Andreas Capellanus
Andreas Capellanus, also known as André le Chapelain, was a medieval chaplain likely born between 1150 and 1160, who served at the court of Henri de Troie. He is best known for his influential treatise on love, titled *Liber de arte honeste amandi et reprobatone inhonesti amantis*, written at the request of Countess Marie de Champagne, the daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine. This work, composed between 1184 and 1186, draws heavily from Ovid's *Art of Love* but establishes its own unique perspective on love, becoming widely recognized as *The Art of Courtly Love*. The treatise outlines the conduct expected of lovers and significantly shaped the portrayal of romantic relationships in contemporary literature, especially at the courts of the twelfth century, which catered to female audiences. Although it gained immense popularity, it was later condemned by Bishop Stephen Tempier of Paris in 1277, leading to scholarly debates regarding its intent—whether it was meant to be taken seriously or served as a satire of romance literature. Capellanus's insights into the rules of courtly love and the medieval education system mark his contributions as critical to understanding the cultural landscape of his time.
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Andreas Capellanus
Writer
- Born: c. 1150
- Died: c. 1200
Biography
Andreas Capellanus is also referred to in the French as André le Chapelain. Little is known about his life. He was probably born sometime between 1150 and 1160. He was a chaplain at the court of Henri de Troie.
It is believed that he wrote his treatise on love at the request of Eleanor of Aquitaine’s daughter, Countess Marie de Champagne. The book was a work in three volumes written in Latin; its complete title was Liber de arte honeste amandi et reprbatione inhonesti amantis. Capellanus is indebted to Ovid’s Art of Love for many of the basic ideas in his work; however, the treatise remains his own work and is more than a restatement of Ovid’s book. It appeared between 1184 and 1186; he died in 1186.
The book enjoyed enormous popularity and was soon translated into French. The work, which later became known as The Art of Courtly Love, had tremendous influence on the depiction of love in the literature of the day. During the twelfth century a type of vernacular French literature, which targeted women as its audience, developed at the courts, particularly at that of Eleanor of Aquitaine and of her daughter Marie of Champagne.
In Capellanus’s work one finds the rules for lovers’ conduct that govern the depiction of the medieval hero in the work of Chrétien de Troye and other Provençal writers of romance poems of the period. In 1277, Capellanus’s book was officially condemned by Bishop Stephen Tempier of Paris. There has been considerable discussion among scholars as to the true nature of the work. Some insist that it was written to be taken seriously, but many, especially modern scholars, argue that it is a satire mocking the romance literature of the day.
In addition to being the authority on the model for the lover in courtly romance, Capellanus provides a considerable amount of information in regard to the medieval system of education (the trivium and the quadrivium). Capellanus’s The Art of Courtly Love is important for the study of the French romance of the twelfth century and for its elucidation of the rules of courtly love.