[Ansteorra] Courtesy challenge
Sir Lyonel Oliver Grace
sirlyonel at hotmail.com
Tue Oct 3 06:52:05 PDT 2006
Salut cozyns,
In response to Diarmaid's comment:
> >I don't mean that in any sort of insulting way. I'm just noting that what
>we
> >think of chivalric courtesy and proper behavior isn't doesn't go back
>much
> >before the Victorian era, and wasn't much more than an ideal at that.
Don Tivar asks:
>And where does that tie in with the whole "courtly love" thing?
Andreas Capellanus (and many writers thereafter, at least up to Charles
d'Orleans at the start of the Fifteenth Century) describes how a gentleman
should act, look, and react in the presence and absence of the lady who is
the object of his desire. This behavior includes all manner of ague-like
symptoms that are not expected to preclude the gentleman's desire to behave
in a courtly fashion. The real point of contention here is what constitutes
"courtly" behaviour, which the French called "courtoisie" (the root word for
the English "courtesy").
In support of Diarmaid's statements, I know of no courtly literature that
suggests a gentleman do manual labor in place of his lady. Generally, to be
worthy of affection, the lady is presumed to be of a high station. To put it
bluntly, she's supposed to be wealthy. She's supposed to have servants. If
she's carrying boxes, she's fallen on hard times. Read Lanval for a similar
circumstance (although in that case it's the knight who has fallen on hard
times) to see how everyone reacts to poverty. It's viewed as a personal
failing. Not having enough money to dress well and have adequate servants
was viewed as shameful behavior--like walking around without a shirt on. The
polite thing to do in the Middle Ages would be to look away and pretend you
didn't notice.
Now, please understand, I am not validating such behavior. This is one of
those disconnects between now and then that we can't fully embrace in the
SCA. We'd all have to have enough money to afford to hire servants and bring
them to events. Instead, I think we're better off taking the more modern
view of courtesy and offering to carry things.
lo vostre per vos servir
Meser Lyonel Oliver Grace
_________________________________
Micel yfel deth se unwritere.
--AElfric of York
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