The Art of Courtly Love

Andreas discusses “various decisions in love cases” (167) and briefly outlines 21 cases in which disputes between lovers were debated or brought before an authority for arbitration. The scenarios and issues reflect those discussed and debated in Book 1. For example, one case concerns a woman who receives requests from two lovers; unless the offers come in simultaneously, she is obligated to accept the first. In another, a woman is not obligated to accept an unworthy lover simply because his character needs improving. In another, a man asks a noblewoman to rule on whether love or marriage features the greatest affection, and she rules that the two are not comparable since “marital affection” and “true love” (171) have nothing in common. Other cases involve rulings on whether younger or older lovers are preferable (men prefer older women while women prefer younger men), whether women are permitted to abandon lovers who have become disfigured in war (they are not), and whether men are permitted to leave lovers who raised them to valor (they are not).

Andreas enumerates “the rules of love” (177) and tells the story of the rules’ provenance. A knight rides through a forest on his way to see King Arthur when he encounters a young woman.