courtly love

noun

1. a highly stylized code of behavior popular chiefly from the 12th to the 14th century that prescribed the rules of conduct between lovers, advocating idealized but illicit love, and which fostered an extensive medieval literature based on this tradition.

courtly love

noun

1. a tradition represented in Western European literature between the 12th and the 14th centuries, idealizing love between a knight and a revered (usually married) lady

courtly love

1. A set of attitudes toward love that were strong in the Middle Ages . According to the ideal of courtly love, a knight or nobleman worshiped a woman of high birth, and his love for her inspired him to do great things on the battlefield and elsewhere. There was usually no physical relationship or marriage between them, however; the woman was usually married to another man.

Word History and Origins

Origin of courtly love¹

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

The rule in courtly love was to fall in love with a lady who was married to someone else.

From Project Gutenberg

They read like proverbs, and undoubtedly represent the ideas of courtly society upon courtly love.

From Project Gutenberg

Mechthild constantly uses phrases from the courtly love poetry of her time.

From Project Gutenberg

The romans daventure afford other instances of this courtly love, sometimes illicit, sometimes looking to marriage.

From Project Gutenberg

Nevertheless the romantic narratives of courtly love in the latter are mediaeval creations.

From Project Gutenberg