When I think of medieval love though, all I ever really see when it describes "loving" someone is that the two are visually pleasing to each other (are beautiful or lust-worthy). There really isn't any time spent on getting to know the other person's interests, beliefs, or often even their background (like social status and wealth, which seem very important to medieval people) before a declaration of love is made, let alone a marriage for love.
So I can't help but be a little confused after hearing people mention in class how scenes, that I thought objectified or restricted Enide, were instead interpreted as romantic, and that Erec and Enide were in "love". I mean I can see that they actually like being in each other's company and sought out to marry the other, but I still feel like the reasons are too vain to actually be called "love". They love to have sex together, to stare upon one another's beauty (there's several pages dedicated to this fact...), but beyond that and protecting each other's safety/reputation I don't see how they actually care for one another. Enide (or at least her family) wanted to be queen/of high social standing when married. Erec wanted the fairest in the land. Yes they both gained something from being together, they were both supposed equals "in courtesy, beauty, and nobility" (pg 20), but that doesn't mean that automatically they so deeply cared for every aspect of the other's being (heart & mind) that they "loved" one another; That they really trusted each other, or could support the other emotionally when needed. They may value one another at the moment, they may even be good friends (similar ideals/goals are common among friends)...with benefits. I think it's way to soon for them to proclaim such a deep desire and understanding for each other though.
I have some questions from the reading though I'd like to mention. If anyone can help me answer these, please comment below! I added what page the information/thought occurred on for help.
- Pg 23 - Why did the King declare his love and faithfulness to Enide after the "white stag" kiss? Isn't that loyalty supposed to be to his queen or overall kingdom, if anyone, since he's the King?
- Pg 18/24 - Why did Erec promise Enide's father two castles after they agreed upon the marriage? I can understand the giving of wealth...but the change in location and lodging (far from original home)?
- Pg 17 - Who in the world is Tristan and Morholt? What battle on the Isle of Saint Samson?
- Pg 27 - is "maiden" another word for "virgin" or for "young unmarried girl"?
- Pg 9 - If Erec is the son of a King...why is he a knight, risking his life? I would think he'd be protected from harm as the rightful heir, and be trained (to some degree) on how to run a kingdom rather than how to fight and die.
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteYour first paragraph honestly gave me chills. That's just a flawless description of modern day pursuits of love! Thank you for understanding how this whole attraction thing really works. It's easy to forget the dimensions and degrees there are to something as vague as "love," especially after reading countless stories where the confounds of love are mostly physical beauty and the act of sex, as you mentioned in your post. To me, that's about 10% of what it means to love someone, no matter what time period you're in. I'm waiting for the more modern romance stories for sure. I want to read about emotions more and bodies less.
Amanda
I definitely can see why you wouldn't think they were in love - by modern standards, this story doesn't hold a lot of weight. But, considering the rules of courtly love, as silly as they may be, and as far as romance went in their time, there bond is pretty strong. Enide defies her husband and still warns him of the upcoming attacks - but that part also really irritated me. Their physical acts of love seem to be more prevalent through the frist part of their story!
ReplyDeleteI positively agree with your description of love. It is right on, and your explanation of "love at first sight" is amazing. And this is coming from someone who IS a believer of love at first sight. (I know, it's cheesy.) I suppose I mean, while there is nothing more strong, more sacred than old, aged love, there is something to be said about young, juvenile love. All cute old couples have to start somewhere, right? See, correct me if I'm wrong, but I get the impression from these stories that many of the characters just aren't that old yet. Or if they are older, they're immature.
ReplyDeleteAs for the term maiden, it absolutely is a phrase to describe a young girl. As for your other questions, well...they're damn good questions!
First of all, this was well written and kudos for bringing this to our attention. I agree with you 100% that mind, body, and heart must be present in order to truly love someone in modern love and in other periods of time. However, if we are looking in the lenses of courtly love strictly, their connection with each other corresponds as "love" (and I say this cringing because I agree with you so strongly). I do believe they both had something to gain when they got together, but I also think this is a story of early love and you know sometimes early "love at first sight" love can be annoying or irritating to those looking in on them, which is why I believe they stayed in bed all day consumed by each other, or why people began to talk about Erec. These are possible speculations but could be something to think about. Again, thank you for writing this, it was amazing to read and really opened my eyes to other possibilities.
ReplyDelete