"Great is the force of love, wondrous is its strength. Many are the degrees of love . . . and who can worthily distinguish among them?" cried the twelfth-century cleric, Richard of St. Victor. What relationships, human and divine, are appropriate to this protean creature, man with his great gifts and imperative appetites? The different answers given this question by the monks and scholars, the courtly poets and bawdy ballad writers of medieval France form the substance of hits graceful and perceptive book, written for student and general reader alike. And while the conventions of love among twelfth-century Frenchmen differ from our own, their efforts to comprehend its true meaning and nature have a very contemporary relevance. France in the twelfth century was a bustling country of expanding economic and social horizons, with a thirst for knowledge that stimulated far-ranging intellectual inquiry. The great classical writers, the Greek and Roman Fathers of the early Church, the Old and New Testaments: such were the sources upon which French scholars drew. For the great monastic writers, love was a spiritual value, achieved through unending effort and discipline. The poets of the courts, on the other hand, celebrated erotic love in a setting of elaborate romance. Only the scholars of the new urban universities sought to integrate love into a coherent explanation of man and the universe. The writings of all these—Abelard and Bernard of Clairvaux, William of Poitiers and Andreas Capellanus—have in one way or another greatly enriched our Western traditions. Drawing upon a wealth of original sources and an abundant scholarly literature, John C. Moore has provided, in his own words, "a pleasant meeting-place' for twelfth-century men and women and for modern readers, who share a common humanity and a common interest in love.

The social system of 'courtly love' soon spread after becoming popularized by the troubadours of southern France in the twelfth century. This book codifies life at Queen Eleanor's court at Poitiers between 1170 and 1174 into "one of those capital works which reflect the thought of a great epoch, which explain the secret of a civilization."

Examines the legacy of the medieval poet composers of Northern France, the trouveres. For many years problems and difficulties concerning the surviving melodies, have prevented us from accessing these songs. This book addresses many of these problems, helping us develop an understanding of the repertoire.

In this book, Constant Mews and Neville Chiavaroli examine a medieval text long neglected by most scholars. The Lost Letters of Heloise and Abelard looks at the earlier correspondence between these two famous individuals, revealing the emotions and intimate exchanges that occurred between them. The perspectives presented here are very different from the view related by Abelard in his "History of my Calamities," an account which provoked a much more famous exchange of letters between Heloise and Abelard after they had both entered religious life. Offering a full translation of the love letters along with a copy of the actual Latin text, Mews and Chiavaroli provide an in-depth analysis of the debate concerning the authenticity of the letters and look at the way in which the relationship between Heloise and Abelard has been perceived over the centuries.

The author argues that the structure of sexual relationships took its cue from the family and feudalism - both bastions of masculinity - as he presents his interpretation of women, what they represented and what they were in the Middle Ages

This bilingual edition, based on a reexamination of the Old French manuscript, makes Silence available to specialists and students in various fields of literature, to those in women's studies and, most important, to everyone who loves a first-rate story.

This Companion presents fifteen original and engaging essays by leading scholars on one of the most influential genres of Western literature. Chapters describe the origins of early verse romance in twelfth-century French and Anglo-Norman courts and analyze the evolution of verse and prose romance in France, Germany, England, Italy, and Spain throughout the Middle Ages. The volume introduces a rich array of traditions and texts and offers fresh perspectives on the manuscript context of romance, the relationship of romance to other genres, popular romance in urban contexts, romance as mirror of familiar and social tensions, and the representation of courtly love, chivalry, 'other' worlds and gender roles. Together the essays demonstrate that European romances not only helped to promulgate the ideals of elite societies in formation, but also held those values up for questioning. An introduction, a chronology and a bibliography of texts and translations complete this lively, useful overview.