Courtliness and Literature in Medieval England traces the development of courtliness from its emergence in the exclusive world of the aristocratic courts of the twelfth century to a bourgeois respectability in the fifteenth. Using such literary examples as Chaucer and the 'Gawain' poet, David Burnley illustrates how the literature of the time reflected the framework of social and aesthetic ideals of medieval society, including the presentation of the hero and heroine of romance, the confrontation between courtly and religious values, and the conception of courtly psychology, courtly language and courtly literature. Above all, he reconsiders the question of 'courtly love'.

This book is intended for a wide audience of those eager to understand medieval values, and will be of particular help to students of literature in English and French departments.