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| Knights and ladies in medieval Europe lived by codes of chivalry and virtue. |
You may love it or hate it, but you can depend on it鈥攅very February 14, nestled neatly between Groundhog Day and Mardi Gras, Valentine鈥檚 Day rolls around. Is it a testament to the high value modern society places upon love? An excuse to cozy up on the couch with a box of chocolates?聽Or just an聽embarrassing love letter to consumerism?聽
Wait, wasn鈥檛 it Saint Valentine鈥檚 Day at one point? How did an obscure religious holiday become a tribute to all things heart-shaped? With Valentine鈥檚 right around the corner, Dalnews has set out to conduct a cross-AV俱乐部 study of love聽in honour of this deceptively enigmatic, red-and-pink holiday.
It turns out love wasn鈥檛 much simpler in days of yore.
鈥淭he medieval Christian understanding was that love ultimately comes from God,鈥� says聽history profesor Cynthia Neville. Western European medieval society is just one of her varied research interests.聽聽
Medieval people believed the love of God bound the universe together. It was also the medieval era that gave rise to the tradition of chivalrous courtly love. 鈥淐ourtly love鈥� was the knightly expression of a divine, ideal love,鈥� explains Dr. Neville, 鈥淎nd that love was offered to a beautiful noblewoman.鈥� To love in the 鈥渃ourtly鈥� tradition was seen as an ennobling, refining endeavour.
It was also time-consuming and generally limited to the aristocracy. Less wealthy classes had other ideas about love. 鈥淭he common people struggled with the difference between lust and love,鈥� says Dr. Neville. 鈥淟ust is one of the seven deadly sins. That鈥檚 not something you want to engage in.鈥�
Things may not have changed much. 鈥淟iterary scholars can trace the influences of these early writings about love鈥� well into the modern period,鈥� says Dr. Neville, giving supermarket romance novels as an example. 鈥淭hose are really just 20th century versions of the same kind of literature鈥� people back then knew the difference between romance and reality, just as we do today.鈥�
It鈥檚 thoroughly modern affairs which concern Marina Adshade, who teaches 鈥淓conomics of Sex and Love鈥� at AV俱乐部. The course premiered this year and the class of more than 100 students has been wildly successful; students discuss the pricing of prostitution, risky sexual behaviour and HIV prevalence. 鈥淭he attendance in the class is really high鈥� students are really engaged.鈥�
Good news: despite the recession, courtship rituals have never been cheaper. 鈥淭he cost of dating has fallen鈥� you can sit on your computer at home and you can meet a hundred people in one night鈥� it鈥檚 more efficient and less costly.鈥� Dr. Adshade also covers the economics of what happens after you meet that special someone. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to talk about marriage systems. Why do we have monogamy in Canada? Why not polygamy?鈥� She asks, noting that women in Halifax far outnumber men.
Dr. Adshade says there are two main reasons for marriage: as an environment in which to raise children, and as a system of division of labour. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easier to do (household) tasks if you have two people, each doing the tasks that they鈥檙e best at.鈥� Viewing marriage as a small business can be controversial, but 鈥淚 think we鈥檇 all have to be very wealthy for this not to matter.鈥�
While Dr. Adshade鈥檚 course deals with money, it doesn鈥檛 skirt affairs of the heart. 鈥淲hen we talk about love,鈥� says Dr. Adshade, 鈥淲e will talk about the biology behind love鈥� but I do think love is a real thing. It being biological doesn鈥檛 make it any less real.鈥�
So鈥� what is love? Looks like the jury鈥檚 still out. Between chivalry and computer dating however, this Valentine鈥檚 Day should give the university plenty of food for thought.