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Definition
Courtly Love
Courtly Love (Amour Courtois) refers to an innovative literary genre of poetry of the High Middle Ages (1000-1300 CE) which elevated the position of women in society and established the motifs of the romance genre recognizable in the present...
Article
The World's Oldest Love Poem
The world's oldest love poem is The Love Song for Shu-Sin (c. 2000 BCE) composed in ancient Mesopotamia for use in part of the sacred rites of fertility. Prior to its discovery in the 19th century, and its translation in the 20th, the biblical...
Article
Love, Sex, & Marriage in Ancient Greece
Love, sex, and marriage in ancient Greece are portrayed in Greek literature as distinct, yet closely intertwined, elements of life. For many upper-class men, marriages did not take place for love, and other relationships, be it with men or...
Article
Love, Sex, & Marriage in Ancient Rome
Love, sex, and marriage in ancient Rome were defined by the patriarchy. The head of the household was the father (the pater familias) who had complete control over the lives of his wife, children, and slaves. This paradigm was justified...
Article
Love, Sex, & Marriage in Ancient Mesopotamia
Medical texts from ancient Mesopotamia provide prescriptions and practices for curing all manner of ailments, wounds, and diseases. There was one malady, however, which had no cure: passionate love. From a medical text found in the Library...
Article
Love, Sex, and Marriage in Ancient Egypt
Although marriages in ancient Egypt were arranged for communal stability and personal advancement, there is evidence that romantic love was as important to the people as it is to those in today. Romantic love was a popular theme for poetry...
Video
The World's Oldest Love Poem: The Love Song of Shu-Sin
The World's Oldest Love Poem was discovered in the library of Ashurbanipal in Mesopotamia. Known as the Love Song of Shu-Sin, the World's Oldest Love Poem is about both romantic and erotic love, and was read as a part of a sacred ritual known...
Collection
Love & Sex in the Ancient World
Love in antiquity, just as today, expressed itself in all kinds of relationships, meanings, connotations, and expectations. There were representations in art, literature, and religion of heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual love, the temporary...
Image Gallery
Same-Sex Love & Courtship in the Ancient Mediterranean
This gallery explores the expression of same-sex love in the ancient Mediterranean through art. The Mediterranean was home to many cultures and societies, each with differing views on gender, sex, and relationships. Art was used to celebrate...
Definition
Chretien de Troyes
Chretien de Troyes (l. c. 1130-1190 CE) was the greatest romantic poet of his era, regarded today as the Father of Arthurian Romance (along with Geoffrey of Monmouth) and also Father of the Novel owing to his narrative form. He was most likely...