Graham, Angus, ed., De Amore Libri Tres (The Latin Library Website, 2004). View Source Online

Text name(s): De Amore Libri Tres; About Love; The Art of Courtly Love

Number of pages of primary source text: 0

Medieval Author(s): Capellanus, Andreas

Dates: 1170 - 1190

Archival Reference:

Original Language(s): Latin;

Translation: Original language included.

Translation Comments:

Geopolitical Region(s): France;

County/Region:

Apparatus:

Comments:

Andreas Capellanus was a cleric at the court of Marie of Champagne, a lady who was renowned for her role as a patroness of romantic literature (including Chrétien’s Arthurian romances). This little treatise purports to be instruction on how to have a courtly love affair—that is, an adulterous affair with a married woman of higher rank—and the virtues of love. As such, it portrays the ideal of chivalric love, a love that ennobles the lover who strives to be a better person and knight to attract the attention of his lady. However, the adulterous nature of such ideal love was naturally controversial. Some modern critics have suggested that Capellanus’s work was written in jest, while others take him quite seriously. The fact that the third book of this work is about the evils of love and why men should avoid women under all circumstances rather supports the former conclusion, but it is still a problematic work. The Latin text, with no introductory material or scholarly apparatus, can be found on the Latin Library website.

Introduction Summary:

Cataloger: mk