Amor de lonh
Amor de lonh
Amor de lonh — love from afar.
It was developed by the 12th-century troubadour Jaufré Rudel, Prince of Blaye. According to his legendary biography, he fell in love with the Countess Hodierna of Tripoli purely upon hearing pilgrims describe her beauty — she was his amor de lonh, his far-off love. He reportedly joined the Second Crusade to reach her, fell gravely ill on the voyage, and died in her arms upon finally seeing her. Wikipedia
The companion archetype to this is the princesse lointaine — the “distant princess” — a woman so elevated, so otherworldly, that the love itself is defined by the impossibility of possession.
How This Maps onto Wyrtgeorn and Rowena
In the world of the Wyrmfeld Chronicles, Wyrtgeorn is a battle-worn warrior in his 50s, devoting himself to a woman who appears to be in her 20s but is ancient beyond reckoning — is the courtly love archetype, but amplified to a mythological scale. In the troubadour tradition, the lady was usually inaccessible — married, or in some other way unattainable — and became the sole focus of a knight’s unwavering devotion, service, and self-sacrifice. World History Encyclopedia A Nephilim is the ultimate inaccessible beloved: not merely socially above him, but ontologically above him. Her divinity is the thing that conflicts his love for her.
The doctrine of courtly love at Eleanor of Aquitaine’s court was designed to teach courtiers how to be lovely, charming, and delightful — its basic premise being that being in love would teach you how to be loveable. This ideal helped free women from the role of inferior Eve and elevate them to the status of the beatified Mary. Nvcc That sacred-feminine elevation maps directly onto a Nephilim figure. For her part, she is deeply in love with the man who is her sword and shield.
Academic Essays and Sources
- Harvard’s Chaucer Website — “Courtly Love and Chivalry in the Later Middle Ages” (Benson) — a serious scholarly essay:
chaucer.fas.harvard.edu - EBSCO Research Starters — “Rise of Courtly Love” — good overview with bibliography
- MDPI — “The Discourse of Courtly Love in Medieval Verse Narratives” (December 2024) — peer-reviewed, very recent:
mdpi.com/2673-8392/4/4/124 - World History Encyclopedia — “Courtly Love” — solid accessible overview with sourcing:
worldhistory.org - Andreas Capellanus, De Amore (Art of Courtly Love) — the 12th-century primary source that literally codified the rules. It includes the directive: “Thou shalt keep thyself chaste for the sake of her whom thou lovest.” MDPI
- C.S. Lewis, The Allegory of Love (1936) — the canonical modern scholarly treatment of courtly love in medieval literature. Lewis argued the troubadours effected a change that left no corner of Western ethics, imagination, or daily life untouched.
Wyrmfeld Chronicles 