Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index


  • Record Number: 2389
  • Author(s)/Creator(s): Duby , Georges.
  • Contributor(s):
  • Title: The Courtly Model [In the model of courtly love that emerged in twelfth-century France, the aristocratic man submits completely to the will of the exalted “domna” (lady). The author examines whether this model of male-female relations (which appears to give the woman great power) actually resulted in a change in social attitudes toward women or an improvement in their condition. Aristocrats adopted the courtly love model from troubadour poetry and other forms of literature, and practicing courtly love allowed noble men to prove their masculinity through displays like tournaments. Although the condition of women improved by means of the courtly love paradigm, the status of men improved as well so the distance between the sexes remained largely the same. Title note supplied by Feminae.].
  • Source: A History of Women in the West. Volume 2: Silences of the Middle Ages.  Edited by Christiane Klapisch-Zuber.  Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992.  Pages 250 - 266.
  • Description:
  • Article Type: Essay
  • Subject (See Also): Andreas Capellanus, Poet- De Amore Chivalry Courtly Love Domna (Literary Figure) Literature- Verse Masculinity Noble Men Noble Women Women in Literature Women's Status
  • Award Note:
  • Geographic Area: France
  • Century: 12
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  • Author's Affiliation: Collège de France
  • Conference Info: - , -
  • Year of Publication: 1992.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN/ISBN: 0674403711