Courtly Love in The Knights Tale and The Wife of Baths Tale

â€Å"The noble knight slays the dragon and rescues the fair maiden†¦and they live happily ever after.† This seemingly clichà © finale encompasses all the ideals of courtly love, which began in the Medieval Period and still exists today. While these ideals were prevalent in medieval society, they still existed with much controversy. Geoffrey Chaucer, a poet of the period, comments on courtly love in his work The Canterbury Tales. Through the use of satiric elements and skilled mockery, Chaucer creates a work that not only brought courtly love to the forefront of medieval society but also introduced feministic ideals to the medieval society. At times, Chaucer even makes readers question his beliefs by presenting contrasting elements of principle†¦show more content†¦While this idea of daring exploits and melodramatic ideals is intriguing, in reality, courtly love is more of a literary invention. Through works such as Chrà ©tien de Troyes’s Lancelot, Guila ume de Lorris’s Roman de la Rose, and Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, courtly love has evolved from an adventurous race towards love into one of the most important literary influences in Western culture (â€Å"Courtly Love†). While the ideals of courtly love were highly accepted and almost idealized in medieval society, the origin of these ideals remains a mystery because the very definition of courtly love is debated among modern and ancient literary scholars (Wollock 32). Since courtly love is not specifically defined, it exists in many spectrums. Gaston Paris, a French writer and scholar, suggests a worldly idea of courtly love with little attention given to morals. He defined courtly love by the lover’s worship of an idealized lady based on sexual attraction and desire. Being a controversial idea, an opposite idea of courtly love also exists. C.S. Lewis, a French theologian and literary critic, presents a conservative idea of courtly love based on rel igion and morality. His summation of courtly love includes â€Å"Humility, Courtesy, Adultery, and the Religion of Love.† Throughout history, many scholars have commented on their concept of love, and it is safe to say that each scholar responded with a different idea based off his personnel experiences (Wollock 31). Chaucer alsoShow MoreRelatedTheme Of Love In The Canterbury Tales887 Words   |  4 Pagesmessages of love throughout the centuries. There exists many tales and accounts that teach important lessons to the society. The writers have taken the opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings about the society as a whole. For instance, in these Canterbury Tales, love has been painted in many different ways. 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