The theory then claims that courtly love poetry was an allegory in which the damsel-in-distress was Sophia, held captive by the Catholic Church, and the brave knight was the Cathar whose duty was to liberate her.
How is this theory decontextualized with the climax of the persecutions of Cathar in the 13th century.
This aspect of the genre, however, may not be so much misogynistic as idealistic. If courtly love was a game invented by women, then woman-as-prize and woman-as-judge would have served the same purpose of elevating their status.
Could this not be classified as internalized misogyny especially applying in to the writers time period, birth and station in life.
Courtly love was a game, an educational game. It was the exact counterpart of the tournament. As at the tournament, whose great popularity coincided with the flourishing of courtly eroticism, in this game the man of noble birth was risking his life and endangering his body in the hope of improving himself, of enhancing his worth, his price, and also of taking his pleasure, capturing his adversary after breaking down her defenses, unseating her, knocking her down and toppling her. Courtly love was a joust. (57-58)
Safe to say the same double standard still applies to men in modern times.
Love is always increasing or decreasing
Was the standard of an everlasting love a concept the the masses only seen in the church or was it standard practice for the household and if so was this a new concept?
This love praised by the troubadours had nothing to do with marriage as recognized and sanctified by the Church but was extramarital or premarital, freely chosen – as opposed to a marriage which was arranged by one's social superiors – and passionately pursued.
The normalization of a marriage out of love is often quoted as a modern affair of the past 20 years or so.
Scholars continue to debate whether the literature reflected actual romantic relationships of the upper class of the time or was only a literary conceit.
One can infer that this is based solely on the writer's convictions. Does the writer present an ideal through their literature or an example of what they and their society believe to be true?