San Antonio College Library

This unique study is the result of the combined efforts of six eminently qualified scholars of medieval literature. Through intensive analysis of the major genres -- lyric, romance, allegory and fabliau -- the authors trace the evolution of the fascinating and complex phenomenon known as "courtly love". The authors do not attempt to explain the historical origins of courtly love -- avoiding the controversies that have resulted in conflicting and confusing...

"It has often been assumed that Europeans invented and had the exclusive monopoly over courtly and romantic love, commonly considered to be the highest form of relations between men and women. This view was particularly prevalent between 1770 and the mid-twentieth century, but was challenged in the 1960s when romantic love came to be seen as a universal sentiment that can be found in all cultures in the world. However, there remains the historical...

"These essays examine the central role played by Ovid in medieval amatory literature. In so doing, they address the theoretical problems of the entrenched "aesthetics of reception" long tied to the Ovidian Middle Ages, while they also seek at times to overturn many of the prior critical perceptions associated with Ovidian persuasive discourse -- in particular the unproblematized assertion of male will and the erasure of female voice. Responding to...