courtly love
Knight's noble passion
Courtly love is a medieval European conception of romantic love, typically between a knight and a noblewoman of higher rank, characterized by idealization, secrecy, and devoted service.
The lover suffers nobly, performs heroic deeds to prove his worth, and often worships from afar without expectation of fulfillment.
The tradition shaped Western ideas about romance: Their relationship had all the longing and restraint of courtly love.
Fourteen-line metered poem
rhyme · verse · couplet · refrain · aubade · canso · envoi · apostrophe
Honored mounted soldier
- ladyCourteous term for woman
- gallantryCourage, especially in combat
- honorHigh regard, moral dignity
- nobleTitled or virtuous
fealty · vassal · liege · squire · quest · valor · allegiance · devotion
Medieval Provençal lyric poet
- castleFortified medieval residence
- feudalismLand-for-service social structure
- tournamentMulti-round competitive event
- heraldryStudy of armorial bearings
aristocracy · joust · banquet · tapestry · minstrel · patronage · nobility · chatelaine
Aching with prolonged desire
- yearningIntense prolonged craving
- languishWeaken through suffering
- unattainableImpossible to acquire
- unfulfilledNot brought to completion
sighs · adoration · forbidden · torment · melancholy · heartache · suffering · desire
sonnet
Fourteen-line metered poem
stanza · rhyme · verse · couplet · refrain · aubade · canso · envoi · apostrophe · blazon
knight
Honored mounted soldier
noble · fealty · vassal · liege · squire · quest · valor · allegiance · devotion · service
troubadour
Medieval Provençal lyric poet
- castleFortified medieval residence
- feudalismLand-for-service social structure
- tournamentMulti-round competitive event
heraldry · aristocracy · joust · banquet · tapestry · minstrel · patronage · nobility · chatelaine · bower
pining
Aching with prolonged desire
- yearningIntense prolonged craving
- languishWeaken through suffering
- unattainableImpossible to acquire
unfulfilled · sighs · adoration · forbidden · torment · melancholy · heartache · suffering · desire · passion
wooing
Romantic pursuit of another
glove · sleeve · ribbon · serenade · declaration · petition · trial · test · proof · secrecy
- literaturebooks, book, fiction, poetry, stories
- chivalryknighthood, knights, chivalry, medieval knights, honor
- medievalknights, castles, cathedral, kings, queens
- medieval courtkings, lord, queens, lady, queen
- medieval knightsknight, knights, armor, sword, swords
- Italian LiteratureDante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, Dante Alighieri
courtly lovefree love
Unstructured romantic and sexual bonds
arranged marriage · domestic partnership · loveless marriage
love, court, lovely, loved, lover, beloved, courtesy, courteous, unloved