COURTING THE DIVINE: THE RELIGION OF LOVE IN AMADÍS DE

GAULA, LA CELESTINA, AND EL SIERVO LIBRE DE AMOR

by

CATHERINE CHERI GRISSOM, B.A.

A THESIS

IN

SPANISH

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty

of Texas Tech University in
Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements for
the Degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

John Beusterien
Chairperson of the Committee

Susan Isabel Stein

Carmen Pereira-Muro

December, 2008
 Texas Tech University, Catherine Grissom, December 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION...........................................1

II. THE RISE OF THE RELIGION OF LOVE......................6

The Birth of Amor....................................6

The Four Marks of Courtly Love.......................8

The Nature of the Religion of Love..................11

Love as a Religion..................................12

III. THE LIFESTYLE OF THE LOVER..........................17

Initiation into Love's Service......................17

The Triune Lover....................................20

Soldier........................................21

Servant........................................36

Saint..........................................47

IV. THE LIFESTYLE OF THE LADY LOVE......................52

Humanity............................................52

Divinity............................................60

V. CONCLUSION...........................................73

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BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................................77

Works Cited.........................................77

Works Consulted.....................................78

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Love is possibly the most complex topic mankind has

ever attempted to define. Though it is elusive, it

possesses a seemingly supernatural ability to alter the

human psyche. In attempting to unearth the origins of the

modern concept of love, the researcher may look to a

variety of sources. The nineteenth-century Romantic

treatment of the theme often emphasized its altering effect

on the feelings and, as a result, the movement portrayed

the more sentimental side of love. However, in delving

further into the past, indeed well into the late medieval

period, the researcher will note that the French ideal of

courtly love bears a strong resemblance to society’s

present concept of love.

This tradition of courtly love continued throughout

the Middle Ages and well into the Spanish Golden Age,

though perhaps it is most visible in texts of the pre-

Cervantine era. The ideals set forth by the code of amour

courtois gained fervency in literary circles, often to the

extreme of forming a religion from its theories. This

“Religion of Love” stands out among the other traits in the

courtly love movement and especially materializes in the

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literature of late medieval through early Renaissance

Spain. This pseudo-religious movement emerges in a number

of literary works throughout the period, but El siervo

libre de amor, La Celestina and Amadís de Gaula distinguish

themselves as exceptional representations of the Religion

of Love.

With the great variety of literary works of the period

that lend themselves to a close examination of the presence

of this tradition, it stands to reason to ask why these

particular pieces have been incorporated into such a study.

Due to the number of ways the courtly love theme appears in

these works, on many occasions interacting with and, in

some instances, replacing religion, these three texts seem

ideal for such a study.

As the first of the three to be published, El siervo

libre de amor is an ideal starting point due to the nature

of its content and style. Its historical place as a work on

the tail end of literature bearing the medieval

classification shows the influence of the Religion of Love

on the pre-Renaissance Spanish mentality. While employing a

series of decisively poetic passages, it bears a remarkable

resemblance to a treatise on how to love well, not unlike

that of Andreas Capellanus three centuries prior to its

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publication. In so doing, the text decorates its complex

prose by scattering poetic segments throughout, making for

an intriguing journey through its didactic content and

courtly narrative.

While attempting to analyze the importance of La

Celestina as a work that not only supports but largely

embodies the principles and precepts of the Religion of

Love, one should bear in mind that the literary work

transcends classification. The tragicomedia stands astride

multiple thresholds including those of genre and categories

of literary movements. While it takes the basic form of a

play, the poetry that leaps from its pages and the general

complexity of the work in form, character and theme are

prime examples of how the text seamlessly evades efforts at

locking it into any certain genre. Its subject matter shows

it to be both medieval, mixing the sacred with the profane,

and Renaissance in its humanistic philosophies. Due to its

precarious place on the precipice of one movement and the

brink of another, La Celestina presents an intriguing

portrait of the Religion of Love as the religion itself

evolves, owing this presentation largely to its own

transitional position.

Finally, as the last of the three texts to be

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published, Amadís de Gaula is a brilliant example of the

Religion of Love in action. As perhaps the greatest example

of the Spanish romance of chivalry, in its time, the fame

of the Amadis cycle spread to various European nations.

Amadis became an archetype of the perfect knight and

inspired the publication of numerous other texts within the

genre before being attacked almost a century later in El

ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, the book that

would serve as both its parody and destroyer yet, through

its own vast popularity, would forever immortalize the name

of Amadis. Amadís de Gaula, therefore, represents a prime

example of principle put into play.

These three texts remarkably demonstrate the

undeniable influence of the medieval concept of the

Religion of Love. El siervo libre de amor presents an

arresting philosophical view of the Religion of Love,

replete with examples; Amadís de Gaula shows how the knight

should use these principles in a practical way and La

Celestina, once again revealing its transitional nature,

dons the cloaks of both in and represents the tradition in

a combination of code and custom.

This thesis aims to contribute to the body of

knowledge on Spanish courtly love by first examining the

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nature of the Religion of Love, as originally set forth by

C.S. Lewis in the Allegory of Love, as it appears in these

three distinct works of the period, and to show that in the

context of the aforementioned works, the Religion of Love

encapsulates the other marks and sets itself up as the

defining attribute of courtly love.

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CHAPTER II

THE RISE OF THE RELIGION OF LOVE

The Birth of Amor

The idea of love as a sentimental relationship between

man and woman in which the lover's experiences in loving

his lady border on a religious experience began to surface

in the Middle Ages. Before this time, the concept of love

found expression in a variety of ways. In classical

literature, the concept of Eros had existed long before in

conjunction with the love elegies exemplified in poets such

as Catullus, Tibullus, Propertius and Ovid, but this idea

dealt primarily with physical attraction or the "zeal of

the organs for each other." (Campbell 233) Joseph Campbell

also discusses the existence of Agape, love in a purely

spiritual sense.

Although both of these concepts describe aspects of

the love recognized in the medieval period, this new

treatment of love stemmed primarily from a change in

Provencal thought reflected in the troubadour poetry of

Languedoc near the end of the eleventh century. Scholars

have propounded several convincing theories to account for

this change in thought.

Some attribute this conceptual shift to the great

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influence exerted by Ovid over medieval thought. Ovid pens

the three books of the Ars Amatoria using a quasi-religious

tone, styling himself a priest of love who will initiate

the audience, his eager pupil, into the mysteries of Love.

He portrays love as a fearsome force, likening it to a

fierce warrior in the form of Achilles, the force of mighty

horses tugging at reins, the ship Argo and a fiery bull,

all forces to be reckoned with and all forces that, with

proper instruction and skill, can be tamed.

Given the context of the poem, “Love thus becomes a

great and jealous god, his service an arduous militia:

offend him who dares, Ovid is his trembling captive” (Lewis

6). In this we find the roots of the courtly concepts of 1)

the lover serving in Love's army and 2) Love being a burden

the lover must needs bear. The pain associated with love

also abounds in the Ars amatoria. In writing his own

treatise on the subject, Andreas Capellanus liberally uses

Ovidian references to describe the ideal picture of Love.

Others posit that the wane of feudalism bears the

greatest responsibility for this altered approach to Love.

They base this theory on the deep loyalty and affection a

vassal felt toward his lord. With feudalism in its decline,

the sense of duty and the love of lord and patria needed an

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outlet, which resulted in the transference of affection and

loyalty from the feudal lord to his lady. The courtly

tradition of addressing the lady as midons, meaning not “my

lady” but “my lord,” further supports this perspective

(Lewis 2).

The Four Marks of Courtly Love

Although one can easily recognize courtly love when it

manifests in literature and culture, the concept itself

proves resistant to definition. Therefore, the least

problematic approach shall be to consider courtly love’s

manifold characteristics one by one. C.S. Lewis offers in

his Allegory of Love a functional definition of courtly

love, identifying four primary marks present in courtly

literature: humility, courtesy, adultery and the focus of

this thesis: the Religion of Love.

Humility, the first mark of courtly love, offers but

small resistance to identification. Humility was already an

integral – nay, vital – aspect of the feudal mentality

which provided such fertile soil for the flower of amour

courtois. The vassal, newly reft of his lord, found himself

wanting an object for his loyalty, affection, and love, so

he turned to the lady of the palace. The closely-related

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Courtesy is also a fixture of courtly literature, and the

knight who follows the precepts set forth by the code of

chivalry exemplifies this virtue. The logic for courtesy’s

prominence as a primary characteristic follows something of

the same tendency as humility. Because the new feeling grew

and developed within the courts, the lady of the court

already served as the supreme one who enforced manners

(Lewis 12-13).

The theme of adultery wove its tangled web throughout

courtly poetry, especially in the French tradition based on

the works of Chretien de Troyes. Lewis identifies two

principle causes for the practice of adultery within

courtly love. First, he reasons, feudal marriages rarely

looked for, let alone place any serious emphasis on, love.

Marriage was a political tool and the lady was little more

than capital leveraged for power, prestige, and influence.

A disadvantageous alliance very quickly ceased to exist

(13). Lewis’ second cause deals with the view of the Church

regarding love within the bonds of marriage. Medieval

Catholicism saw passionate love in itself as wicked (14),

so the Church’s views tended to treat passion as sin.

Church authorities themselves varied widely on the matter

of love and marriage: a) the act itself is innocent but the

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desire is evil (Gregory); b) both desire and pleasure are

evil (Hugo of St. Victor); c) though the desire is evil, it

can be excused by marriage (Peter Lombard); d) desire is

not an evil, but rather a punishment for the Fall and can

be good when used to the good end of procreation or

marriage consummation (Albertus Magnus); e) it is neither

pleasure nor desire that is evil, but the surrender of

reason that results from them (Thomas Aquinas) (Lewis 14-

16). The coherent opinion that emerged from this heated

debate might best be expressed thus: “Well, we’re pretty

sure love is evil; we just can’t say why.”

Though it is a fine distinction, it can be argued that

the passion discussed by religious scholars was very

different than that of the romantic poets. The passion so

common in the poetry of the era was just coming into vogue

and, being so new, the passion to which they referred had

more to do with the resisting of the “animal intoxication”

(17).

Lewis concludes that the Church does not condemn

sexuality in itself; rather it condemns passion as sin

(17). He further notes that because of the nature of the

feudal marriage system and the feelings of the Church

regarding love within marriage, the courtly lover would

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decide to follow Amore more out of simple devotion than out

of a desire to marry or procreate (18).

The Nature of the Religion of Love

Though Lewis treats the Religion of Love as but one

part of a greater whole, the concept can provide on its own

excellent insight into the treatment of love within

literature, as it defines itself while at the same time

incorporating the other signs under its own banners, most

obviously courtesy and humility – but perhaps adultery

receives the most striking treatment.

On one hand the Religion of Love seems to present

itself as a possible parody of the Christianity in vogue in

the day. The god in whose service the lover finds himself

is Amor. The lady serves as a sort of high priestess- an

intermediary between the god and the lover. Without her, he

can never know the communion he so desperately seeks.

Still, in order to obtain her favor, he must prove himself

worthy, as courtly love is only for those who prove they

merit it.

To the medieval mindset, love and marriage could not

peacefully coincide because their very natures were

radically different. The courtly dyad, consisting of a

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lady, cold and indifferent, and the knight who surrenders

his heart, soul, and sword to her in an act of absolute

service and devotion, adumbrates a gynocentric relationship

in which the female element exercises complete control over

the male, who in turn installs her as his personal goddess

and grants her total sovereignty over him. Marriage,

conversely, was very much a male-dominated institution in

which the husband virtually exercised total dominion over

his own wife. The reality of marriage as practiced in

medieval times, therefore, stands diametrically opposed to

the ideals of courtly love. The clash of these mutually

anathematic institutions would undoubtedly result in a

conflict that would threaten the interests and ideals of

both.

Love as a Religion

Una cosa entre otras muchas me parece mal de los

caballeros andantes, y es que cuando se ven en ocasión
de acometer una grande y peligrosa aventura, en que se
ve manifiesto peligro de perder la vida, nunca en
aquel instante de acometella se acuerdan de
encomendarse a Dios, como cada cristiano está obligado
a hacer en peligros semejantes, antes se encomiendan a
sus damas, con tanta gana y devoción como si ellas
fueran su Dios, cosa que me parece que huele algo a
gentilidad. (Cervantes 113)

The Religion of Love is a fascinating pastiche of

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religions and concepts. It borrows much of its precepts

from courtly and chivalrous traditions but also relies on

both classical and traditional religions. Perhaps the most

unusual aspect of the Religion of Love is its ability to

combine elements from both the classical gods and the

Catholic Church.

The god Amor, from his first introduction, possesses a

frightening array of attributes. He is displayed as a

terrible, powerful, heavily-armed deity with a singular

ability to subjugate his enemies and his followers with

pitiless, resistless zeal. In his treatise, Capellanus

describes the militant nature of his new lord referring to

him variously as warrior, as captor, aa admiral, as

warlord, as mighty ruler. Love assumes the character of a

deity in himself and occupies the seat of honor in the

Religion of Love.

La Celestina syncretizes mythological elements with

Catholic traditions. In criticizing his master’s actions

which he regards as insane, Sempronio refers to Calisto as

one of the "filósofos de Cupido." (23) This concept of

worshipping multiple gods is also evident when Lucrecia

asks "¿Cuál Dios te trajo?" (83) On a later occasion, when

Celestina is preparing her strategy for infiltrating the

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home of Melibea in order to begin the process of winning

her for Calisto, the alcahueta issues a prayer to Pluto:

Conjúrote, triste Plutón, señor de la profundidad

infernal, emperador de la corte dañada, capitán
soberbio de los condenados ángeles, señor de los
sulfúreos fuegos, que los hervientes étneos montes
manan, gobernador y veedor de los tormentos, y
atormentador de las pecadoras animas. (78-79)

Celestina thus demonstrates her dealings with the classical

occult to obtain for her client the love of a lady.

Though the Religion of Love is filled with classical

allusions, it also bears many similarities to Catholic

teachings. Regarding relation between the Religion of Love

and the Church, Lewis describes Love as “an extension of

religion, an escape from religion, a rival religion … [or]

any combination of them” (21-22). He goes on to explain

where it is not a parody of the Church it may be, in a

sense, her rival- a temporary escape, a truancy from
the ardours of a religion that was believed into the
delights of a religion that was merely imagined
(Lewis 21).

This treatment of love as a parody religion appears

frequently throughout the texts.

Juan Rodríguez de Padrón's treatise El siervo libre de

amor exemplifies to an exceptional degree the many ways the

Religion of Love can be seen to parody Catholicism. Upon

the founding of the early Apostolic church, the patriarchs

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of the new church found it necessary to establish uniform

guidelines in accordance with the teachings of Christ. For

this reason, the apostles, Paul in main, wrote a series of

epistles to the nascent Church to more fully unveil the

mysteries of Christianity.

The epistles follow a basic format in their

introductions. The writer introduces himself to the church

to whom he writes, often pairing his own introduction with

that of another individual the church members may also know

(Soshenes in I Corinthians and Timothy in II Corinthians,

among others) sends his greetings and love, and opens with

an accolade to Jesus Christ (with the exception of I and II

Thessalonians, which follow the same format but exclude the

introductory information following the name of the writer),

as is the case in the opening verses of Philemon: "Paul, a

prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother.. Grace

to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus

Christ" (Philemon 1:1-3)

In like manner, Juan Rodriguez del Padrón begins his

epistle to the disciples and new converts of love in a

similar manner: "Johan Rodríguez del Padrón, el menor de

los dos amigos eguales en bien amar, al su mayor Gonçalo de

Medina, juez de Mondoñedo, requiere de paz y salut" (10),

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echoing the Pauline verses.

As in the Biblical epistles, he goes on to offer an

explanation as to his reason for penning the treatise: "La

fe prometida al íntimo y claro amor y la instançia de tus

epístolas oy me haze escrevir lo que pavor y vergüença en

ninguna otorgaron revelar" (10), again paralleling the

Biblical tradition.

Though he does not believe courtly love to be the

result of a human passion transformed into religion, Lewis

describes the world of courtly poetry as something out of a

dream in which one can add to a lover’s paradise “its

natural accessories, a god and saints and a list of

commandments” in which one can “picture the lover praying,

sinning, repenting, and finally admitted to bliss.” (21)

The Religion of Love seems to serve Spanish courtly

love not as a new faith destined to usurp the infallible

authority of the Catholic Church, but rather as a

supplement to religion whereby the desperate need for love

and an austere Catholic faith might achieve a harmonious

equilibrium. This bridging between secular with sacred is

profoundly medieval.

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CHAPTER III

THE LIFESTYLE OF THE LOVER

Initiation into Love’s Service

Much as the political knight must show himself

deserving of the honor of knighthood, so the prospective

knight of love must prove his worth before he is deemed

worthy to serve Love. The political knight would first

display his prowess in a joust or tournament in order to

demonstrate his martial abilities to his lord. He would

then hold a vigil to prove the depth and constancy of his

faith. The political knight is obligated to pass through a

series of steps in order to receive the title of knight,

even so, the lover endures a similar gantlet in order to

establish himself as a knight in Love’s service.

It is made clear early in the chronology of the novel

that Amadís is destined to be a great knight. Urganda, the

lady of mystery, prophesies to his father that “éste sera

el cavallero del mundo que más lealmente manterná amor y

amará en tal lugar cual conviene a la su alta proeza”

(256). Still, perhaps the earliest indication that Amadís

will serve as a soldier in Love’s army lies in the

encounter between his parents. His mother is proclaimed to

be a divine beauty and his father proves his knightly valor

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before her father. King Perion of Gaul first meets King

Garinter after doing battle against two vassals. He does

not begin the fight but rather suffers ambush while in

search of his host. After he has demonstrated his worth in

battle, Perion earns the right to approach the king, who

will then lead him to Elisena. Perion further shows his

ability to defend his possessions and his friends when he

kills a lion that attacks the hart he himself has been

chasing. Perion “saves” the hart from the lion by going

under the lion and impaling the beast with his sword in the

most dangerous manner imaginable. Thus Garinter and Perion

carry away both the venison and the lion.

In this case, Perion is not on a quest for love but

rather one of duty. Perion’s peregrinations bring him under

peril and force him to act in his own defense, a scene

which foreshadows the future hardships he will face and the

battles in which he will engage once Love himself attacks.

He must prove himself before he is accorded the honor of

approaching Love. This scene serves as a rite of passage

for Amadís’ father. He is thus introduced and, having

proven his valor and skill in physical battle, he may

progress to the next phase of love, wherein he will come to

grips with the Sturm und Drang inherent in the militia

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amoris. His physical power earns him the right to approach

Elisena. He first proves his ability to defend himself in

the battle with the vassals and then shows his skill at

defending the thing to which he has laid claim (the hart)

and the things he cherishes (his new friend). Perion,

having thus proved himself worthy, is initiated into Love’s

service.

Once he proves himself worthy of serving Love and his

lady, the lover must then undergo a conversion in which he

wholly surrenders himself to his new cause. In Amadís de

Gaula, Amadís decides to become a knight in order to better

serve Oriana. Thus his initiation into love's service

begins and he receives the sword and shield from Gandales

(V: 29). In La Celestina, Calisto encounters Melibea and

attempts to declare his love for her. Although rejected, he

nevertheless commits himself to follow after her, come what

may. When Calisto suffers the reproach of not holding with

the teachings of Christianity by setting his lady above all

else, he defends his religious choice by declaring to

Sempronio, his servant "Melibeo soy, y a Melibea adoro, y

en Melibea creo, y a Melibea amo" (21).

The conversion conceit continues throughout La

Celestina. Parmeno repeatedly criticizes both Calisto and

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Sempronio for falling in love (though Calisto suffers more

of the symptoms than his servant). In addition, he objects

to their methods of procuring the love of their ladies.

However, when Parmeno himself can no longer evade the

snares of Love, he uses the exact method they have used and

himself becomes a follower of Love. Though Sempronio has

his suspicions at first, when he discovers the truth of

Parmeno's conversion, he welcomes his fellow-servant as a

brother:

Como te tengo por hombre, como creo que Dios te ha de

hacer bien, todo el enojo que de tus pasadas hablas
tenía, se me ha tornado en amor. No dudo ya tu
confederación con nosotros ser la que debe. Abrazarte
quiero. Seamos como hermanos (166).

The Triune Lover

After the euphoric initiation into Love's service, the

lover must begin to live the lifestyle demanded by his new

religion. This lifestyle gravitates around the concept of

the triune lover, who renders service to Love -- in the

physical form of his lady -- in three capacities: first he

is the Soldier who gives his body to fight for and defend

Love; not neglecting this, he goes on to embody the

Servant, offering freely his fidelity and service, a role

that corresponds to the offering of his soul, which leads

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him naturally into his ultimate role, that of Saint – the

holy man who praises and adores his lady as a goddess,

supreme above all others –, which highlights the lover’s

spiritual aspect. When “these three are one,” the lover

attains the capability to surrender himself completely --

body, soul, and spirit -- to his lady.

Soldier

To some extent, the Religion of Love forms a type of

caste system. Before his conversion, the lover enjoys the

freedom to move about as he wishes (but is it truly

freedom?). Once he has been overtaken and conscripted into

Love’s army, he forever lives the life of a slave, with

little hope of becoming anything more. If he lives his life

in obedient accord with his beloved’s requests, he may be

allowed a place in the lover’s paradise after death, where

he will remain with her forever. Though he knows Love will

not intervene in order to simplify matters, he retains his

faith that his conduct will be fairly judged in the end.

In El siervo libre de amor, Love is a tyrant who

exercises his divine authority over willing and fearful

subjects. Johan Rodríguez del Padrón, in addressing the

judge of Mondoñedo, writes his letter due primarily to “la

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fe prometida al íntimo y claro amor” by the latter. He

describes himself as the fearful lover, afraid to reveal

the secrets of Love’s service:

no menos por salvar a mí, de la muerte pavoroso, que

por guardar la que por sola beldat, discreçión, loor y
alteza amor me mandó seguir porque sirviendo, la
excelençia del estado y grandeza del amor mostrasen en
mí las grandes fuerças del themor” (10-11)
Here, the speaker portrays Love as a fearful and commanding

presence and submits himself to do the bidding of the

despot.

This concept of conscious and even willful bondage

also surfaces in the relationship between the parents of

Amadis. Once he has been conscripted into the service of

Love, made manifest in the person of Elisena, Perion allows

himself to fall into bondage, a slave to Love and lady:

En viniendo yo a esta tierra –dixo el Rey– con entera

libertad, solamente temiendo las aventuras que de las
armas ocurrir me podían, no sé en qué forma, entrando
en esta casa destos vuestros señores, soy llagado de
herida mortal, y si vos, buena donzella, alguna
melezina para ella me procurássedes, de mí seríades
muy bien gualardonada (232).

When he learns of her love, speaking with her servant,

Perion pledges himself to Elisena as he

tomó la espada que cabe sí tenía, y poniendo la

diestramano en la cruz, dixo: –Yo juro en esta cruz y
espada con que la orden de cavallería recibí de hazer
esso que vos donzella me pedís, cada que por vuestra
señora Helisena demandado me fuere (233-234),

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through which he demonstrates his abject compliance with

her wishes and his promised service.

One of the primary characteristics of the lover of the

Religion of Love is his predisposition to suffer for his

Love and his lady. Because the Religion of Love by nature

combines elements of Christianity with elements of

classical mythology, one of the primary reasons given for

the lover's sufferings is that he has been wounded by

Cupid's arrow. Cupid takes a direct part in causing the

mortal's amorous pains. We see this in La Celestina when

Calisto admonishes his servant, who is mocking his pain,

and says, "Si tú sintieses mi dolor, con otra agua

rociarías aquella ardiente llaga que la cruel flecha de

Cupido me ha causado." (66)

Although partaking of the fruits of the Religion of

Love guarantees the new convert a number of trials and a

great deal of pain, once converted, the lover can see no

other way. Indeed, the path of loving, even when it goes

unreciprocated, appears to him by far the best. In El

siervo libre de amor, Padrón writes:

Esta vía de no amar ni ser amado no es tan seguida

como la espaçiosa de amar bien y ser amado ni como la
deçiente de bien amar sin ser amado por do siguen los
más por quanto van cuesta ayuso, en contrario de la

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muy agra de no amar ni ser amado por la cual siguen

muy pocos, por ser la más ligera de fallir y más
grave de seguir. (10)

Much like the hero of classical tragedy, the knight in

Love’s service has a fatal flaw. Under the quivering pens

of the romance writers, the hybris that brings about the

inevitable destruction of the tragic hero evolved into the

medieval lover’s mortal wound, inflicted by Cupid. When he

is reborn as a servant to Love, his god knights him by

striking him with a love so great that it can only bring

about his demise. This very wound is the source of the many

paradoxical situations that govern the lover. It is both

his strength and his weakness, his disease and his health,

his fire and his ice. Though it is his greatest pain, he

would never wish it away for fear of losing the greatest

pleasure he has ever known. The wound slowly becomes his

identity and he therefore can find neither the means nor

the will to estrange it from himself, as in the case where

Calisto declares:

En gran peligro me veo;

en mi muerte no hay tardanza:
pues que me pide el deseo
lo que me niega esperanza (167).

and later continues:

Corazón, bien se te emplea

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que penes y vivas triste,

que tan presto te venciste
del amor de Melibea (168).

After falling in love, the lover finds himself

afflicted with an instability that causes a noticeable

change in his senses. As he contemplates the glory of his

lady, the lover finds his vision dazzled. Sempronio refers

to Calisto's inability to see fault when he tells him

"aunque la aborrezcas cuanto ahora la amas podría ser,

alcanzándola y viéndola con otros ojos, libres del engaño

en que ahora estás" (30).

Amadís de Gaula records a similar affliction of

vision. However, Amadís does not suffer from an inability

to see his lady for herself; rather, his malady stems from

his inability to see anything apart from her. During his

joust with a rival knight, he hears her voice and gazes up

at her. Upon seeing her, his vision remain fixed to the

point he is almost overcome in battle:

y cató suso, y vio a su señora Oriana que estava en

una finiestra, y la donzella con ella, y assí como la
vido, assí la espada se le reolvió en la mano, y su
batalla y todas las otras cosas le fallescieron por la
ver (373).

In this encounter, the sound of his lady's voice overpowers

Amadis before he ever sees her face. Separate encounters

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record his inability to hear anything other than Oriana's

name: “Él tomó la carta, mas non entendió nada de lo que

dixo, assí fue alterado cuando a su señora oyó mentar”

(322). When he is accused of not caring for his lady

because he does not respond in the way the damsel feels he

ought, he replies “Amiga... no entendí lo que me havéis

dicho con este mal que me ocurrió, como ya otra vez ante

vos me acaesió” (323).

When he considers his great love and the impossibility

of ever truly being deserving of his lady, the lover often

experiences intense pain, both emotional and physical.

Still, he cannot help but obsessively concentrate on the

very thing that causes him such a great deal of misery.

Though there is no certain method of gaining relief from

amorous sufferings, Celestina contends that the outward

expression of grief can offer a degree of comfort:

¿no sabes que alivia la pena llorar la causa? ¿Cuánto

es dulce a los tristes quejar de su pasión? ¿Cuánto
descanso traen consigo los quebrantados suspiros?
¿Cuánto relievan y disminuyen los lagrimosos gemidos
del dolor? Cuantos escribieron consuelos no dicen otra
cosa (63).

Amadís too, finds himself enduring great sorrow for

the sake of his lady. As he prepares to enter her city he

contemplates the beauty of his surroundings and thinks upon

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his lady, a thought which causes an overwhelming sorrow to

take hold of him:

Después que a su señora ova loado, un tan gran cuidado

le vino, que las lágrimas fueron a sus ojos venidas, y
fallesciéndole el coraçón cayó en un gran pensamiento,
que todo estava estordeçido, de guisa de sí ni de otro
sabía parte... él acordó sospirando muy fuertemente y
tenía la faz toda mojada de lágrimas (366).

When his squire tries to warn him of an approaching band of

knights, Amadís shows himself insensibile to the words of

his comrade. After Gandalin’s advice to cheer up, Amadís

replies “¡Ay, amigo Gandalín, qué sufre mi coraçón!; si me

tú amas, sé que antes me consejarías muerte que bivir en

tan gran cuita desseando lo que no veo” (367).

On another occasion, when Gandalin goes to speak to

Oriana, he informs her of the misery Amadís perpetually

faces:

Señora,... es [él]...que es todo vuestro y por vos

muere, y su alma padesce lo que nunca cavallero...
Señora, él no passará vuestro mandado por mal ni por
bien que le avenga, y por Dios, señora, aved dél
merced (379).

Amadís is not the only knight who suffers greatly for

his love. We read the following words about Guilan:

en todo el reino de Londres no havía quien de bondad

le passasse, y assí havía todas las otras bondades que
a buen cavallero convenían; solamente le ponía grande
entrevallo ser tan cuidador, que los hombres no podían
gozar de su habla ni de su compaña, y desto era la

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causa amores que lo tenían en su poder y le fazían

amar a su señora, que ni a sí ni a otra cosa no amava
tanto (595).

This great internal pain often manifests itself

externally in the form of an illness. King Perion, after

simply dining with the family of his beloved and briefly

touching her hand, suffers so because of her that when

Elisena’s confidant comes to his chambers he “creyó que no

sin algún remedio para sus mortals desseos allí era venida”

(232).

Later, whenever Amadís thinks of his lady, hears her

name mentioned, sees her, or has any type of encounter with

her that causes him to think of her, he becomes so weak

that he often trembles or struggles to remain conscious:

“Cuando oyó mentar a su señora, estremeciósele el coraçón

tan fuertemente, que por poco cayera del cavallo, y

Gandalín que así lo vio atónito abraçóse con él” (289-290).

When Gandalin and the damsel of Denmark express their

concern over his sudden malady, Amadís replies “a menudo he

este mal” (290).

This illness can also manifest itself as a significant

alteration of the lover’s ability to think and reason,

which often results in sleepless nights. When Calisto

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begins thinking of Melibea and contemplating his great

sufferings and pains, he loses all sense of time (168),

forgetting whether it is day or night, as he has spent his

entire evening "trovando," and bemoaning his state without

Melibea. Amadís also struggles with sleep for spending his

time thinking of his lady:

viéronle los ojos bermejos y las fazes mojadas de

lágrimas, assí que bien parescía que durmiera poco de
noche, y sin falta assí era, que membrándose de su
amiga considerando la gran cuita que por ella le venía
sin tener ninguna esperanza de remedio, otra cosa no
esperava sino la muerte (312).

While he very much aware that he can never reach his

lady, the lover goes through a series of attempts to do so

in order to satisfy the longing that derives from his

infliction and its effects. There are two primary ways the

lover attempts to reconcile this longing to win his lady.

He will either enlist the help of a third party to

influence her, or he will try to win her on his own merits,

hoping to prove himself worthy of her.

La Celestina holds a prime example of the use of an

intermediary. Calisto's world is one in which knight-

errantry is no longer the norm, it is difficult for Calisto

to prove himself according to the traditional chivalric

mode. The lover in this case first attempts to convince his

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lady to grant him an opportunity to win her affections by

speaking with her. This does not go well: Melibea heaps

scorn upon him, which prompts Calisto to seek the help of

the procuress Celestina to win his lady.

The knight errant often employs the power of word of

mouth to obtain his lady’s favor. After performing his

deeds of knightly valor, he will often request that those

he encounters return to the court (where he knows his lady

will be present) in order to publish his noble acts. In

like manner, Calisto sends Celestina to Melibea. True to

her word, Celestina pulls out all the stops to represent

Calisto in the most positive light possible:

Por Dios, si bien le conocieses, no le juzgases por

él que has dicho y mostrado con tu ira. En Dios y en
mi alma, no tiene hiel; gracias dos mil; en franqueza,
Alexandre; en esfuerzo, Héctor; gesto de un rey;
gracioso, alegre; jamás reina en él tristeza; de noble
sangre, como sabes; gran justador; pues verlo armado,
un San Jorge; fuerza y esfuerzo, no tuvo Hércules
tanta; la presencia y faciones, disposición,
desenvoltura, otra lengua había menester para las
contar; todo junte semeja ángel del cielo. Por fe
tengo que no era tan hermoso aquel gentil Narciso, que
se enamoró de su propia figura, cuando se vido en las
aguas de la fuente. (101)

The role of the intermediary itself is analogous to

that of a priest, representing the cause of the servant to

his deity, and the image of the deity to the servant. As

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such, Celestina accepts both the confessions and the

offerings of those who seek her out for her services. The

gold given to Sempronio compares the gold given to

Celestina to the offerings given to God:

Qué ésto es el premio y galardón de la virtud; y por

eso la damos a Dios, porque no tenemos mayor cosa que
le dar; la mayor parte de la cual consiste en la
liberalidad y franqueza. (61)

Calisto goes on to ask of her: "Reciba la davida pobre de

aquel que con ella la vida te ofrece." (59)

The necessity of the intermediary is disputed between

Calisto and Parmeno. Parmeno finds it necessary to warn his

master of the danger of communicating with Celestina and

advises him to attempt direct communication with Melibea,

stating

Digo, señor, que irían mejor empleadas tus franquezas

en presentes y servicios a Melibea, que no dar dineros
a aquella que yo me conozco; y lo que es peor, hacerte
su cautivo. (65)

Calisto defends his actions by reminding his servant of the

magnitude of the gap between himself and his lady – so

great, in fact, that he alone cannot attempt to cross it

without the help of another.

As the mediatrix between Calisto and Love, Celestina

acquires a position of power, almost of sanctification,

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despite her faults. Because of the role she will play in

facilitating a relationship between Calisto and Melibea,

his sovereign, Celestina becomes praiseworthy and, like a

priest, becomes the epitome of virtuous living to him:

¡Oh, vejez virtuosa! ¡Oh, virtud envejecida! ¡Oh,

gloriosa esperanza de mi deseado fin! ¡Oh, fin de mi
deleitosa esperanza! ¡Oh, salud de mi pasión, reparo
de mi tormento, regeneración mía, vivificación de mi
vida, resurrección de mi muerte! Deseo llegar a ti,
codicio besar esas manos llenas de remedio. La
indignidad de mi persona lo embarga. Desde aquí adoro
la tierra que huellas, y en reverencia tuya la beso
(45-46).

Here, in much the same manner that a religious leader

seems to have the air of divinity about him by virtue of

the position he occupies – that of his god’s representative

to his people – Celestina suddenly takes on many of

Melibea’s divine qualities, though they do not find as full

an expression. Parmeno notices the change in his master,

who has blinded himself to Celestina’s faults and finds

himself lost under her spell: "Oh, Calisto, desaventurado,

abatido, ciego!" (46)

According to this reasoning, Calisto commits a tragic

mistake when he enlists the help of Celestina. In the

Religion of Love, a very real danger exists when one

surrenders agency to the intermediary rather than directly

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appealing to the sovereign. Though the lover does well

insofar as he realizes his unworthiness to approach his

lady directly, in pursuing this path he does not attempt to

win her through his valor and great deeds; rather, he

surrenders his good name to another’s mercy. In the case of

offering this power to Celestina, there exists the idea of

selling the soul to the devil for the purpose of achieving

a goal. Though he claims to belong wholly to Melibea,

Calisto has, in essence, sold his soul, as well as his

reputation, to the alcahueta: "pues perdiste el nombre"

(Parmeno 66).

Rather than attempting to win his lady through an

intermediary, the lover can do his best to impress her

through his deeds of knightly valor. As a soldier in the

Love’s army, the lover subjects himself to a great quantity

of wounds and clothes his body in Love’s shackles,

enslaving himself for its sake. The knight’s role as

defender manifests in the actions he takes and the lengths

to which he will go to preserve the integrity of all

aspects of his lady: both her person and her honor are

sacred, and to be defended against all comers. In serving

her thus, the lover often puts her needs above his own, and

even learns to put her needs above his own desires:

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Amadís, comoquiera que lo mucho desmasse y deseasse

matar, no fue más adelante por no perder a su señora,
y tornóse donde ella estava; y descendiendo de su
cavallo, se le fue fincar de inojos delante y le besó
las manos, diziendo: –Agora haga Dios de mí lo que
quisiere, que nunca, señora, os cuidé ver (572).

Amadís seeks to show his love for his lady by

defending other damsels in the kingdom in order to show his

love for the noble aspects of femininity. He therefore

searches for damsels not only to rescue, but also to

avenge, as when he encounters a damsel who has been

violated by Galpano and forced to never take another lover.

Upon hearing her tale of woe, Amadís takes the bridle of

her horse and promises to avenge her (293).

In defending damsels who need his aid, the knight

more readily and ably defines himself as honorable and

valiant. To truly love, the lover must have a love for all

ladies and a desire to serve them, though his own lady love

must remain his top priority. For this reason, when he

encounters a group of ladies who have been mistreated by

some ill-mannered knights, Amadís again promises to avenge

them, declaring that men who would dare to take advantage

of ladies lack any worth whatsoever.

In order to prove himself, he will face repeated

dangers in Love's service. The knight must overcome them,

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acting boldly, strongly, courageously, in many cases more

so than the king himself. When Amadís travels to Gaul, his

homeland, to defend his father's kingdom, he faces the

rival king, rather than allowing his father to do so.

Despite the hardships he constantly encounters and the

detours he often faces before he is able to find himself

face to face with his lady once again, the dangers and

great efforts he puts into his physical feats are not a

burden, but rather a privilege, as a rival knight

admonishes him:

De venir a hombre afán y peligro...por buena señora en

gloria lo debe recebir, porque a la fin sacará dello
el gualardón que espera. Y pues hombre en tan alto
lugar ama como vos, no se devría de enojar de cosa que
le aveniesse (307).

Since the pressures and toils he endures are wholly

for the sake of his lady, the lover must do all he can to

ascertain that his lady understands his valor and bravery.

In most cases, he will send someone to tell his lady of the

great deeds that he has done in her name. However, in some

cases the knight can actually show his lady what he can do.

In the arena of a tournament or a joust, he performs in

front of his lady and fights to the best of his ability.

When Amadís is fighting, he suddenly hears a spectator from

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the audience comment that he must be a great coward for not

taking advantage of his enemy's weakness. These words have

such an effect on him that “quisiera ser muerto con temor

que creería su señora que havía en él covardía” (373).

Agrayes, Amadís' cousin, also has the opportunity to

fight in front of his lady. Though she experiences terror

at the thought of losing him to the sword and lance of

another in battle, he fights all the more passionately and

courageously for her sake:

Agrajes se aquexava mucho por le vencer, como aquel

que veía mirarle su señora y no quería errar un solo
punto, no solamente de lo que dvía hazer, mas ahún más
adelante, tanto que a sus amigos pesava dello,
temiendo que al estrecho la fuerça y el aliento le
fallecería (600).

Servant

While the courtly love tradition greatly resembles

those precepts set forth in Ovid's Ars Amatoria, it

radically differs in its treatment of servanthood. While

Ovid's lover is almost an actual prisoner of love, bound

and shackled and somewhat resenting his maltreatment at his

captor’s hands, the medieval servant binds himself to Love

in an act of surrender. He willingly sets himself up as a

servant and relinquishes his free will in order to better

serve his master/mistress.

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The knight’s role as servant shines through not as

much in his actual deeds, but in his willingness to perform

his lady's every wish. More than a mere external

demonstration of physical strength and valor, it is the

expression of his internal submission. He will suffer any

indignity, provided she wills it, and he openly declares

himself her slave. In the case of Don Quixote, he wanders

about the countryside doing good, all in Dulcinea’s name,

for her glory and to increase the good name of chivalry,

which serves as his lifestyle within the Religion of Love.

Love is a definite force with which to be reckoned and

it manifests its presence in the lover through his/her

service, which conveys the lover’s fear, as is the case in

El siervo libre de amor:

sirviendo, la excelençia del estado y grandeza del

amor mostrasen en mí las grandes fuerças del themor e
yo, temeroso amador, careçiendo de los bienes que me
induzían amar, más y más pavor oviese e vergüença de
lo dezir. (10-11)

The first characteristic required of the knight is his

humility. He must first acknowledge his lady’s pure

perfection, far beyond his capacity ever to reach. Be that

as it may, the possibility yet lurks, at the gray

borderland that is Hope, that she may see fit to respond to

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his overtures and bestow a measure of her love upon him in

return. He lives for this pittance, and he will continue

performing great deeds in order for any encounter with her,

however brief.

Calisto is very much aware of his position in relation

to Melibea. In their initial encounter, he begins by

declaring his lack of worth in comparison to her greatness:

En dar poder a natura que de tan perfecta hermosura

te dotaste, y hacer a mí tan inmérito tanta merced que
verte alcanzase, y en tan conveniente lugar, que mi
secreto dolor manifestarte pudiese (16).

Though Sempronio later reminds him of his great heritage

and his excellent qualities, not the least of which "más

corazón que Nembrot ni Alexandre" (25), Calisto reminds his

servant "amo a aquella, ante quien tan indigno me hallo,

que no la espero alcanzar." (24)

Because of what he conceptualizes as Love’s vindictive

nature, the poet of El siervo libre del amor plans never to

fall in love:

Si sin error puedo dezir

viendo seguir tal tristor
esta cançión, leal servir a ti, amor,
es perdiçión (13-14).

Still, when he finally concedes, he seeks to gain the favor

of love by humbling himself with a song in order to soothe

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the offended god and save himself from his vindictive

wrath.

Amadís shows his absolute humility when faced with the

greatness of his lady on several occasions. He first

declares himself to be unworthy to ask anything of her:

“¡Ay, señora!... yo no soy tan osado ni dino de a tal

señora ninguna cosa pedir, sino hazer lo que por vos me

fuere mandado” (274). Later, amid the beauty of nature, he

pauses to think on his lady, whom he considers is far

superior to all else, and is reminded once again of his own

inadequacies, which he voices aloud:

–Ay, cativo Donzel del Mar, sin linaje y sin bien,

¿cómo fueste tan osado de meter tu coraçón y tu amor
en poder de aquella que vale más que las otras todas
de bondad y fermosura y de linaje? (306)

The unworthiness Amadís feels is so great that it

cannot help but be noticed by those who surround him. Upon

hearing the lament of Amadís, another knight who has been

observing him recognizes the hold Love has over him and how

he exalts his lady above himself, even to his own

detriment: “Cavallero, a mí paresce que más amades vuestra

amiga que a vos, despreciándovos mucho y loando a ella”

(307).

As Amadís comes into the city where he will once again

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see Oriana, he again describes her many admirable qualities

which make her superior to him and saddens himself as he

speaks. Gandalin, not wanting to see his master in pain,

attempts to remind him of his nobility and worth:

Señor, esto es gran malaventura amor tan entrañable,

que, assí me ayude Dios, yo creo que no hay tan Buena
ni tan Hermosa que a vuestra bondad igual sea, ya que
la no hayáis (367).

Though he realizes his servant was attempting to help him,

Amadís reacts as if Gandalin has attempted to promulgate

heresy.

After he proves his worth and courage in a tournament

before Oriana and her father, though Amadís greatly desires

to see his lady, he recognizes that he must humble himself

by first sending another to determine whether he will find

welcome in her presence or not, like a faithful subject

upon entering into the presence of a potentate. In so

doing, Amadís follows the courtly tradition of submitting

himself first to Oriana in order to learn how she wants him

to come before her by sending Gandalin to speak to her

maidservant.

Having declared himself unworthy of his lady, the

lover then relinquishes the governance of his thoughts and

actions to his lady, as he has judged her to be superior

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and therefore more qualified to lead and guide him. The

lady never takes the lover’s free-will by force; he offers

it freely to her. The ideal lover comes to birth through

this act of abject surrender. In giving himself completely

to his lady, she gains possession of him and can

thenceforward arrange his actions as she would have them.

As the previous chapter states, the one who knows and

understands the secret of love possesses the lover himself.

The moment the lover declares himself to his lady doubles

as the moment where he relinquishes control over his own

life and sacrifices himself to her at Love’s altar. Though

Sempronio warns Calisto "harto mal es tener la voluntad en

un solo lugar cautivo" (23), his master does exactly that

and surrenders his will to Melibea.

The lover to a great extent exemplifies the concept of

meekness. While popular belief often holds meekness equal

to weakness, the actual definition can be easily applied to

the knight who surrenders himself to his lady. The ox

allows himself to be pushed by farmer and plow, though in

himself he has the strength many times over to escape;

likewise the lover, who more often than not enjoys great

property, potency, and/or piety, voluntarily adopts the

passive role, being dominated and driven by his lady.

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Melibea recognizes this characteristic of the lover when

she tells Celestina "Pues sabe que no es vencido sino él

que se cree serlo" (97)

The lover’s internal change often surfaces in his

outward actions to the point where others recognize that

his actions and lifestyle have a wellspring other than

himself. In the case of Calisto, Celestina recognizes his

act of surrender when she declares "yo te daré a su ama."

(127)

With this complete surrender of himself comes the

lover's desire to sacrifice everything he has for his lady.

Calisto, for instance, will give up everything he owns

simply to hear a word from his love as he requests of

Celestina "toma toda esta casa." (Calisto 125) Requesting

her gift, Calisto describes its potential effects on his

whole body:

Gozarán mis ojos con todos los otros sentidos, pues

juntos han sido apasionados; gozará mi lastimado
corazón, aquel que nunca recibió momento de placer,
despues que aquella señora conoció (127).

Along with his humility, the lover must evidence

fidelity to his lady. When faced with temptation he must

put aside any momentary pleasure for the greater glory of

his love. This is one of the knight's greatest attributes

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and one he shares, to a great extent, with his lady. Though

she is generally faithful to him, this cannot be the

motivation for his own fidelity. Rather, faithfulness must

spring from the realization of her total uniqueness and the

fact that another woman as worthy of love and admiration

could never exist.

This necessary faithfulness is reflected in the way

Juan Rodriguez del Padrón only decides to share the message

and the way of love based on the addressee’s diligence in

writing and his promised faithfulness to Love (10). The

poet’s shows his own fidelity through his statement that

this promised loyalty to the calling is the sole reason he

has decided to disclose:

lo que pavor y vergüença en ningund otorgaron revelar,

no menos por salvar a mí, de la muerte pavoroso, que
por guardar la que por sola beldat, discreçión, loor y
alteza amor me mandó seguir" (10).

In Amadís de Gaula, the first adventure of the young

knight demonstrates the importance of faithfulness in love.

After offering aid to a knight who is on the verge of dying

because his wife has attempted to murder him. After

fighting with her brothers and explaining their sister's

infidelity and crafty nature, Amadís asks them to present

themselves to king Lisuarte in order to determine her

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punishment. The king feels the woman deserves death, but

the wounded knight begs the king to spare her life, though

he understands she must be judged: “vos fazed lo que

devéis, mas yo nunca consentiré matar la cosa del mundo que

más amo” (301).

Throughout the novel, knights continue to show their

loyalty to their ladies. This faithfulness, in fact –

exemplified in his outstanding understanding of love and

its rules – is one of the traits that makes Amadís the

greatest knight in the world. His brother Galaor possesses

equivalent talent in many spheres, not to mention a great

proportion of the valor, courage and strength seen in the

elder brother; yet, in the first book of the Amadís cycle,

Galaor never falls in love. The women he encounters are

referred to as his "friends" and he makes many "friends"

throughout his many missions and adventures.

Amadís, however, continually tries to remain loyal to

Oriana. Though he meets many women along the way, most of

whom are eternally grateful to him for his help in their

time of need, his heart remains in the absolute possession

of his first and only love. On two separate occasions, when

grave danger threatens his very life, Amadís is presented

with the opportunity to have his life spared if he will be

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unfaithful to Oriana. On the first occasion, he battles

with Angriote of Estravaus, who tells him to concede that

his mistress’s beauty surpasses that of Oriana. Amadís

straightway refuses: “tal mentira nunca sera por mi boca

otorgada” (425).

On another occasion, Amadís and Galaor are taken

prisoner by Madasina, the Lady of Gantasi, an enemy of king

Lisuarte. Though he learns that Madasina would be easy to

woo and this act would almost certainly guarantee the

freedom of both himself and his brother, Amadís vows that

he can never be unfaithful to Oriana:

Amadís, que más temía a su señora Oriana que la

muerte, dixo al caballero –Amigo, Dios puede hazer de
mí su voluntad; mas esso nunca será, ahunque me ella
rogasse y por ello fuesse quito (554).

Having proved himself humble and faithful, the knight

enters into the phase of servanthood. Oriana almost

immediately recognizes Amadís as her knight, recognizing

that he has allowed himself to be conquered by her beauty

and virtue: “pues que assí os he Ganado, otórgoos que seáis

mi cavallero” (275).

Though Oriana knows the power she has over Amadís, her

servant, the knight continually describes his faithfulness

to her and his willingness to do as she asks. When visiting

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his parents, he decides to leave despite their pleas in

order to see his lady once again and fulfill her mandates:

Mucho trabajó el Rey y la Reina por lo detener, mas

por ninguna vía pudieron, que la gran cuita que por su
señora passava no le dexava ni dava lugar a otra
obediencia tuviesse sino aquella que su coraçón
sojuzgava (331).

Later, before he departs to save a damsel's uncle and

father from the Castle of Guldena, Amadís first asks

Oriana's permission to go on the journey and then leaves

her once more with a promise of eternal servitude: “Señora,

–dixo Amadís–, aquel que tan hermosa os fizo vos dé siempre

alegría, que doquiera que yo sea vuestro soy para os

servir” (548).

On another adventure, when a lady explains her

troubles to Amadís stating,

esse Amadís que vos yo hablo prometió a Angriote

d’Estraváus que le haría haver a su amiga, y desta
promessa le hazed vos partir, pues que tal
juntamiento, más por voluntad que por fuerça quiere
Dios y la razón que se faga (507).

Amadís is willing to revoke his promise to Angriote of

Estravaus for her sake. In like manner, his brother almost

takes the life of an innocent dwarf, for no other reason

than because a damsel wills it.

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Saint

The role of the Saint encompasses more than a simple

appreciation of the physical, intellectual and moral

virtues of the lady. In order for love to survive, the

lovers must maintain the utmost secrecy in the matter

(Capellanus 34). The secrecy of love is essential to its

survival “for when love is revealed, it does not help the

lover’s worth, but brands his reputation with evil rumor

and often causes him grief.” (34) The affair of Amadís and

Oriana demonstrates the necessity for Love's concealment.

Amadís makes his love for Oriana known only to Gandalin,

his trusted squire, while Oriana shares her love only with

her two companions: Magalia, her cousin, and the unnamed

damsel from Denmark. Though her parents would doubtless

approve of the love between the princess and the greatest

knight in the world, the knight and lady take great pains

to avoid publicizing the matter of their affections,

insomuch that they devise a signal by which Oriana can show

her support of the course Amadís plans to take.

The romance of Amadís and Oriana also outlines the

problems that can result when the secrecy of Love is

violated. We see this especially in the account of the

encounter between Amadís and the child who set the lions
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free in order to rescue him. Her maidservant describes her

mistress to Amadís as being without peer for wisdom and

beauty. Believing Gandalin and the dwarf who share his room

to be asleep, Amadís agrees and from this agreement, the

foundation for a future romantic problem is laid:

–Cierto, assí me parece, y dezilde que yo gelo

gradezco mucho, y que me tenga por su cavallero. –
Señor, –dixo la donzella–, mucho me plaze de lo que me
decís, y ella será muy alegre tanto que de mí lo sepa.
Y saliéndose de la cámara, quedó Amadís en su lecho, y
Gandalín y el enano, que en otra cama yazían a los
pies de su señor oyeron bien lo que hablaron, y el
enano, que no sabía la hazienda de su señor y de
Oriana, pensó que amava aquella niña tan hermosa
(470).

When Amadís leaves to help the young maiden, his dwarf

returns and tells Oriana of the love he believes to exist

between Amadís and Brisena, a revelation that almost ends

the relationship between Oriana and Amadís. Though the case

of the dwarf does not reflect the problems of secrecy in

actual Love, it demonstrates the dangers inherent in love's

revelation.

In La Celestina, Parmeno also makes a case for the

necessity of secrecy in love when he warns Calisto against

divulging his love to Celestina and enlisting her help. He

admonishes his master that "a quien dices el secreto, das

tu libertad" (65) and advises him to avoid her at all cost,

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lest he become her captive. Because the possessor of the

secret is the possessor of the soul, the lover must reveal

the nature and true depth of his love to his lady alone, so

that she alone might enjoy full control over him.

Another characteristic of the Saint is his capacity to

grow in love when he is separated from his mistress. Love

can thus find alleviation when lovers lack each other’s

presence and lament that absence causes love to increase

(Capellanus 34). For Calisto, though he realizes the great

amount of pain he will experience when he is estranged from

Melibea, he declares, "me alegro con recelo del esquivo

tormento que tu ausencia me ha de causar." (16)

Amadís also suffers greatly when he is estranged from

Oriana. Having left the castle of his uncle to become a

knight and thus win the favor of his lady, Amadís finds

himself in the middle of a war between king Perion, his

father, and king Abies of Scotland. He challenges the rival

king to a battle “porque si lo venciesse, sería la Guerra

partida, y podría ir a ver a su señora Oriana, que en ella

era todo su coraçón y sus desseos” (316).

When Amadís is later led away as the prisoner of

Madasina he suffers not from being Madasina's captive, but

at the thought of being separated from Oriana:

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desseava Amadís su muerte, no por la mala andança en

que estava, que mejor que otro sabía sufrir las
semejantes cosas, mas por el pleito que la dueña les
demandava, que si lo no hiziesse, ponerle ían en tal
parte donde no pudiesse ver a su señora Oriana, y si
lo otorgasse, assí mesmo della se allongava, no
pudiendo bivir en la casa de su padre; y con esto iva
tan atónito que todo lo ál del mundo le escaecía
(552).

The relationship between the knight and Love inspires

a great deal of loyalty. The knight’s role is that of

devout worshipper, servant and defender. He worships his

lady as a divine beauty, the likes of whom the world has

never known, nor ever shall. He promises his love to her,

understanding that their relationship may never advance

beyond its platonic phase. He worships her through both

words and actions. In his poetry and communication with her

he proclaims his adoration of her, stating his reasons

which range from her physical beauty to her purity,

incorporating words like “immeasurable” and “incomparable”

to illustrate that his loyalty is only to her. His worship

of her also influences his actions. Yes, he fights jousts

in her honor, but his worship reflects as well the lengths

to which he will go to prove himself worthy of her and her

love, though he admits that he never will be.

In seeming contrast to the foregoing, the knight

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trusts that he will eventually enjoy his just deserts for

his many efforts on behalf of Love and his lady. He hopes

and prays for the release that will eventually come to him

in his earthly life as soldier, servant, and saint, and

consoles himself in his present suffering with the

possibility of being joined to his lady in a future

paradise. For Calisto, the beloved appears as heaven and he

compares Melibea to a city he hopes to eventually win

(128). There is a great deal of faith involved, for, though

he faces hardships and endures the scorn of his beloved, he

sustains himself by what Lewis describes as “faith in the

God of Love who never betrays his faithful worshippers and

who can subjugate the cruellest beauties.” (3)

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CHAPTER IV

THE LIFESTYLE OF THE LADY LOVE

Though the courtly tradition at first seems to afford

the lady a strictly passive position, a closer look

demonstrates that, while her role in the romantic dyad is

the less active of the two, it nonetheless evinces vast

complexity and is indeed essential to both the development

and the comportment of the knight.

The lady of the Religion of Love bestrides two

distinct planes of existence. Some of the characteristics

she evinces are essentially human; however, insofar that

she serves as the physical manifestation of Love itself,

she represents a reification of the divine. In that

respect, she holds an aspect of divinity and appears to the

knight as a goddess. The knight’s love-enhanced vision

paints her as the perfect fusion of human and divine.

Humanity

In writing De amore, Andreas Capellanus discusses the

primary preconditions for love’s onset. Before he outlines

any of the actions the lover should take, he discusses the

type of lady who should be loved, identifying three

essential characteristics a lady must embody in order to

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create a climate conducive to love. The lover must identify

the girl whom he shall love based on how well she measures

up to the criteria of a beautiful figure, excellence of

character and excellence of speech (33). Though the ladies

presented in Amadís de Gaula, La Celestina and El siervo

libre de amor are not directly mentioned to exhibit

excellence of speech, references to their beauty and virtue

abound.

In order to receive the attention of a lover, a lady

must first be known for her beautiful form. Courtly

literature often reveals the object of a knight's desire as

the fairest in the lands. Calisto describes Melibea as

having a "soberana hermosura" and he describes the

characteristics that make her lovely to behold:

Comienzo por los cabellos: ves tú las madejas del oro

delgado que hilan en Arabia? Más lindos son, y no
resplandecen menos. Su longura hasta el postrero
asiento de sus pies; después, crinados y atados con la
delgada cuerda, como ella se los pone, no ha mas
menester para convertir los hombres en piedras...Los
ojos verdes, rasgados; las pestañas luengas; las cejas
delgadas y alzadas; la nariz mediana, la boca pequeña,
los dientes menudos y blancos; los labios colorados y
grosezuelos; el torno del rostro poco mas luengo que
redondo; el pecho alto; la redondez y forma de las
pequeñas tetas, quien te la podría figurar? ... La tez
lisa, lustrosa; el cuero suyo oscurece la nieve; la
color mezclada, cual ella la escogió para si....Las
manos pequeñas en mediana manera, de dulce carne
acompañadas; los dedos luengos; las unas en ellos
largas y coloradas que parecen rubíes entre perlas.

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Aquella proporción que ver yo no pude, sin duda por el

bulto de fuera juzgo incomparablemente ser mejor que
la que París juzgó entre las tres deesas (29-30).

This phenomenon of the lady’s breathtaking beauty also

surfaces in Amadís de Gaula. The novel begins with a

description of the family of his maternal grandfather, King

Garinter. Of all Garinter’s children, Elisena, his youngest

is characterized as being the most worthy of love, based

largely on her physical appearance:

La otra fija, que Helisena fue llamada, en grand

cuantidad mucha más Hermosa que la primera fue. Y
comoquiera que de muy grandes príncipes en casamiento
demandada fuesse, nunca con ninguno dellos casar le
plugo; antes su retraimiento y santa vida dieron causa
a que todos beata perdida la llamasen, considerando
que persona de tan gran guisa, dotada de tanta
hermosura, de tantos grandes por matrimonio demandada,
no le era conveniente tal estilo de vida tomar (228).

The reader meets Elisena and comes to know her first

and foremost as an ideal, predestined by Love to serve him.

According to Lewis,

it is precisely passion that purifies; and … the

scholastic picture of unfallen sexuality- a picture of
physical pleasure at the maximum and emotional
disturbance at the minimum- may suggest to us
something much less like the purity of Adam in
Paradise than the cold sensuality of Tiberius in
Capri (17).

Likewise, the fates have reserved Oriana for love; she is

described as being peerless in beauty even at the age of

ten.
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Still, though he declares a beautiful figure to be

desirable, Capellanus states that lovers won over by

physical beauty alone are simple and that “their love

cannot be easily concealed and therefore cannot increase”

(34). He therefore concludes that the attractiveness of a

lady must consist of more than her physical appearance.

In addition to causing the knight to be awestruck by

her beauty, the lady exercises supreme control over both

the affairs and the affections of her knight. Her quasi-

divine position entitles her to his utmost loyalty and

faithfulness, especially since fidelity is one of her own

greatest virtues. In the case of Amadís and Oriana,

Oriana's tendency toward jealousy first reveals itself when

a damsel comes to visit Amadís on behalf of Gandales, his

adopted father. Upon hearing the possibility of another

lady speaking with him, Oriana suffers visibly. She does

not confront him on this occasion, as he has not yet

declared his love for her, and she is therefore unable to

divulge her feelings for him.

After they have become romantically involved, another

damsel comes to deliver news to Amadís about his brother,

an act that causes him to burst into tears. Immediately

suspecting that the damsel brings him news of another lady,

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Oriana demands an explanation of him “con semblante airado

y turbado” (413). After realizing that the situation has

nothing of scandal about it, Oriana asks his forgiveness,

to which Amadís replies “no ay que perdonar, pues que nunca

en mi coraçón entró saña contra vos” (414).

Finally, when she suspects Amadís' betrayal of her

love, Oriana reacts violently as

la su color teñida como de muerte y el coraçón

ardiendo con saña, palavras muy airadas contra aquel
que en ál no pensava sino en su servicio, començó a
dezir, torciendo las manos una con otra, cerrándosele
el coraçón de tal forma, que lágrima ninguna de sus
ojos salir pudo (606).

The final human characteristic of the lady of the

Religion of Love is the internal turmoil she continually

endures. Much like the lover, the lady incurs a mortal

wound, often upon first sight. This wound causes intense

pain and she seeks a way to remedy her illness, often by

enlisting the help of another, as is befits not the lady

herself to approach her lover. Elisena’s love for Perion

comes about in much the way Capellanus instructs. Upon

beholding King Perion, whose beauty is equal to her own,

during the family dinner, “no pudo tanto que de incurable y

muy gran amor presa no fuesse” (230) and Perion is later

told that she is “assí mismo della” (230). This wound

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causes a great deal of internal turmoil within the lady and

causes her to experience symptoms in sympathy with those of

her lover.

In marked contrast to the lover’s malady, which

manifests itself in feats of arms and heroic might, the

primary sign of her inward distress is weakness. She

experiences bouts of dizziness, fainting, and general

weakness. When Oriana has been kidnapped by the enchanter

and is at the point of being forced into an unwanted

marriage, she recognizes Amadís coming to rescue her:

“Oriana, que la boz de su amigo conosció, estremescióse

toda” (570).

Olinda, the lady of Agrayes, also betrays this form of

weakness. As he does battle to avenge his honor and that of

his family, Olinda watches in fear:

cuando Olinda, que a las siniestras de la Reina

estava, desde donde todo el campo se parescía, vio al
su grande amigo Agrajes que se quería combatir, tan
gran pesar ovo qu’ el corazón le fallecía, que lo
amava más que a otra cosa que en el mundo fuesse
(598).

When the battle becomes especially intense

las tres doncellas que ya oístes, que a las siniestras

estavan mirando, ovieron tan gran pesar en le assí
ver, que a pocas no se matavan con sus propias manos.
Mas Olinda, su señora, lo avía sobre todas, aquella
que en verla hazer tan grandes ansias a los que
miravan hacía dolor (599).
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The weakness the lady undergoes finds its fullest

expression in how she suffers separation from her lover.

While the knight can conquer in her name and perform great

feats in her honor, her own role restricts her to the

castle, where her main pastime is waiting to hear news of

him. Oriana is greatly distressed at being far removed from

Amadís:

sintió en sí gran alteración, porque creído tuvo que

el Rey daría lugar que la llevasse a su padre, y ida
no sabría nuevas tan contino de aquel que más que a sí
mesma quería (302).

This separation anxiety intensifies at times when she

cannot be near her knight and to personally be aware of all

that is happening in his life. She is greatly given to

worry about his health and even his very life. If her love

should die, she must face the terror of forever being

separated from him in life. When Oriana hears the false

news of Amadís' death, as the enchanted relates it to her

family, “falleçiéndole a Oriana el coraçón cayó en tierra

amorteçida” (450).

So grieved is she over hearing that her lover lives no

more that she revives only long enough to express her

anguish before swooning once more:

¡Ay, amigas!, por Dios no estorvéis la mi muerte si mi

descanso desseáis, y no me hagáis tan desleal que sola
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una hora biva sin aquel que no con mi muerte, mas con
mi gana, él no pudiera bevir ni tan sola una hora
(451).

Afterward, Mabilia, her cousin, and the damsel of Denmark

en esto...estuvieron todo aquel día...porque no se matasse”

(453).

In this case, Oriana, having been separated from

Amadís during his battles and adventures, greatly fears

being separated from him for the rest of her life. To this

end, she desires death above all things in order to be

eternally united with Amadís. The stage of mourning through

which she passes shares more than a passing resemblance

with death itself, so much that when Amadís' "resurrection"

occurs (when the enchanter's account proves untrue), “la

Donzella de Denamarcha, que las oyó, fue canto más pudo a

las dezir a su señora, que de muerta a biva la tornaron”

(454).

When Oriana at last sees Amadís again, she tells him,

qué cuita y qué dolor me hizo passer aquel traidor que

las nuevas de vuestra muerte traxo. Creed que nunca
muger fue en tan gran peligro como yo. Cierto, amigo
señor, esto era con gran razón, porque nunca persona
tan gran pérdida hizo como yo perdiendo a vos, que
assí como soy más amada que todas las otras, assí mi
Buena ventura quiso que lo fuesse de aquel que más que
todos vale (526).

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Divinity

She's blood, flesh and bone

No tucks or silicone
She's touch, smell, sight, taste and sound
But somehow I can't believe
That anything should happen
I know where I belong
And nothing's gonna happen

'Cause she's so high

High above me, she's so lovely
She's so high, like Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, or Aphrodite
She's so high, high above me

First class and fancy free

She's high society
She's got the best of everything
What could a guy like me ever really offer?
She's perfect as she can be, why should I even bother?
(Bauchman, "She's So High")

The knight will always be unable to possess the lady

in the fullest sense; she floats along his track like a

will-o’-the-wisp, forever just beyond his fingertips. The

lover perceives her natural divinity and consequently

worships her as a goddess. She is also sovereign and rules

him with her desires and commands. The knight thus strives

to make her desires his own in order to reach and possibly

to be joined to her.

One of the primary, and possibly the most important,

aspects of the lady in the service of Love is that she

cannot be reached. The knight, excel though he may in

battle and in accomplishing her quests, knows his

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essential unworthiness to possess her. Because of this, the

knight finds himself in constant agony. Though the lady may

indeed love him, she forever remains exalted above his

level and he has no hope of ever reaching her.

In keeping with this attribute of the perfect lady is

the concept of the knight's servitude. One of the knight's

primary goals in achieving greatness in his knighthood is

that he may evangelize the glory and perfection of his

lady, bringing glory to her fame through his deeds. This

idea that the service of the servant enhances the greatness

of the sovereign is embodied in Calisto's statement: "en el

servicio del criado está el galardón del señor" (64). The

concept that the lady is already perfect and his continued

service only increases her greatness involves the knight in

a complex system resembling a type of Xeno's paradox.

Therefore, even if the ultimate physical expression of love

is attained, the lady and knight can never intersect in

more than a tangential way. The lover can join himself to

his beloved, but in so doing he is only able to touch her

earthly self. The essence of who she is will always elude

him and he will never come to fully encompass her, since

her sublime nature precludes a total meeting of the minds.

Greatly contrasting with the human characteristic of

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internal turmoil is the lady’s divinely imperturbable mien.

Since she is a transcendent being, the lady’s demeanor

evokes the inhuman image of a marble statue: cold,

unfeeling, and unapproachable. Melibea's initial encounters

with Calisto corroborate this idea. When Calisto first

declares his love to her, Melibea icily responds,

la paga será tan fiera cual merece tu loco

atrevimiento; y el intento de tus palabras ha sido de
ingenio de tal hombre como tú, haber de salir para se
perder en la virtud de tal mujer como yo. Vete, vete
de ahí, torpe! que no puede mi paciencia tolerar que
haya cabido en corazón humano conmigo en ilícito amor
comunicar su deleite (17).

In the account of Amadís, the knight Balays discusses

the qualities that are attractive in a lady when a damsel

he rescues admits she is embarrassed and confused by the

reactions of other knights to her attempts at being a lady

and not outwardly expressing her feelings:

no tengáis en nada las palabras que os dixe, que a los

cavalleros conviene servir y codiciar a las donzellas
y querellas por señoras y amigas, y ellas guardarse de
errar como lo vos queréis hazer; porque comoquiera que
al comienço en mucho tenemos aver alcançado lo que
dellas desseamos, mucho más son de nosotros preciadas
y estimadas cuando con discreción y bondad se
defienden, resistiendo nuestros malos apetitos,
guardando aquello que perdiéndolo ninguna cosa les
quedaría que de loar fuesse (515).

Though Oriana never offers so much cruelty to Amadís

as Melibea does to Calisto, she takes great care never to

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show her true feelings to others around her. Even after

Amadís has made the first move in their love affair, Oriana

finds it essential to conceal her true feelings. As she

prepares to bid him goodbye, “Oriana, que le parescía

partírsele el coraçón, sin se lo dar a entender” (278)

painfully conceals her true feelings until the moment

arrives when he Amadís begins to prove himself worthy of

her.

When she has become the beloved of her knight, Oriana

continues to exercise control over her emotions. When

Amadís’ exploits are described to the king’s court, “grande

fue el alegría que todos ovieron de las buenas nuevas del

Donzel del Mar, mas sobre todos fue la de su señora Oriana,

ahunque más ninguno lo encubría” (303). On a later

occasion, when she discovers Amadís is alive, she continues

to hide her true feelings from those to whom she has not

made her love for the knight known:

y comoquiera que ella muchas nuevas dél oyera, ahún

sospechava que no era bivo; y cuando sano y alegre
lovio, membrándose de la cuita y del duelo que por él
oviera, las lágrimas le vinieron a los ojos sin su
grado; dexando i[r] a la Reina ante sí, detúvose ya
cuanto y alimpió los ojos, que lo no vido ninguno
(524).

Even in her greatest pain – the moment she believes

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Amadis is dead – Oriana may not show her emotions to anyone

other than her two closest friends: “y mandó a la donzella

que la puerta de la cámara cerrase, porque ninguno assí no

la viesse” (450).

The lady's function as a divine authority is also

evident in her faithfulness, a quality which her own knight

often praises and attempts to emulate. Amadís de Gaula does

not explicitly refer to the faithfulness of the ladies who

play the major parts in the story, but it offers a contrast

between the ladies who possess the divine quality and those

who do not. Oriana's faithfulness contrasts sharply with

that of the woman Amadís encounters on his first adventure.

After discovering his wife has been unfaithful to him, her

husband kills the other knight to avenge their honor. The

woman, seeing that he is weak with loss of blood and the

turmoil of the skirmish, attempts to kill him. When Amadís

comes along to rescue him, she sends her brothers to kill

them. Amadís has mercy on them and allows them to present

themselves to Oriana's father to be judged. Amadís

therefore leaves the court of the lady who is completely

faithful to him to encounter a diametrically opposite

woman, casting Oriana’s superhuman virtue into sharp

relief.

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The unfaithful woman surfaces again in the form of

Dardan's mistress, who treats him cruelly after his battle

with Amadís: “Dardán, de hoy más no me cates por amiga, vos

ni otro que en el mundo sea, sino aquel buen cavallero que

agora hizo esta batalla” (374). To reward her lack of

loyalty, the knight who was formerly the love of her life

turns to her and, his sword still bloody from the fight,

strikes her head from her body.

Although there are more examples of unfaithful women

than those who are faithful, Amadís de Gaula describes an

instance of a woman whose fidelity to her vow enhances and

ornaments her honor. When approaching the castle of

Galpano, he encounters a damsel who has been forced to vow

never to take another lover than the evil knight who has

kidnapped her and to honor the vow. Seeing her

faithfulness, and thus her great worth, Amadís chooses to

avenge her, saying: “de hoy más podéis haver otro amigo is

quisierdes, que este a quien jurastes despachado es” (298).

These characteristics serve to define many of the

divine qualities found in the lady. Still, as a divine

presence she also occupies an essential position in the

life of her lover. This position is largely defined by her

sovereignty over her knight. As such, she exercises total

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control over his deeds and, to a great degree, his way of

thinking.

El siervo libre del amor describes, in part, the power

of the lady’s sovereignty. With her mere thought, the lady

turns her lover into what she believes him to be: "que en

sólo pensar ella me fue mirar por simple me condenava e

quanto más me mirava, mi simpleza más y más confirmava"

(12).

In Amadís de Gaula, feminine sovereignty typifies the

running of Oriana’s family’s kingdom and court. Though the

king is in overall control of the kingdom, the queen

controls the affairs of the knights who serve the king.

When he hears that the kingdom of King Perion is in need of

knights to defend it, Agrayes (Perion's nephew) begs of his

father to allow him to go to Gaul in order to defend not

the king, but "la Reina mi tía" (274).

Queen Brisena, Oriana’s mother, occupies a position of

power with the knights, her own husband included.

Politically, she is the knights' sovereign in affairs of

chivalry and though her husband is the ruler of the country

in these affairs he answers to her. In assuming this

position she conveys a great deal of influence over the

knights in her kingdom, particularly in determining whom

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they will serve. After defeating Dardan, Amadís refuses to

stay at the request of the king. However, the queen

requests that he visit her and asks him to stay on as her

personal knight, using the logic "agora quiero ver qué

tanta más parte tienen las mugeres en los cavalleros que

los hombres." (97) He consents when Oriana indicates that

he should and then agrees to stay on the condition that he

will serve the queen rather than the king. Brisena thus

claims the first and greatest knight for herself. Later,

the queen also decides the fate of Galaor, the brother of

Amadís. When he presents himself, he offers himself fully

to the queen before the king. Rather than order Galaor to

serve him, King Lisuarte asks his queen if she will allow

the knight to serve him, as she already enjoys the service

of Amadís. The king subsequently gets Galaor.

Brisena also serves as a valuable counsel to the king

when he holds his first court. As the knights are

recommitting themselves to the practices of chivalry and

redefining the mandates of the chivalrous lifestyle,

Brisena requests that the knights do more to protect the

ladies of the kingdom and their will. She then proposes a

change to their code in that, when a knight is bound by vow

to aid both a man and a lady of opposing interests, he will

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honor his promise to the lady over the man.

Though Brisena can be referred to as the political

sovereign in affairs of chivalry, for Amadís the will of

his queen is second to the will of his lady, sacrificing

his very will and proclaiming his heart to be “tan flaco...

que en todas las cosas contra vos me deve fallescer, sino

en vos server como aquel que sin ser suyo es todo vuestro”

(275). He also acknowledges her as the only one who

exercises control over him: “me tengo y me terné por

vuestro para os server, sin que otra ni yo mismo sobre mí

señorío tenga en cuanta biva” (275). He proves this

throughout the novel on many occasions, possibly most

strongly demonstrating his supreme devotion to Oriana in

the event of her kidnapping when he chooses to save Oriana

rather than the king.

In placing Oriana as his sovereign, he seeks her will

above his own in all things he does. Before he decides to

become a knight, Amadís seeks Oriana's permission: “porque

este mi vencido coraçón sin el favor de cúyo es no podría

ser sostenido en ninguna afrenta, ni ahun sin ella” (275).

She is even given control over the knight who will bestow

upon him the order of knighthood when he kisses her hand

and declares “Pues qu’el Rey mi señor no me ha querido

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hazer cavallero, más a mi voluntad lo podría agora ser

deste rey Perión a vuestro ruego” (275-276).

Oriana knows full well her position in Amadís' life:

“y ella vio que todo señorío tenía sobre él” (275). Once he

has become the model of knightly virtue and valor, he

desires to find his brother. Before leaving, he first

requests permission of Oriana, who gives him leave to go

but first instructs him to seek the queen's permission,

admonishing him “mas dezildo a la Reina y parezca que por

su mandado is” (414). Though in combat he declares himself

to be the knight of the queen, he seeks the favor of Oriana

above that of his political sovereign.

This theme of the lady’s total sway over her knight

predominates throughout the novel. When a damsel comes to

the court requesting the assistance of two valiant knights

to save her family, the queen volunteers Amadís and Galaor.

Still,

la Reina gelo rogó, y gela encomendó mucho. Amadís

cató contra su señora Oriana, por ver si otorgava
aquella ida, y ella, haviendo piedad de aquella
doncella, dexó caer las luvas de la mano en señal que
lo otorgava, que assí lo tenían entre ambos
concertado; y como esto vido, dixo contra la Reina que
le plazía de hacer su mandado. (548)

Before he leaves for his final adventure, Amadís first

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requests that Oriana allow him to go, taking leave of the

queen merely for form’s sake:

[A] Amadís...le convino...de con mucha afición

demandar licencia a su señora, comoquiera que en se
partir de la su presencia tan grave le fuese como
apartar el corazón de sus carnes,... mas ella,... gela
otorgó y Amadís tomando assí mesmo licencia de la
Reina, porque paresciesse que por su mandado iva,
[fue]. (605)

The lady thus serves as a type of divine presence for

her knight. To a great extent, the lady often serves as a

physical manifestation of the god Amor. As a god, Amor

transcends all mortal ken in his true form (though he is

represented in a variety of ways); therefore, it is

necessary to for him to present himself to his subjects in

a physical form they can know and understand. To this end,

he manifests himself in a human form: a lady so beautiful

she seems to be an extension of divinity itself. Through

this anthropomorphic manifestation, the lover can

physically know and connect, to some extent, with the god

he has sworn to serve.

The encounter between the knight and his god is thus

an intensely personal one. Though he may recognize that

Amor has existed prior to his own experience, he only vows

to serve him when the god manifests himself in the form of

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his lady. The reported experience simply will not do; he

must know the god for himself.

The lady serves as a personification of Love itself

and is therefore his master, though he calls her his

mistress. In occupying this position, she is first the

object of his ultimate worship. In referring to Melibea,

Calisto states "Por Dios la creo" (Celestina 23) and later

refers to her as a presence almost divine in nature that

justifies the hiring of a mediator:

cuando hay mucha distancia del que ruega al rogado, o

por gravedad de obediencia, o por señorío de estado, o
esquividad de género, como entre esta mi señora y mí,
es necesario intercesor o medianero, que suba de mano
en mano mi mensaje, hasta los oídos de aquella a quien
yo segunda vez hablar tengo por imposible. (65)

As one who acts as a divine presence for her lover,

the lady must also be worthy of worship. For this reason,

Calisto additionally praises Melibea for her character and

her beauty:

Mira la nobleza y antigüedad de su linaje, el

grandísimo patrimonio, el excelentísimo ingenio, las
resplandecientes virtudes, la altitud e inefable
gracia, la soberana hermosura. (28)

The human and divine qualities therefore combine to

create the lady portrayed in the Religion of Love. Yes, she

is beautiful, but her storehouse holds a wealth of other

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attributes that propel her character beyond mortality.

While Capellanus says each factor is important in the quest

for and maintenance of love, he declares excellence of

character the most worthy and desirable characteristic

(35). This intersection of peerless figure, character, and

speech results in a lady who not only provokes adoration

and worship from her lover, but also fully captivates him

and makes him desire to protect her name and her honor

whatever the cost.

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

Though the practices embodied in courtly literature

reached their zenith during the Middle Ages, their

influence continues to be felt well into the beginnings of

the Spanish Golden Age. Though most of the characteristics

of courtly love exist in pre-Cervantine Renassance Spain,

it is the Religion of Love that takes hold in the strongest

way, perhaps owing to the extremely religious nature of the

nation. Though it is perhaps an extreme representation of

courtly ideals, the Religion of Love does an excellent job

of exemplifying these practices and indeed of providing a

framework within which these precepts can be put into

practice.

Love is thus set forth as a deity to be worshipped

primarily by the lover, but to some degree by the lady as

well. The formation of the new religion ties the

mythological influences of classical literature and

religion to the Catholic beliefs in vogue in the time

period and often serves as a supplement to traditional

religious practices, though at the same time setting itself

aside as its own system of beliefs in which it develops

mandates for the worship of Love imposed on both lover and

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lady.

The lover serves love in a threefold capacity. As a

new convert, he is first a soldier, conscripted into Love’s

army, to serve, defend, and protect. Through this

conscription process he is stricken with a mortal wound

which will cause him to grow in love. This growth process

causes the knight to undergo a great deal of suffering, as

his love is often unrequited, and a transformation in his

senses resulting in numerous physical effects including

pain and illness. He thus makes every attempt to win the

love of his lady, usually by the employment of a go-between

or by proving himself by placing her needs above his own

and facing dangers in her name.

As a servant, the lover surrenders his soul to love, a

relinquishment he demonstrates by showing his humility, in

which he recognizes his lady’s position as his superior and

meekly yields full control over his thoughts and abilities

to her, and by evidencing his fidelity to her, setting

aside the needs or pleasures of the moment for a greater

love that he hopes will come. In so doing, the knight

enters into the phase of servanthood, in which he proves

not his valor but his obedience.

The lover’s role as the saint entails the lover’s

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absolute devotion to and adoration of his lady. Here, his

service is proven by his spiritual offerings of praise, his

practice of maintaining the secrecy of their love, and the

separation he endures to increase her greatness and his

love for her.

The lady, having been shown to be the knight’s muse

and, to some extent, the visible representation of an

invisible feeling, plays a crucial part in the development

of the lover, in which her dual nature presents the allure

of combining human characteristics with divine qualities.

As a human, the lady must be beautiful in form, though this

should not be the aspect that inspires the knight to love

her. As a human, the lady is subject to the feelings of

jealousy that arise when she suspects her lover’s

faithfulness does not equal her own and the inner turmoil

that comes with loving, a pain that manifests itself

primarily through weakness.

As a divine entity, the lady is first shown to be

inaccessible. Though his endeavors may be great, the lover

can never fully hope to reach her as she will perpetually

evade his grasp. This elusiveness is more concretely

evidenced in the cold, unmovable exterior she often

presents to both the lover and those around her. This

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characteristic greatly enhances her role as the knight’s

sovereign and she exercises control over his actions,

service, and devotion. Still, when the love of the lady is

won, she proves herself unwavering in her faithfulness to

the lover she chooses.

The Religion of Love is thus applicable across genres

and centuries. The profound impact of this “new” concept of

love as a person-to-person relationship in which Eros joins

hands with Agape, forming not merely a bond between but

also a transformation of previous ideals, crests the waves

of human passion and intellect in a manner that continues

to shake human ideals and emotions even today.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Works Cited

Bachman, Tal. "She's So High." Tal Bachman. Sbme Special

Mkts, 1999.

Campbell, Joseph and Bill Moyers. The Power of Myth. New

York: Anchor Books, 1988.

Capellanus, Andreas. The art of courtly love. Trad. John

Jay Parry. Nueva York: Columbia University Press,

1960.

de Cervantes, Miguel. Don Quijote de la Mancha. Bogotá:

Real Academia Española, 2004.

Lewis, C.S. The allegory of love: A study of medieval

tradition. 2a ed. Nueva York: Galaxy Book, 1959.

Montalvo, Garci Rodríguez. Amadís de Gaula. Ed. Juan Manuel

Cacho Blecua. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra, 1987.

Padrón, Juan Rodríguez. Siervo libre de amor. Ed. Enric

Dolz. New York: Galaxy, 1958.

Publius Ovidius Naso. The Love Books of Ovid. Trans. J.

Lewis May. New York: Rarity Press, 1930.

de Rojas, Fernando. La Celestina: Tragicomedia de Calisto y

Melibea. Madrid, Saturnino Calleja, N.D.

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Works Consulted

Brownlee, Marina S. “Romance at the Crossroads: Medieval

Spanish Paradigms and Cervantine Revisions.” The

Cambridge Companion to Medieval Romance. Ed. Roberta

L. Krueger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,

2000.

Bulfinch, Thomas. The Age of Chivalry and the Legends of

Charlemange. New York: Meridian, 1995.

Cacho Blecua, Juan Manuel. Introducción. Amadís de Gaula.

Por Garcí Rodríguez Montalvo. Ed. Juan Manuel Cacho

Blecua. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra, 1987.

Hopkins, Andrea. A Chronicle History of Knights. Nueva

York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2004.

---. The Book of Courtly Love: The Passionate Code of the

Troubadours. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1994.

Kay, Sarah. “Courts, Clerks and Courtly Love.” The

Cambridge Companion to Medieval Romance. Ed. Roberta

L. Krueger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,

2000.

Parry, John Jay. Introduction. The art of courtly love. Por

Andreas Capellanus. Trans. John Jay Parry. Nueva York:

Columbia University Press, 1960.

Viña Liste, José María. Introducción. Textos medievales de

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caballerías. Madrid: Cátedra, 2000.

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