The Middle Ages, Early Modern Era and nineteenth century poetry

Abstract

The Middle Ages, usually defined as the period between the coronation of the Emperor Charlemagne in 800 A.D. and the end of the fourteenth century, saw a great flowering of literature in the vernacular (or local language) rather than in Latin. Fundamental to the literature and to its age is what is known as fin'amor, or courtly love (l'amour courtois). Fin'amor as a code of behaviour arose late in the eleventh century, in the south of France, or Occitania as it was then known. It encompasses the notion of the love between man and woman as an ennobling force, and can be seen as part of a movement to refinement in all fields of aristocratic behaviour: in warfare, hunting and table manners. As such it is linked to chivalry, the moral code of a knight. Other lyric poetry emanating from the chivalric tradition was that of King Richard I of England. In the late eleventh century a series of Crusades had begun to recover the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem from the Muslims. Richard was a leader of the Third Crusade, and one of his poems forms part of this collection.