ARS AMATORIA, THE PROBLEM OF LOVE IN LA MORT LE ROI ARTUS

Text topic: Literature and Truth

Text author: Kosana Jovanović

The main subject of this paper is the problem of love as shown in the Old French Arthurian romance called the Vulgata Cycle, especially its last part - La Mort le Roi Artus. This thirteenth century romance is the basis for all other Arthurian tales as it represents a summary of all themes associated with the legends of King Arthur and courtly literature, such as the forbidden love between Lancelot and Guinevere, the quest for the Graal and other adventures of the Knights of the Round Table. The main theme however, woven through each of the presented tales throughout the whole work, is love. Whether it’s the amor encompassed with the ideal of the chivalric code emphasizing its spiritual component or profane mortal love, this emotion is omnipresent in the plot. Based on the examples of many different forms of love, the paper will demonstrate the link between how the emotion of love and its manifestations were described in the romance and what the then leading philosophical theories had to say about amor and emotions. With this comparison an attempt will be made to find the connection between prevalences described in the romance and the philosophical truths.