Conclusion
Abstract
Gentle love, or fin’amor , flourished in twelfth-century European literature, particularly in troubadour songs and Northern French trouvère poetry. However, by the thirteenth century, its sacred resonance began to fade; in Dante’s Comedy it was associated with transgression, and in Jean de Meun’s Romance of the Rose it was exposed to parody and coarse jokes. This shift marked the incipient decline of fin’amor in medieval literature, paving the way for later, partly nostalgic, partly ironic, representations of erotic desire, and, ultimately, for the emergence of Platonic love and amatory rhetoric in early modern poetry.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Medieval European Literature and History
Medieval Literature and History
Historical
Literary
and Cultural Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Routledge eBooks
- Pages
- 231–233
- Publication date
- 13 January 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter