The Art of Courtly Love

Addressing Walter, Andreas explains that he wrote the book because of his affection for Walter. However, Andreas does not believe wise men should devote their time to love. He wants Walter to be educated about love because rejecting love with full knowledge of its pleasures is more pleasing to God than rejecting it because one is ignorant about it. There are many reasons men should avoid love.

The first reason is that God condemns “the works of Venus” (187) outside of wedlock. Second, love can cause men to harm their neighbors instead of loving them, as commanded in the gospel of Luke. Third, love can cause men to become estranged from their friends. Fourth, “there is no sin more serious than fornication,” which “defiles both body and soul” (189). Fifth, a man in love is a man enslaved, with heart and soul vexed by suspicion and no longer living for himself. Sixth, love can result in poverty or, alternately, force men to accumulate wealth by dishonest means in order to feed his love. Seventh, love can be a source of torment for men in life and after death. Eighth, men should avoid love because “chastity and the restraining of carnal desires” (192) are the most praiseworthy virtues among both men and women.