Courtly Love Debate - A Forced-Choice Exercise

     "Love is a certain inborn suffering derived from the sight of and excessive meditation upon the beauty of the opposite sex, which causes each one to wish above all things the embraces of the other and by common desire to carry out all of love’s precepts in the other’s embrace."

     - Andreas Capellanus

Background:
Medieval attitudes towards love and romance were quite varied.  The official position of the Roman Catholic Church was that marriage was the sacramental contract between man and woman.  This did not mean that love was only fulfilled through marriage.  Sex, outside of marriage, was considered sinful, but adultery (a violation of marital/sacramental vows) was viewed as worse than fornication (sex outside of marriage). Love, on the other hand, floated independently of these conventions.  In the High Middle Ages, great emphasis was placed on the knightly/aristocratic forms of Courtly Love.  This was not the only form or type of love, but it is the one which Andreas Capellanus saw fit to describe and formulate rules for.
 
Purpose: (The basics):

As a class we will be examining Capellanus' views and debating them.  The goal is for us to have a better understanding of the concept of love in Capellanus' time, as well as to examine some of our own, current assumptions and views towards love and what it either is or should be.  In class, parallel examples from Arthurian Legend will be of use.  Although the legend of King Arthur is set in the Early Medieval (Dark Ages) Period, the principles of courtly love (during which time the tale was written) are very much in evidence.  In addition to all this groovy historical awareness, you may learn some rather interesting things about your peers...

How We Do It:
  
 A. Print - The night before the debate, print out of Copy of Andreas Capellanus' Rules of Courtly Love.  Then read them.

 B. Prepare - Decide whether you agree or disagree with each point of Capellanus' "Rules."  Place a "+" sign next to the ones you agree with and a "-" sign next to the ones you do not agree with.  If you encounter one you do not understand you need to place a "?" sign next to it AND write out your question for clarification (not just a comment like: I don't get it.) 

 C. Ask - Come to class ready to ask for clarification.  I will take basic questions on the rules you have put "?" marks next to.  Once these are taken care of, the debate will begin.

 D. Debate - I will read off each of the Rules (for the sake of time I will omit some).  Each person must then decide if they basically agree with the stated rule or disagree with it.  If you agree you will move to the one side of the class marked by a "+" on the board.  If you disagree, move to the side that has a "-" on the board.  No people allowed waffling in the middle.  Everyone must choose.  For the sake of ease of movement, you may sit on TOP of a desk, or stand, but no sitting IN a desk.   I will then bring out a stuffed animal.  Only the person with the stuffed animal is allowed to speak (other than the teacher).  When that person is finished speaking, they may throw the animal to a person who wants to speak on the other side (hand raised).  If there *is* no person on the opposite side who wants to add anything, then they may pass it to a person on their own side who wants to add something.  When the comments end, we move on to the next rule.

Please remember at all times to BE RESPECTFUL.  Though you may criticize and disagree with your peers, avoid personal attacks.  Have fun and enjoy getting to know your fellow classmates!

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Courtly Love FAQ’s: (To be developed from "?"'s )

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