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Medieval Romance Medieval times often evoke images of knights
battling on muddy fields, dank and dreary castles, hunger, plagues-in
general, a lot of rather depressing scenes… Women in the Middle Ages were usually treated as property. While medieval country marriages were often the result of love, marriage among the noble class was more a business transaction than the culmination of ardent feelings. But knights returning from the crusades had learned a few things from their adversaries, who revered their women. Passion was considered sinful to 11th and 12th century moralists, but these ideals were slowly being worn away with the rituals of courtly love. Secret rituals of Romance developed where
women-long the loser in a double standard of adultery condoned among men-found
champions who would fight in their honor. Courtly love became the subject
of some of the most famous medieval poems, and where we get today's word,
"Courtesy." |
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