Andreas and the Ambiguity of Courtly Love (Toronto Italian Studies).

Aus der Bibliothek von Prof. Wolfgang Haase, langj�igem Herausgeber der ANRW und des International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT) / From the library of Prof. Wolfgang Haase, long-time editor of ANRW and the International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT). - sehr guter Zustand / very good condition - Ambiguity has been associated with the courtly love of the troubadour poets since medieval days. The perception of a spiritual/carnal paradox in the poems stems, in large part, from the interpretation given by Andreas Capellanus in his De Amore. -- Paolo Cherchi provides a new reading of De Amore, suggesting that Andreas, using a rhetorical strategy that creates ambiguity, condemns courtly love because its claim that passion generates virtue is untenable and deceitful. Although Andreas grasped the core of the courtly love 'system,' namely, the relation between passion and ethics, he failed to consider the notion of mezura, that courtly virtue through which troubadours transformed nature into culture, and erotic passion into social discourse. Mezura is the key to the courtly world: it explains paideia and the conventional quality of troubadour poetry, as well as its emphasis on conflicting themes such as hope and despair, desire and renunciation, boastfulness and humility; it explains the cyclomythic situation of the troubadour's persona, his restless immobility. Finally, mezura offers a key to the historical rise and fall of courtly love. -- Cherchi offers an innovative interpretation and a close reading of selected poems. He traces the history of Provencal lyric poetry, highlighting some of the significant personalities and movements. The book contains a lengthy bibliography. ISBN 9780802005779