and not from the ancestors.
Love Got with Money
In this passage, the author tries to evaluate if true love can be gotten from money or any other form of gift. Capellanus (142) believes that real love originates from the heart’s affection and can be guaranteed based on genuine liberality and pure grace. According to the author, there is no precious thing that can replace the nobility of love, be it money or gifts. Capellanus believes that a man should not consider any woman who is possessed by the feeling of avarice and ready to give herself for pay’s sake as a lover.
Such women need to be regarded as counterfeiters of love who should be grouped together with those prostitutes in the brothels. The wantonness of such women can be regarded as being more polluted as compared to that of the harlots who take pride in the sex trade openly. According to the author, such women “force men to languish for love of them, and under the false veil of affection they gleefully rob of all their wealth…” (Capellanus 144). Capellanus also believes that men often get impelled by their clever acts and deceitful demands, crafty beckoning and fallacious looks which makes them to give them money and gifts in exchange of sexual pleasure.
Similarly, the author believes that a woman who chooses money or gifts in return for love should be considered as a deadly enemy. Capellanus says that men “…should be careful to avoid her like a venomous animal that strikes with its tail and fawns with its mouth” (Capellanus 145). On the other hand, men who are driven by the desires of their body, that they seek to pay women in exchange of love should consider doing the business openly with the women in brothel who sell their bodies at a smaller price rather than being robbed off their wealth by such women. Consequently, Capellanus believes that men should never allow the outward show of a woman deceive them nor those whose first enticement are sweeter. Men should “take good care to guard themselves against her wiles, for she doesn’t want to be loved, but do draw money…” (Capellanus 146). The author also believes that men should take charge of their love and shun away from women who constantly remind them of how someone else used to shower them with gifts.
How Love may be Retained
Capellanus believes that a man should be careful not to let his love known to an outsider if they intend to keep their love affair for a long time. According to the author, he “…should keep it hidden from everybody” (Capellanus 151). A love that is exposed to may people fails to thrive and develop thus loosing all the progress that it has made over time. Additionally, a man should always strive to display high levels of wisdom in all aspects and limit his conduct while respecting his woman. This will serve to better their relationship and constantly boost their love (Capellanus 152). Men should also limit their praises of their beloved whenever they are in company of other men as this is a form of exposing is beloved to other people. Additionally, they should shun from communicating to her in form of signs whenever they are in company of other women.
Importance of these Beliefs in Today’s World
Most of the beliefs presented by Capellanus are in line with the beliefs of today’s world. For instance, the modern contemporary world takes pride in the love between people of opposite sexes, just as Capellanus claims. However, according to Mohapatra et al (66), “same-sex and opposite-sex couples experience similar levels of happiness in their love.” Even more so, it appears that the same factors affect the quality of both romantic and platonic partnerships. Personalities, social support, interactions, and attitudes all play a role, as do the goals and expectations each partner brings to the love (Tousseul). Where these two sorts of couples differ, however, is in the level of familial support they get. Less familial support is reported by same-sex couples than by those of the opposite sex (Larsen 45). However, they also claim to have greater social support than before. While this aid is appreciated, many singles would benefit even more from the emotional support of loved ones as they try to establish fulfilling love. Therefore, Capellanus belief system plays a vital role in establishing the correct norms guiding the concept of opposite sex love.
Capellanus belief on the right age for a man and a woman to be in love is also supported by the modern society. According to Feng, Ying, and Jie Ren (110190), there is a significant gender gap in terms of marriage age expectations for men and women in todays world. Many people today, advise men to shun marriage until they are older, more financially stable, more professionally established, and more at peace with who they are as people before marrying (Louzek 307). As a result, men have more time to mature and locate a lover before asking their hand (Sprecher et al. 47). However, this right is not extended to women in todays world. To many Americans today, a man in his forties or fifties dating a much younger woman is the very definition of a man experiencing a midlife crisis (Qiao, Fei, and Wang 36). Dating a younger lady is seen as a sign of sophistication in some social groups. In spite of this, the stereotype of the “cougar,” an older lady with a younger guy, is quickly entering the popular imagination.
The modern society also perceives love got with money as a fake one and that which bridges the norms and cultural beliefs. However, this might not be the case in big cities and towns where westernization has taken roots. In such areas, men accommodate men in exchange of sexual pleasure, an act that seems to contradict with what Capellanus advises in his book. Today’s society also supports Capellanus belief over clerk’s love (Garvey). In the modern contemporary society, most religions restrict the clergy members and nuns from engaging in any act of love such as sexual fulfillment (de Weger 393). This is reasoned same to Capellanus, whereby, they need to be devoted to the nature of their calling and only strive to please God.
Similarly, Capellanus belief on how to retain love seems to be supported by today’s society. In the modern society, loving entails actions that nourish and sustain a meaningful connection with another person. Some examples are showing your lover both emotional and physical love; being kind and understanding toward them; doing things together; having similar interests; and talking openly and honestly about how you feel (Kimmel 135). When people actively engage in the give-and-take of love, when they learn to accept love with grace and offer love with gratitude, they find themselves actively immersed in loving rather than passively daydreaming about it. There has also been a lot of influence from the Troubadours whose image of a noble knight’s nearly worshipful and intense love for a woman who is completely out of his grasp was created by troubadours, poets, and storytellers of the time (Davis 143). The plan all along was for the relationship to remain platonic, with just occasional looks, presents, obsessive pining, and poetic expressions of love between the two parties.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Capellanus presents a rigid belief system concerning the acts of courtly love that are worth being imitated fully in today’s world. The author believes that love should be between people of opposite sexes, those who are of age and that the clergy should not take part in it. Capellanus also believes that love should not be founded on money and gifts, and effective measures need to be laid down for it to be retained. This is in line with the modern society understanding of the courtly love.
Works Cited
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