The modern practice of using the word "courtly" is rather ironic, and implies a fanatical, often beyond common sense following rules and manners high style» behavior.
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Links
- Duby J. Courtly love and changes in the position of women in France in the twelfth century. / Per. from fr. E. Yu. Simakova // Odysseus. Man in history. 1990. - M., 1990. - S. 90-96
- Smolitskaya O. V.// Dictionary medieval culture. - M., 2003. - S. 253-255
- in the Encyclopedia of Cyril and Methodius.
An excerpt describing courtesy
“Sideways, cover yourself with a pistol,” Nesvitsky said.- 3ak "ope!" - unable to stand it, even Denisov shouted to his opponent.
Pierre, with a meek smile of regret and repentance, helplessly spreading his legs and arms, stood straight in front of Dolokhov with his broad chest and looked sadly at him. Denisov, Rostov and Nesvitsky closed their eyes. At the same time they heard a shot and an angry cry from Dolokhov.
- Past! Dolokhov shouted and lay down helplessly on the snow, face down. Pierre clutched his head and, turning back, went into the forest, walking entirely in the snow and aloud saying incomprehensible words:
“Stupid… stupid!” Death... lie... - he repeated wincing. Nesvitsky stopped him and took him home.
Rostov and Denisov carried the wounded Dolokhov.
Dolokhov, silently, with eyes closed, lay in the sleigh and did not answer a word to the questions that were made to him; but, having entered Moscow, he suddenly came to himself and, raising his head with difficulty, took Rostov, who was sitting beside him, by the hand. Rostov was struck by the completely changed and unexpectedly enthusiastically tender expression of Dolokhov's face.
- Well? How do you feel? Rostov asked.
- Bad! but that's not the point. My friend, - said Dolokhov in a broken voice, - where are we? We are in Moscow, I know. I'm fine, but I killed her, killed her... She can't take it. She won't bear...
- Who? Rostov asked.
- My mother. My mother, my angel, my adored angel, mother, - and Dolokhov began to cry, squeezing Rostov's hand. When he calmed down somewhat, he explained to Rostov that he was living with his mother, that if his mother saw him dying, she would not be able to bear it. He begged Rostov to go to her and prepare her.
Rostov went ahead to carry out the assignment, and to his great surprise he learned that Dolokhov, this brawler, Dolokhov lived in Moscow with an old mother and a hunchbacked sister, and was the most tender son and brother.
pierre in Lately I rarely saw my wife face to face. Both in St. Petersburg and in Moscow, their house was constantly full of guests. The next night after the duel, as he often did, he did not go to the bedroom, but remained in his huge, father's study, in the very one in which Count Bezuhy died.
Courtesy is a kind of set of rules of conduct, invented back in the Middle Ages. It had to be studied by every courtier who dreamed of achieving success, having good reputation. Initially, this system regulated mainly the relationship between members of the opposite sexes, but gradually the concept expanded. So, what does the mysterious word “courtiness” hide, what was meant by it then and now?
Courtesy is a code of good manners
The classical Middle Ages is the period when the slave system was finally replaced by the feudal system. The Church also began to play a leading role, actively intervening in worldly affairs. It was then that the formation was completed; it happened approximately by the beginning of the 13th century.
Courtesy is the code good manners, which all knights and beautiful ladies were obliged to follow in those days. Gradually, a kind of set of "laws" was supplemented and expanded, acquired more and more new rules, many of which are considered relevant today.
concept
Courtesy is a concept that comes from the French word "courtois", which translates as "knightly", "courteous". Initially, this system was a kind of concept of love. She set the rules according to which the relationship between the knight and his lady of the heart developed. It was believed that a man in love should behave with his chosen one in much the same way as a vassal behaves with a master.
Of course, courtesy is not only a love concept. Gradually, this system also began to regulate the relationship of men with each other. Then she completely turned into a set of rules of good taste. In this regard, courtesy is considered by many historians to be the germ of morality and ethics, which guide modern people in their actions.
Courtesy is a stronghold of chivalric culture
The Crusades gradually led to the emergence of a new estate - chivalry. Around the 12th century, golden days came for its representatives. It was at this time that the unique code of the knight appeared, which reflected the traditions and norms of ethics that mankind had come to over the centuries.
It was in the 12th century that they first started talking about chivalric ideals that are not related to the prosperity of the country, the honor of the master. Courtesy in the Middle Ages extolled the image of the Beautiful Lady. Of course, every knight must have had a lover.
Gradually, mankind came to the fact that the knight is required not only courage and willingness to give his life for the interests of the state. Other qualities also began to be valued: courtesy, politeness, good breeding. Courtesy is a set of laws that asserted that a representative of this class must be literate, be able to compose verses glorifying the beauty of the chosen one. In addition, the knight is obliged to feel subtly and show gallantry.
courtly love
What else should be said, defining the meaning and interpretation of the term "courtesy"? Of course, about courtly love - a unique form of relationships between opposite sexes. Refined love is the definition given to it by contemporaries.
Courtly love basically meant the romance of a married lady and a single young man. Often, women belonged to a higher class than their chosen ones, and romances with the spouses of their own seigneur were also welcomed. The young man was required to portray love languor, to fulfill all the whims of the lady, to hand over her freedom.
Often a woman and a man were not even passionate about each other, but just played dangerous game. Of course, beautiful feats dedicated to the chosen one were also expected from the knights, which allowed him to win her favor. It was believed that a barrier was needed that prevents lovers from connecting, so the young men preferred to play this game with married women. Interestingly, there was no closeness at all main goal courtly love, the players enjoyed the very process of conquest.
courtly literature
What is a "courtly romance"? This is a work, the main character of which certainly became a gallant and refined knight. The hero performs glorious deeds in honor of his lady of the heart, travels in semi-fairy lands. Of course, such literature had nothing to do with reality; it allowed one to get acquainted only with perfect ideas about the image of a knight, always ready to defeat witches, giants, dragons. For example, we can recall the novel "Tristan and Isolde", which is fully consistent with the spirit of that time.
It is impossible not to mention the courtly poetry that was created by the troubadours. The favorite theme of the wandering singers, of course, was courtly love. The characters were always ready to make any sacrifice in order to win their lady, to attract her attention. It is impossible to forget about the sonnets that Francesco Petrarch dedicated to the beautiful Laura, with whom he was in love throughout his life.
Our days
The courtesy of behavior in our days often causes ridicule, becomes the object of parodies. However, the residents modern world agree that it is necessary to show courtesy and gallantry towards the elderly, women, remember to observe the rules of etiquette. All this is still considered an indicator cultural development, even if in our days there is no longer a cult of the Beautiful Lady and
What are the synonyms
So, what words can replace the term "courtiness" without loss of meaning? A synonym that fits perfectly in this case is courtesy. It is not surprising, because it was from this word that the name of the code, which originated during the Middle Ages, came from. Of course, courtesy is far from the only synonym that can be safely used instead of this concept. Eg, similar meaning have the following words: courtesy, mannerism, courtesy, delicacy, politeness.
Somehow I had a need to find these very rules - even a carcass, even a stuffed one. In general, badly. And I didn't find it. For some reason, I had the feeling that the rules of courtly behavior were formulated in a specific set or code, but if it exists, I don’t have its text.
Without going too much into history, it can be noted that courtesy is the philosophy of the Western European aristocracy of the 12th-15th centuries. It is from there that the nostalgia for the "times of chivalry" and the dreams of the "prince on a white horse" come - neither earlier nor later views are far from courtly and hold completely different views on both the male and female ideals. Without delving into the reasons and background (you can read about them on Wikipedia on the request "courtly literature"), I will describe outside courtesy.
Courteous man.
The list of canonical qualities of a courtly man was found:
- generosity, readiness for large expenses, worthy of a noble knight;
- elegance of treatment;
- honor and courage;
- fun and the ability to entertain.
In all this, extremes are condemned: an uncouth wast, a mannered man, a clown, and one who forgets about everything for the sake of exploits or revenge. Uncouth miser, melancholic, rude and cowardly. The one who forgets about everything for the sake of love is also wrong - neglecting other virtues, except for worshiping his lady, he becomes uncourtly, extending this uncouthness to the lady.
On this moment there are enough rules for male courtesy left, and there are also rules in this spirit. Give and help put on a coat, hold the door, skip ahead, move a chair, carry more or less heavy bags, give a hand when leaving the transport, kiss it (the hand) when meeting and meeting, hail a taxi and book a table ... All this It is spelled out point by point in the relevant books and is called, depending on the degree of mastery by a man, either politeness or knowledge of etiquette. And in fact it is courtesy as it is.
Courteous woman.
It's more difficult here. It is easier to determine which woman is NOT courteous. First of all, of course, a woman who looks like a man is not courteous. jerky movements, masculine gestures, masculine vocabulary, masculine intonations and occupations, unfeminine clothes ... All this is condemned by courtesy, except for one exception. A woman can disguise herself as a boy if she has a good reason for doing so. Protecting the country by divine command, running away to her lover under the guise of a troubadour, disguised as a squire by her father... There are options.
Also, a courtly woman is not subject to vices - drunkenness, laziness, foul language, anger, pride. The only vices that are not only not prohibited, but directly approved by the rules of courtesy are deceit in the name of goodness and adultery.
courtly relationships.
Courtly relationships are a kind of vassalage. A lady who is not the wife of a knight is a muse and mistress. Ladies control the course of a conversation or a game, ladies can assign tasks (even difficult ones) as a pledge of their favor, insulting a lady is the worst crime that can be imagined.
However, this can hardly be called matriarchy, since often the lady of the knight was his real mistress - the wife or daughter of the overlord. Perhaps - the wife or daughter of an aristocrat with more high title. From this position, she was quite right, having presented the applicant with a scarf or a flower (which he wore as a sign of favor on his sleeve, on a spear or helmet), to demand the fulfillment of certain assignments that have very different backgrounds - from religious motives to the personal revenge of Mrs.
Without bewilderment, contemporaries perceived situations when one woman was declared a lady of a knight, and he was married to another. A very typical example is the story of Tristan and Isolde, each of whom was married at the end of the epic: Isolde - with Tristan's lord Mark, and Tristan - with another Isolde. If suddenly the knight and his Beautiful lady married, in this way the knight rose to the heights of his lady (or lowered her into his lowlands - how to look), and purely external courtesy remained - subject to general courtesy, the woman lost the right to determine the actions and decisions of her husband.
Of course, everything described above was true only for the aristocracy, the plebeians did not adhere to such rules and could not count on them even in the case of tender feelings from one of the masters. Did they lose something from this - you decide ...
- COURTY
- a system of rules of conduct at the court or a set of qualities that a courtier should have in the Middle Ages and early modern times. In Middle… - COURTY
politeness, courtesy, mannerism, ... - COURTY in the New explanatory and derivational dictionary of the Russian language Efremova:
and. obsolete Distraction noun by value adj.: ... - COURTY in the Dictionary of the Russian Language Lopatin:
courtesy, ... - COURTY in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
courtesy, ... - COURTY in the Spelling Dictionary:
courtesy, ... - COURTY in the New Dictionary of the Russian Language Efremova:
and. obsolete distraction noun according to adj. … - COURTY in the Big Modern explanatory dictionary Russian language:
and. distraction noun according to adj. … - COURTESY in Gender Studies Glossary.:
- … - KING ARTHUR V Literary Encyclopedia:
(French le roi Arthur; lat. Artorius; Celt. Artos - bear) - a cross-cutting character that combines medieval chivalric novels into one cycle ... - REALISM in the Literary Encyclopedia:
" id=Realism.Table of Contents> I. General character of realism II. Stages of realism A. Realism in the literature of pre-capitalist society B. Bourgeois realism ... - FRENCH LITERATURE V encyclopedic dictionary Brockhaus and Euphron:
occupies a central position in the mental and artistic development throughout Europe. It belonged to her in the 12th century. that advanced meaning, which ... - COURTOISE in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
oh, oh, zen, knowing, outdated. book. Exquisitely polite, gracious. Courtesy is a property of the courtly. and Courtly literature - European medieval knights ... - FRENCH LITERATURE in the Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron.
- TROUBADOURS in Collier's Dictionary:
(from Provence trobar - to find, create), medieval poets of southern France who composed poems in the Provençal dialect of the Languedoc (langue d "oc). The heyday of lyrics ... - COURTESY in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language:
bonton, politeness, haberdashery, gallantry, delicacy, correctness, courtesy, courtesy, courtesy, deference, courtesy, tact, ... - MANERABILITY in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language:
fidgetiness, pretentiousness, artificiality, cuteness, brokenness, artificiality, curlyness, courtesy, camp, affectation, deliberateness, tightness, unnaturalness, pretentiousness, ... - COURSE in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language:
politeness, gallantry, delicacy, compliment, complimentarity, correctness, courtesy, affectionateness, courtesy, favor, courtesy, friendliness, pleasantness, tact, respectfulness, service, ... - POLITENESS in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language:
bonton, haberdashery, gallantry, delicacy, correctness, courtesy, courtesy, courtesy, courtesy, friendliness, decency, decency, propriety, tact, tact, respectfulness, courtesy, ...
