appellanus1. The suggested sources of The Art of Courtly Love were: Ovids poems -Art of love, The Cure for Love, Amours; Ibn Hazms writings- The Doves Neck-Ring; Chretiens lyrics of courtly love- The Knight of the Court, Erec and Enide, Cliges, Yvain, The Story of the Grail. 2. The Art of Courtly Love was written in the twelfth century in France at Queen Eleanors court at Poitiers of France. 3. In the dominant Christian culture of the times, it was possible to square a work, which treats adulterous love, jealousy, and impossible delayed gratification because many people promoted love before God. Andreas Capellanus stressed the idea that although religion was important to him, it was not his top priority. In the introduction of The Art of Courtly Love, John Jay Parry notes, the picture we get of Andreas from his book is that of a man who is connected to the Church, but for whom spiritual affairs are not the first consideration (18). 4. The Art of Courtly Love is placed in the Ovidian tradition. Ovid was a philosopher that lived in Rome in the time of Emperor Augustis, which was the longest period of peace ever known by Rome. Love as Ovid conceived it is frankly sensual (Parry, 4). He believed that love had very little to do with romance. At this time, marriages were often arranged and almost never based on love. Ovid did not believe that a husband and wife could love each other and he referred to love as being extra-marital. Men in the middle ages thought that the best romance was with another mans wife and also that the best lovers were those that were already married to someone else. Affairs were kept a secret, which made husbands and wives lusting over their lovers. Because this work was taught in schools, this became a way of life and students were taught what love was supposed to be (extramarital). Parry says, From his work we get a vivid picture of life in the medieval court; to the student of medieval manners such a picture is esp...
