Monatshefte

Introduction¹

One of the perennial questions addressed in medieval studies concerns the origins of the Courtly Love Lyric, e.g., the so-called Minnesang of Hohenstaufen Germany. Of the several theories advanced to explain this cultural phenomenon, the Hispano-Arabic hypothesis (proposed by Burdach [1925]) remains one of the most promising and contested (Wollock 2011:38ff; Armistead 2003:540-541; Boase 2003:269-270; Eisenberg 2003:398-399; Gorton 2003:654-656; Robertson 1980:360n27; Boase 1977:6f, 117-130; Denomy 1953; Nykl 1946:10; Ecker 1934; Erckmann 1933; Farmer 1930). According to Burdach, this tradition, or Minnelehre, spread from Moslem Spain—al-Andalus—into the south of France and thence further north.²

However, the purpose of the present study is not to weigh in on arguments either pro or con concerning the validity of Burdach's theory. Rather my objective is to analyze the relationship between the Hispano-Arabic love lyrics and those of medieval Germany's Minnelehre from a typological rather than from a genealogical perspective. In a similar vein, Deyermond (1976:59-64) traces parallel motifs of diverse origin in the lyric of Medieval Spain and avoids attributing any one exclusively to a particular tradition.

My intention is to demonstrate the striking—even contradictory—attitude of the supplicant minstrel in both traditions to the object of his affection, viz., a noble but distant lady. Let us term this the "Platonic-Erotic Dilemma": Is the beloved a distant, sublime, edifying force or a mere mortal capable of physical love? As De Boor describes the dilemma, it is only when the carnal aspects of this relationship remain unattainable that the civilizing task of love can be realized (1964:218; cf. Denomy 1947:27). It is notable that in both traditions the Platonic aspects of the relationship ultimately gave way to the erotic. [End Page 173]

It is remarkable that the internal contradictions at the basis of this attitude—as well as its ultimate demise—have largely been overlooked in the literature with the exception of the analyses by Jaeger 1999 (see, for example, Chapter 12) and Goidin 1975:53f.³

In the following discussion all translations from Middle or New High German into English are my own.

The Beloved as "Reason, Sublime and True"

In his preliminary discussion "On the Nature of Love" in The Dove's Neck-Ring (Tauq al-Hamama), Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi (994-1063) discusses poets who speak of the visualized object of love as if it were a mental construct, pure and simple. He then provides verse on the same theme composed by himself:

Are you of the world of angels or human?Make it clear to me, for fatigue has disparaged my understanding!I see a human form, but when I think more deeply(It seems) a body from higher spheres!Blessed be He who balanced the origin of His creationSo that you are [its] beautiful natural light!I have no doubt that you are a spirit drawn to usBy a conjoining resemblance of the souls;We lack a proof that would bear witness to your being a creationTo give a name to it, except that you are visible;And were our eyes not beholding a being we would [ . . . ] say[ . . . ] that you are [ . . . ] True Sublime Reason!

(1931: 12f.)

In the third chapter, after deprecating the tendency of some to fall in love with images during dreams, Ibn Hazm provides verse on the same theme. Here again the beloved is viewed more as an idealized concept than as a creature of flesh and blood:

Would that I knew who she was and how she traveled at night!Was she the sunrise or was she the moon!Was it an idea of the mind, created by its power of combination,Or an image of the spirit, created in me by thoughts?Or an image shaped in the soul from my hope,And my eye had the illusion of having perceived it?

(1931: 27)

To be sure, Ibn Hazm's treatise, called by Ortega y Gasset "the most illustrious [book] on the theme of love in Moslem civilization" (García Gómez 1952: xii; my translation—CMB) does not provide the earliest evidence of this idealization of the beloved in al-Andalus (see Giffen 1973). Konrad Burdach cites a poem composed by the poet-warrior Said Ibn Judi almost a century prior to Ibn Hazm's birth on the same theme. Indeed, evidence indicates [End Page 174] that so-called "virginal," i.e., Platonic, love, first found expression in the Moslem Empire during the 9th century. Addressing himself to a beautiful slave girl with whom he never succeeded in arranging a rendezvous, Ibn Judi wrote:

The lovely song that I heard has torn my heart from me and submerged me into a sadness that will gradually devour me. Jehane is the one to whom I have given my heart. To her I shall devote eternal dedication, and yet we have never seen each other [. . . .] O Jehane, object of my desire, be kind and take pity on my heart which has abandoned me and flown to you! How precious is your name to me; I call to it with great devotion and respect just as a monk calls out the name of his saint when the monk falls on his knees before his image.

(Burdach 1925: 274).

A remarkably similar conceptualization of the beloved later appears in the eleven poems of Guillaume IX (1071-1127), the first troubadour of Provence (Nykl 1946: 78f).⁴

This same depersonalization and conceptualization of the beloved is later seen in Minnesang. As Helmut de Boor avers (1964: 219, cf. p. 215):

Every nuance of chastity and beauty—minus any attribute of individuation— is attributed to the flesh and blood woman to whom the individual poet devotes his service. In the exaggeration of the Courtly Love lyric she completely loses every note of individuality; it is precisely through this exaltation of both her physical and inner beauty that she is raised to the level of an abstract entity [. . . .] Through this depersonalization and elevation to a symbol, the woman truly becomes the lodestar toward which the ideal of human edification is oriented.

De Boor's metaphor of "lodestar toward which the ideal of human edification is oriented," appears to echo Ibn Hazm's metaphor of "nature['s] [ . . . ] beautiful natural light [ . . . ] True Sublime Reason" cited above as well as to echo the many references to the resplendent moon as a metaphor for the beloved in the poetry of al-Andalus. However, it may also be influenced by a common metaphor for the Virgin Mary, Stella Maris, ('Star of the Sea'). The possibility of such a confluence of factors of diverse origins must always be kept in mind. Otherwise, one runs the risk of setting up a false dichotomy by being forced to choose between theories of origin while ignoring the possibility that an element of truth may lie in all of them.

Nevertheless, the thesis that devotion to the Virgin Mary may have served as the sole source of this conceptualization of the beloved is seriously undermined by the metaphor of the beloved as the thief who robs the poet of his reason. For example, Morungen avers: "[F]or her beauty even deprives me of my reason" (Des Minnesangs Frühling, 135, 22; henceforth "MF . . ."⁵), and elsewhere he adds: "She deprives me of both my joy and all my senses" (MF 138, 35). As we shall see below, such tropes expressing the poet's complaint [End Page 175] that the beloved's beauty deprives him of his sanity are common in the love lyric of al-Andalus. It goes without saying that no prayers or hymns to the Virgin Mary are likely to have contained the assertion that devotion to the Mother of God has led to the loss of the supplicant's sanity.⁶

Perhaps the most arresting reference to the conceptualization of the beloved occurs in Reinmar's famous Frauenpreislied, ('Song in Praise of Women,' MF 165, 37-45). Here the artist is drawn between carnal desire and his desire that the beloved's "great value [ . . . ] be increased," i.e., that she remain the conceptualization of the ideal by remaining unreachable to mortal man. This same theme of distance between man—the creature of flesh—and woman—the conceptualized ideal—seems to appear elsewhere in Reinmar's lyric. He asserts for example:

Bezzer ist ein herzesêrdanne ich von wîbe misserede.ich tuon sîn niht, si sint von allem rehte hêr.***************Better [to suffer] a wounded heartthan that I speak ill of women.I shall not do this;they are from every perspective above reproach

(MF 171, 8-10).

Thus, Reinmar's conceptualized woman is very similar to Ibn Hazm's light which illuminates nature. For Reinmar's idealized image in human form also illuminates by making man capable of reason (i.e., "mâze"; cf. Walshe 1962:97f) and by engendering "a heightened spirit in the entire world" (MF 165, 35). A "noble lady' (edeliu vrouwe) is capable of doing this because, like Ibn Hazm's "image," she too is "True Sublime Reason."

Heinrich von Morungen also provides interesting examples of the conceptualization of the beloved, although not as explicitly as does Reinmar. To be sure, Morungen praises the beloved highly because of her beauty: "The whole world should wish to see her on account of her beauty" (MF 133, 33). But elsewhere the beloved is honored more for her powers than her beauty although, of course, the two are intimately related and not at all antithetic:

Ich waene, si ist ein Vênus hêre, die ich dâ minne,wan si kan sô vil.sî benimt mir beide, vröide und al die sinne.swenne sô si wil,Sô gêt sî dort her zuo einem vensterlîneunde siht mich an reht als der sunnen schîne.**************I believe she is the noble Venus, [she whom] I love,for she is capable of so much.She can deprive me of both joy and all my senses.Whenever she wishes, [End Page 176] she can come to me through windowsand seem just like sunshine.

(MF 138, 33-38)

Morungen's simile of "sunshine" is reminiscent of Ibn Hazm's "beautiful natural light." Moreover, Morungen's use of the metaphor "a noble Venus " refers to more than physical beauty. This is revealed not only by the words "she is capable of so much" ("si kan sô vil") but more by the fact that Morungen feels constrained to add: "Alas, what am I saying? My precept is evil / and is against God" (MF 139, 11f). Morungen realizes that he has predicated more than mere physical perfection of the beloved; he has attributed to her something akin to divinity. Like Ibn Hazm he almost equates her with the "Reason" of the universe, a predication encroaching upon the medieval conceptual sphere of God (cf. Jaeger 1999:24).

Another noteworthy parallel between Morungen's theory of love and that of Ibn Hazm's is his description of how the beloved comes to him when he is alone:

Swen ich eine bin, si schînt mir vor den ougen.sô bedunket mich,Wie si gê dort her ze mir aldur die mûren.**************Whenever I am alone, she appears before my eyes.Then it seems to meas if she had come directly to me through the walls.

(MF 138, 27-29)

Here, as in the first passage cited above from Ibn Hazm's The Dove's Neck-Ring, a process akin to wishful thinking has come into play. However, there is one notable difference in the two passages: Ibn Hazm reveals his awareness that wishful thinking has played a role in the genesis of his vision by attributing the beloved's sudden appearance to hope. Nevertheless, Morungen reveals a similar degree of awareness in another Lied:

Mir ist geschehen als einem kindelîne,daz sîn schoenez bilde in einem glase gesachunde greif dar nâch sîn selbes schînesô vil, biz das ez den spiegel gar zerbrach.*************I have reacted like a little child,who caught sight of his beautiful image in a looking glassand grabbed at his own reflectionso hard that he smashed the mirror.

(MF 145, 1-4)

In his chapter "On the Signs of Love" (1931: 16), Ibn Hazm enumerates the ennobling effects upon him who worships at the feet of "True Sublime Reason" (cf. Wollock 2011:41ff):

Then comes the effort of man to do with all his power what he was incapable of doing before [ . . . ]; all this in order to show his good qualities and to make [End Page 177] himself desirable. And how many a stingy one became generous, and a gloomy one became bright-faced, and a coward became brave, and a grouchy-dispositioned one became gay, and an ignoramus became clever [. . . .]

The same transformation is described elsewhere in the love lyric of al-Andalus. For example, al-Baha Zuhair writes: "[M]y nature has become noble through love, and anyone who wants to inquire about me and investigate this can do so [. . . .] "(cited by Ecker 1934: 151). Here the ideal of "becom[ing] noble" is intermeshed with a social element just as it is in the Minnelehre, the ethic of courtly love in Hohenstaufen Germany. For example, commenting upon the poet's use of the verb karuma- ('become noble'), Ecker notes (1934: 151n; translation mine—CMB):

'karumat' = 'has become noble, kind, generous'' = M[iddle] H[igh] G[erman] 'milten.' The root meaning of 'karim' is 'noble of character' ('sharif' = 'noble of birth'), but for the Arabic spirit, just as for the Germanic, 'edel ' [MHG 'noble of birth'] and 'freigebig' [MHG 'generous'] are almost synonyms. That is only one among several essential characteristics in which the Arab and Germanic manner of thinking come remarkably close to each other.

In Provençal, the same theme later appears in the lyrics of Guillaume IX as well as in the lyrics of Bernard de Ventadour, who avers that through the beloved, he has achieved value, meaning, and a more joyful heart, and, therefore, a kinder heart (Ecker 1934: 150).

From the above it is clear that both in the Hispano-Arabic, and, later, Provençal love lyric, there is stress, although sometimes ambiguous, upon the Platonic, educative effects of love. This same stress upon the non-carnal aspects of the relationship appears later in the Minnelehre of Hohenstaufen Germany. According to De Boor, "the special task of Courtly Love is to reform the male" (1964: 218).

This stress upon the edifying nature of the relationship is evident in Reinmar's lyrics:

Und wiste ich niht daz sî mich macvor al der welte wert gemachen, obe si wil,ich gediende ir niemer mêre tac .****************And if I did not know that she could increase my worthbefore the entire world if she so chooses,I would not serve her for a single day.

(MF 157, 31-33)

Reinmar also implicitly refers to this theme in his "Frauenpreislied": "You engender an elevated spirit in the entire world" (MF 165, 35). Similarly Morungen avers: "The good [woman] gives me / a heightened spirit along with joy and bliss" (MF 132, 23). For the concept of vröide is intimately related to one's position in courtly society. "For the Courtly Love Lyric, just as all [End Page 178] other art, enhances the festive spirit of the court as a part of what the period termed vröide ('joy')" (De Boor 1964: 218).

Love has the power to edify because it gives the lover mâze ('moderation') by eliminating all uncouthness or lack of balance. As Dietmar von Eist asserts:

[E]in edeliu vrouwe hât [mich] genomen in ir getwanc.der bin ich worden undertân,als daz schif dem stíurmán,[. . . .]si benimet mir mange wilde tât.***************[A] noble lady has taken me captive.I have become subservient to her,just as a ship to the captain . . . ;she has prevented me from engaging in many uncouth acts.

(MF 38, 33-38)

Earlier in al-Andalus, Ibn Hazm expressed the same process in greater detail (Nykl 1946: 89):

The surprising thing which happens in love is the submissiveness (obedience) of the lover to his beloved, and his willy-nilly change of his natural character to the natural character of the person he loves. Thus you will see a man of rude and quarrelsome disposition, who is very difficult to deal with, [ . . . ] yet the very moment he inhales the soft breeze of love, and plunges headlong into its waves, and swims in its ocean, his rudeness turns into smoothness, and his difficulty into easiness [ . . . .]

Although Ibn Hazm speaks of love as being engendered by the soul rather than by physical beauty, he nevertheless admits that love, in most cases, chooses a "beautiful form to rest upon" because the soul, itself a thing of beauty, "is influenced by all beautiful things and longs for perfect, symmetrical images" (Nykl 1946: 8f). A similar motif occurs even in the works of earlier poets of al-Andalus. Ibn Abd Rabbihi, born over a century before Ibn Hazm, speaks of the beloved as a "pearl that subdues all minds by beauty" (Nykl 1946: 40)

Most noteworthy is the fact that elsewhere Ibn Abd Rabbihi adds metaphors that appear to be echoed in the Minnelehre of both al-Andalus and Hohenstaufen Germany: He avers that the beloved has the power to steal ones heart as well as one's reason:

See that gazelleWith charming eyes? From her demand an answer!She snatched my heart away and when I wentTo claim it from her, she snatched away my reason!

(Nykl 1946: 40; cf. pp. 35, 39) [End Page 179]

Ibn Quzman, born in the latter part of the 11th century, makes use of the same motif in his many zajals. For example, discussing love he writes:

The origin of love comes from the glance:You see two beautiful eyes, created of charm:They will snatch your reason from youand will deprive you of patience,and you will see your heart in the (beloved's) handslike a captive fettered by him!⁷

(Nykl 1946: 291)

Friederich von Hausen seems to be echoing Quzman when he writes:

[A]leine vrömidet mich ir lîp,si hât iedoch des herzen michberoubet gar vür alliu wîp.************[E]ven though she avoids me,she has neverthelessrobbed my heart of any loveI might have for any other woman.

(MF 42, 7-9)

As does Ulrich von Gutenburg who relates the beloved's beauty more directly to the loss of all his perceptive powers:

[D]er ougen blicke mich vil dicke mîner sinne roubent,die vürhte ich als den donerslac,dem ich entwenken niene mac.************[T]he flashes of her eyes have oftenrobbed me of my senses;I fear these like a lightning boltfrom which I cannot escape.

(MF 72, 2-4)

As does Morungen who employs the same motif thus:

[S]â zehant bin ich geswachet,swenne ir schoene nimt mir sô gar mînen sin.**************[T]hus I am immediately enfeebled,whenever her beauty deprives me of my very reason.

(MF 135, 21f)⁸

Master and Slave, Lord and Vassal

Because of his attraction to the beloved, the lover becomes a veritable slave, or vassal, to her charms (cf. De Boor 1964: 225, 217). As Ibn Hazm states in the seventh chapter of The Dove's Neck-Ring (1931: 38):

[L]ove exerts on souls an efficacious power, a decisive sovereignty, a verdict which cannot be gainsaid, a power which cannot be disobeyed, an authority [End Page 180] which cannot be transcended, an obedience which cannot be turned aside, and an efficacy (influence) which cannot be repelled [ . . . .]

This same theme was expressed earlier in 9th century Spain by, e.g., Amir al-Hakam. Although gaining notoriety for his extreme cruelty in suppressing revolts in Toledo and Cordova, in matters concerning his harem, he proved to be a rather submissive lover. Five of his lovely subjects revolted and refused to see him. The following lines appear in the verses he wrote to appease them:

A king am I, subdued, his power humbledTo love, like a captive in fetters, forlorn!What of me, when those who tore my soul from [my] bodyAre stripping me of my power and might in love!Excessive love has made of him a slave,Though before that he was a mighty king!If he weeps, complains of love, more unjustlyThey treat, eschew him, bring him near his death!The gazelles of the castle left him sufferingPains of deep love, abandoned on the ground!He humbly puts his cheek on the groundBefore one reclining on a silk couch:Humble demeanor behooves a free manWhenever he becomes a slave through love!

(Nykl 1946: 20f)

Later, al-Ramadi (born in Cordova, ca. 926) composed verse in which he referred to himself as a "slave" and his beloved as "the lord" (Nykl 1946: 59).

Still later, in Provence, the same metaphor occurs, for example, in the works of Giraut de Salignac who writes that the world could have neither a king nor emperor of greater worth than him, the poet, when his master, the beloved, wishes him well and keeps him as her servant (Ecker 1934: 157). Note that the relationship is modified by Giraut: Now it is a relationship between "lord" and "servant" rather than one between "lord" and "slave."

In Hohenstaufen Germany one finds similar metaphors, e.g., Dietmar von Eist (cited above) describes the relationship as one of edeliu vrouwe ("noble lady") to undertân ('underling'): "[E]in edeliu vrouwe hât [mich] genomen in ir getwanc. / der bin ich worden undertân." "[A] noble lady has taken me captive. I have become subservient to her" (MF 38, 33f).

Closely related to this relationship of subservience is the striking use of masculine pronouns in the Courtly Love Lyric of al-Andalus in the poet's reference to his female "lord." For example, Ibn Hazm refers to his beloved as sayyidi ('my lord' (masc.)). The metaphor is echoed in the Courtly Love Lyric of Provence according to Ecker (1934: 25n22) who compares the use of sayyidi to Provençal mi-dons from Latin meus dominus ('my lord' masc.) and to Middle High German meine Herrin, the feminine equivalent of mein [End Page 181] Herr ('my lord'). Elsewhere Ecker also cites the following deferential masculine appellations used by the poets of Provence to refer to the female beloved: Bel Vezer, mon Cortes, and Bel Senhor and notes that Arab poets— since the 10th century—have almost exclusively referred to the beloved employing masculine grammatical forms (p. 102; cf. Burdach 1925: 299f). For example, in modern Arabic popular music, ya habibi! ('Oh [male] lover!') regularly occurs in lieu of the expected feminine form ya habibati! even when addressed to females.

Many of the verses which contain the slave-lord motif illustrate the same duality discussed earlier as regards the nature of the beloved, i.e., in much of the lyric she is regarded—explicitly or implicitly—as the master because of her physical beauty. Less explicitly in others, she is honored because, through her (educative) powers, the lover is raised above other men. (Of course, in most cases a clear dichotomy between the two poles of the duality cannot be drawn.)

The striking metaphor of being exalted over other men by the beloved is found in the Minnelehre of all three: al-Andalus, Provence, and Hohenstaufen Germany. Ibn Zaidun avers "The world has become my slave since I have become your slave through love," and Giraut de Salignac expresses the same motif (cited above) when he claims that the world could have neither a king nor emperor of greater worth than him, the poet, when his master, the beloved, wishes him well and keeps him as her servant (Ecker 1934: 157).

Morungen, in the same vein, avers:

Ich bin keiser âne krône,sunder lant: daz meinet mir der muot;der gestuont mir nie sô schône.danc ir liebes, diu mir sanfte tuot.Daz schaffet mir ein vrowe vruot.dur die sô wil ich staete sîn [. . . .]***********I'm an emperor without a crownand without a country: This I am informed by my moodwhich has never been better.[This is on account of] her love, which pleases me greatly.This is what a noble lady has done for me.On account of her I shall remain steadfast [. . . .]

(MF 142, 19-24).

Keiser Heinrich has the same motif in mind when he writes:

Mir sint diu rîche und diu lant undertân,swenne ich bî der minneclîchen bin;unde swenne ich gescheide von dan,sô ist mir al mîn gewalt und mîn rîchtuom dâ hin [. . . .]*********** [End Page 182] Empires and countries become subservient to mewhenever I am with my beloved;and whenever I leave herthen I lose all my power and my wealth [. . . .]

(MF 5, 23-26)

"Keeping the Secret"

A motif related to the high esteem in which the lover holds the beloved is the custom of keeping their love secret. Speaking of this, Ibn Hazm states:

[A]t times the cause of concealment may be the lover's wish to spare his beloved or that the beloved should not flee or be kidnapped [. . . .] Among the accidents which occur in love is the divulging of the secret. This may be due to the desire for notoriety or to lack of self-control; or to the desire for revenge

(Nykl 1946: 89; cf. 91, 284, 289, 292; cf. Burdach 1925: 303).

The same theme of tougen minne ('discrete, hidden love'), is expressed in the lyric of both Provence and Hohenstaufen Germany. All three versions of the Minnelehre treat divulging the secret as an act of great uncouthness. For example, Ventadour describes divulging the secret as "folia et enfansa," and Pfeiffer, in his forward to Walter's Lied ('song') No. 19, explains that revealing the true name of the beloved was viewed as the greatest act of uncouthness by both the German and Provençal poets of Courtly Love (cited in Ecker 1934: 103).

Dienst ('service') and Lôn ('reward')

A notable motif based on patience and loyalty in the face of the pain of subservience and the deprivation of love is displayed in the Courtly Love Lyric of all three regions, al-Andalus, Provence, and Hohenstaufen Germany: The highest form of dienst which can be rendered by the undertân ('underling') to the beloved is unwavering loyalty in spite of the beloved's perennial cruelty, or deprivation of lôn.

Ibn Hazm expresses it thus:

Then there is the level [of loyalty], namely, loyalty in spite of complete despair and after [the lover has] been afflicted by the vicissitudes of fate and sudden death. Indeed, loyalty under such circumstances is more sublime and more beautiful than loyalty expressed in life—even in spite of hope for an encounter [with the beloved]

(Ecker 1934: 146)

Sometimes the motif takes on a masochistic tone in the Courtly Love Lyric of al-Andalus. For example, as early as the Emirate and Caliphate period, Ibn Abd Rabbihi (860-940) exclaims: [End Page 183]

Yet I swear by her who did not return my greetingThat should she wish to kill me I would consent!When I came near her she modestly turned away,Yet sweeter than union her avoidance is to me;When she judges me, her verdict is unjust,Yet this injustice I desire more than justice [. . . .]

(Nykl 1946: 40)

Later, in the Almoravid Period, the theme appears with great frequency in the zajals of Ibn Quzman such as in Zajal No. 110:

Love is sweet, even if there be estrangement and haughtiness in it![. . . .]I pleaded with my heart to forget that passion:—and then I left no scheme or medicine untried,—yet [my beloved's] good humor or leaving me remained the same![i.e., yet my efforts had no effect on whether he would be kindly disposed toward me or decide to leave—CMB]—This is my solution [ . . . ] : Let him do as he pleases!

(Nykl 1946: 290)

In Zajal No. 54, Ibn Quzman exclaims:

[H]e intimidates me with his aloofness;—therefore my heart belongs to him.[. . . .]—I am contented with a glance from him,—or with his greeting.—And if he is angry, let him—break me with his hands.

(Nykl 1946: 280)

Similarly the Provençal troubadour Arnaut Daniel unequivocally refuses to reject the great love he bears for his noble mistress even given the great pain he has endured and even if she avoids him (Ecker 1934: 141).

Dietmar von Eist states his concept of loyalty and service quite simply: "My life completely belongs to her" (MF 35, 14); "Whatever you command, I shall do, my friend" (MF 39, 25). Reinmar der Alte expresses the same motif: "I have nothing to give her except my very self; / I belong to her" (MF 182, 18f).

Friederich von Hausen, like Ibn Quzman and Abd Rabbihi, even expresses acceptance of cruelty from the beloved:

[U]nd wil dienen [. . . .] mit triuwen der guoten,diu mich dâ bliuwet vil sêre âne ruoten.**************[A]nd I will serve with loyalty [. . . .] the good [lady]who punishes me so much—[even] without a rod.

(MF 53, 12f). [End Page 184]

Lôn ('reward')

The above passages illustrating the concept of MHGerm. dienst ('service') also imply a similar conceptualization of the nature of MHGerm. lôn. Here again the same duality expressed earlier comes into focus. For, as was seen above, the lover often admits that he has received lôn, i.e., a transformation of his character through the (educative) powers of the beloved; he admits that her love has raised him vor der welte ('before the [entire] world'). On the other hand, as regards the carnal aspects of lôn, the lover rarely seems to find fulfillment. This has already been implied above in the passages dealing with dienst.

Of course, care must be taken not completely to separate the physical from the spiritual aspects of the relationship. However, it cannot be denied that the poet's longing for the carnal aspects of lôn is evident in the plaintive passages.

For example, in Zajal No. 134, Ibn Quzman complains: "You were caught in the net of love of one who—never seeks union with you, but— whenever he sees you coming near, turns away" (Nykl 1946: 295, cf. pp. 294, 349).

In The Dove's Neck-Ring Ibn Hazm refers to the same theme in his allusion to the necessity of patience in the chapter on "Subservience (Obedience)":

And let no one say, please, that the lover's patience with the sweetheart's ignoble acts is a baseness of the soul, for he would be in error: because we know that the beloved is not his compeer or equal in strength, so that she should be repaid according to her deserts for her wrongs; none of the injuries or harshness are of the kind that would shame a man.

(1931: 61)

In a later chapter, while urging the lover to exercise patience in attempting to reach the less Platonic aspects of lôn, Ibn Hazm employs the following metaphor: "Be stubborn, for water hollows out a rock, / if it drops upon it for a long time" (1931: 100). And later in Provence Ventadour employs the same striking metaphor: He urges the lover to be patient with the beloved's hard and disloyal heart because benevolence and kind words will soften such a heart just as drops of water—as Ventadour assures us he has read—can eventually bore through hard stone (Nykl 1946: 105).

In a related vein, Reinmar der Alte writes:

[S]wer die gedulteclîchen hât,der kam des ie mit vröiden hin.    alsô dinge ich, daz mîn noch werde rât.************* [End Page 185] [W]hosoever has patience,will for that reason always find joy.    Therefore I contend that I shall yet succeed.

(MF 163, 2-4)

'False Promises, False accusations and Unfaithfulness'

Not only does the beloved refuse "lôn," but she even makes false promises and false accusations. As Ibn al-Budairi complains: "[T]he beloved will plague you with avoidance, will overwhelm you with false accusations, and will starve you with false promises" (Ecker 1934: 137). Similarly, Raimbaut d'Orange of Provence laments that his noble mistress causes him to pine away through her beautiful words but constant postponement [presumably of "reward"] (Ecker 1934: 138). Reinmar employs a similar theme in Middle High German:

Sî gehiez mir vil des guotes,daz ich valschen dingen waere gram.Nu waenet sî mich hân betrogen.*************She has promised me so many good thingsthat I would have been disappointed over any false hopes.Now it appears that she has deceived me.

(MF 183, 17-19)

Concerning false accusation Ibn al-Budairi addresses the beloved thus: "Oh, you resplendent moon who fill the eyes of the observer! / The troubles caused by false accusations have weighed (heavy) / on my heart, but it has borne them" (Ecker 1934: 15; my translation—CMB).

In a similar vein Engelhart von Adelnburg avers in Middle High German:

Kunde ich hôhen lop gesprechen,des waer ich ir undertân,swie si welle in zorne rechen,des ich nien begangen hân.In habe doch gegen ir dekeineschulde mê,    wan daz ich sî mit triuwen meine.************If I could express high praiseto that end I would be at her service,no matter if she wants to repay me with angerfor [evil deeds] I have never committed.All I am guilty of regarding heris that I have been loyal to her with my love.

(MF 148, 17-23).

As regards unfaithfulness, Ibn Zaidun laments: "You have rewarded my loyalty with betrayal and have unfairly sold my love at a paltry price," and [End Page 186] in Provence Peire d'Auvergne laments that God has led him to a friend whom he cannot trust and that the more he loves her the more intent she is on betraying him (Ecker 1934: 19-21; my translation—CMB).

Similarly Reinmar der Alte suspects that his beloved has betrayed him and laments in Middle High German that he will not live to see the day when she might demonstrate to the world how loyal she is to him (MF 186, 13f. Cf. Hartmann von Aue MF 212, 24f).

'Tears, Insanity, and Death'

Because of unrequited love, the lover constantly weeps, suffers loss of his sanity and often dies. The motif of a deluge of tears is very common in Arabic Courtly Love Lyric. For example, in Zajal No. 55, Ibn Quzman exclaims:

My friend became estranged,—and I can't patiently bear it!—He became estranged and added aloofness to it,—so that he is worse than an envious one;—hence my days are black—like the blackness of hair.And since he became estranged I am suffering,—and when the storm of reproaches passes,—my eyelids change into a rain cloud,—and I pour out the rain of my tears!

(Nykl 1946: 280)

In Provence, Ventadour employs the same motif of the poet's eyes reduced to tears by a cruel but irresistible noble lady. (Nykl 1946: 116).

Similar motifs also occur in the Courtly Love Lyric of Hohenstaufen Germany. Friederich von Hausen, for example, writes of the "moaning and complaining" (wüefen unde klagen) to which he has been reduced over the pain he has suffered on account of his love for a noble lady (MF 44, 35-39).

Being neither able to sleep nor to eat, the lover is often driven to insanity. In Chapter 26 on "Illness," Ibn Hazm describes the decline thus:

Every lover whose love is true and who is prevented from union, either by separation, or by avoidance, or by hiding caused by some reason, must surely reach the limit of illness and emaciation, which perhaps sends him to bed [ . . . .] Emaciation may advance to the point of driving a person insane or obsessed. And when the passionate lover reaches this degree, then all hope of recovery is completely ended, and there is no remedy for him in union or anything else, since the corruption gets the mastery in the brain

(Nykl 1946: 98; cf. 290f; cf. Burdach 1925: 299).

Sometimes death frees the emaciated, half-crazed slave of unrequited love according to Ibn Zaidun: "I plant my wishes [as an expression] of my love for you and harvest death as the fruit of my [efforts]! (Ecker 1934: 131; [End Page 187] my translation—CMB). Ibn Quzman expresses a similar theme in Zajal No.10, a parody of Courtly Love addressed to Nujayma, "Little Star" (see Monroe 1987):

Now I love you dear little star!—(I am) the one who loves you and is dying for you:—If I am killed, it will be because of you;—if my heart could ever give you up,—it would not compose this little melody!

(Nykl 1946: 274)

In Provence Ventadour expresses the same theme by blaming the beloved for exiling him into the unknown and causing his death (Ecker 1934: 132).

In Germany Heinrich von Veldeke laments:

Als sîz gebiutet, ich bin ir tôte,wan iedoch sô stirbe ich nôte.**********If she orders it, I shall die for her,but then only because I have been forced to.

(MF 67, 1-2)

'La Vita Nuova'

To be sure, contrary to the poet's lamentation, at times the beloved does bestow her favors upon the poet. Ibn Hazm describes the experience in these glowing terms in his chapter on "Union":

One of the aspects of love is union: this is a sublime bliss, and a lofty rank, and a high degree, and an outstanding happiness, nay, it is the RENEWED LIFE and an exalted existence, and a permanent joy [. . . .] I certainly have experienced multifarious pleasures and tasted blessings of various kinds [but none of these] act[s] upon the soul the way union acts upon it; especially after a long refusal and persistent avoidance, until violent passion is burning in the lover's soul, and the flame of desire is kindled in him.

(1931: 86)

A striking metaphor for the act of union is the coming of the dawn after a night spent with the beloved, a motif captured in the so-called alba or Tagelied ('song of dawn,' see Burdach 1925: 299). Ibn Zaidun, in an ode to his beloved Wallada, refers to the two lovers at the coming of dawn after a night of union: "two intimate hearts in the midst of the darkness that hid us until the flicker of dawn almost gave us up" (Ecker 1934: 179; my translation—CMB). Ibn Quzman employs the same motif in a lamentation: "The dawn is coming! Accursed dawn! Why does the morning [have to] come?" (Ecker 1934: 181; my translation—CMB).

The same trope appears in the German Courtly Love Lyric. For example, in Morungen's famous "Tagelied Wechsel," especially in what is traditionally [End Page 188] considered to be the second stanza: "Alas, now it is day" (MF 143, 35).

The Bystanders

Beside the lover and the beloved, several other notable characters appear in the Courtly Love Lyric, all of whom complicate the lover's relationship with the beloved: guards, slanderers, faultfinders, and the envious.

'The Watcher,' i.e., 'Guard'

In his chapter on the "Watcher," Ibn Hazm discusses the rakib in this manner: "One of the unfortunate things in love is the watcher. He truly is like hidden fever and recurrent pleurisy, and upsetting thought" (1931: 73). Before continuing with Ibn Hazm's description, it is worth noting the striking similarity of the metaphor of the watcher as "sickness" in the above passage with the very same metaphor in Tristan (Gottfried von Strassburg: line 12, 196): "Terrible surveillance / was the sickness that attends love".⁹

Ibn Hazm continues by providing one of his verses decrying one of the more odious functions of the watcher: "Often [ . . . ] a watcher was employed to watch and he continually / Stayed with my lady purposely, in order to keep me away from her" (1931: 74). Similarly Ibn Sahl, a Jew converted to Islam, later lamented: "In God's name, how shall I get near the one who does not respond;—A sweetheart who is stubborn, with a watcher at his side!" (Nykl 1946: 349).

In Provence, Ventadour alludes to the same frustrating situation by wishing ill to those who spread destructive gossip. He adds that he would enjoy a fulfilling love if it were not for the watchers (Ecker 1934: 34).

In the following, Reinmar is clearly referring to the constant proximity of the watcher when Reinmar is near his beloved:

Swer dô nâhe bî mir stuont,sô die mérkàere tuont,der sach herzeliebe wol    an der varwe mîn.*********Whoever stands close to me,as the watchers do,will surely recognize my deep love    through the color [of my face].

(MF 176, 33-36)

Moreover, Heinrich von Morungen complains of the negative effect the presence of the "watcher" has on "pure women," who are rendered faint of heart (MF 137, 4-7). [End Page 189]

In Zajal No. 14, Ibn Quzman describes, quite succinctly, the pleasures which are possible when the watcher is absent:

The beautiful one drinks and gives me to drink;—there is no watcher over us and no governor:    —thus it is more pleasant![. . . .]The talk continues and the wine is drunk,—and I sing and she thrills with joy;—and I asked her what she asks for:—she says: Yes, and fulfills my wish.—The morning came, and it was wrong—    in coming!—    [Why did the morning come?—CMB]

(Nykl 1946: 295f; cf. pp. 90, 95, 276, 284)

'The Faultfinder'

In Chapter Sixteen Ibn Hazm describes the faultfinders in this manner: "There are unfortunate things in love. The first of them is the faultfinder, of whom there are various kinds [. . . .] Then comes a chiding faultfinder who never stops heaping blame, and that is a very tedious situation" (Nykl 1946: 90). The Bedouin poetess Wajiha refers to the faultfinders thus: "Accusers come to heckle me over my love / but they cannot destroy the longing of my soul" (Ecker 1934: 50; my translation—CMB).

In the Courtly Love Lyric of Provence and Hohenstaufen Germany, the faultfinder is not usually distinguishable from the slanderer and the envious. Nevertheless, in some passages the differences can be discerned. For example in the Provençal Roman de la Rose we are told that in the court there were many betrayers and many full of envy who strive to slander and to find fault with all of those who are the greatest lovers (Ecker 1934: 54).

A related theme in Middle High German appears in Veldeke's lyrics:

In den zîten, daz die rôsenerzeigen manic schoene blat,sô vluochet man den vröidelôsendie rüegaere sint an maniger statDurch daz, wan sî der minne sint gehazund die minne gerne noesen.got müez uns van den boesen loesen.************During the time that the rosesdisplay many a beautiful leafthen we curse the joyless ones[viz.] the faultfinders [who are] in many places, [End Page 190] for the reason that they are inimical to loveand enjoy harming love.[M]ay God save us from the evil ones.

(MF 60, 29-35

'The Slanderer'

In describing the mischief that can be caused by a persistent slanderer, Ibn Hazm helps provide insight into the importance of tougen minne ('keeping the secret'): "Slanderers have various ways of tale bearing. One of them is to tell the beloved [ . . . . ] that [the lover] is not keeping the secret, and this is a case which is difficult to remedy and where recovery is slow [ . . . . ]" (1931: 77).

Ibn Hazm continues by describing those slanderers who cause the lover to be murdered at the contrivance of the beloved (especially if she be a member of the aristocracy) by convincing the beloved that the lover is only using her to satisfy his carnal desires and actually has another lover. Some slanderers, Ibn Hazm continues, use any method to separate the lovers because the slanderer wants the beloved for himself.

Ibn Quzman employs the same motif: "Be on your guard, oh you wise one,—against what a slanderer says!—All of it is vain talk:—and the watcher and the gossiper—are those who put Evil—on its foot!" (Nykl 1946: 276). The ability of the slanderer to turn the beloved against the lover is not an infrequent motif. Ibn Quzman, for example, laments: "She listened to all sorts of gossip about me,—and by gossip all good qualities can be made ugly;— she has turned away from me, and her faithfulness has grown small:—I never had thought that she would turn away from me!" (Nykl 1946: 294).

In Provence, Arnaut Daniel alludes to the mischief that slanderers are capable of causing in their attempt to separate the lovers (Ecker 1934: 45; cf. Nykl 1946: 276f, 283). Echoing the same motif in Middle High German, Friederich von Hausen describes the slanderers as those who have marshaled their powers to alienate the beloved from true love (MF 51, 8-10).

Referring to the ability of the slanderer to affect the beloved indirectly, von Hausen relates:

Doch bezzer ist, daz ich si mîde,danne si âne huote waere,und ir deheiner mir ze nîdespraeche, des ich [ . . . ] vil gern enbaere.***********But it is better that I avoid herthan that she be without supervisionand that someone speak [ill of me] to her.[F]or that reason I most willingly forego [her presence].

(MF 50, 27-30). [End Page 191]

The Ambiguity of Physical Union

When one examines the writings of the poets of all three regions—al-Andalus, Provence, and Hohenstaufen Germany—one is impressed by the quasi-Platonic attitude toward physical union shared by their respective traditions. Christopher Dawson (1959: 203) notes:

This mystical doctrine of love does not appear in early Provençal literature. In fact, it could not do so, until poetry had come into contact with metaphysical thought, which first occurred in Italy in the thirteenth century. But already in the poems of Arnaut Daniel and the other great troubadours we find the same idealisation of the beloved and the same morbid insistence on the frustration of desire which characterized the Arab cult of love in the tenth and eleventh centuries.

Although not providing the earliest examples of this mystical doctrine, Ibn Hazm nevertheless can be considered a sound starting point because of his influence on subsequent poets in al-Andalus and perhaps in the rest of Europe (García Gómez 1951: 310f).

Influenced by the Platonic-Erotic theories of the mystic-poetic school of Arabia, the "Sons of Virginity," Ibn Hazm often exhibits their ambiguities in his Dove's Neck-Ring. Indeed, the earlier ascetic Kitab az-Zahr ('Book of the Flowers')—written by the homosexual charter member of the "Sons of Virginity" of Baghdad, Ibn Dawud—seems to have had great influence on Ibn Hazm's Dove's Neck-Ring (García Gómez 1952: 34f; 1951: 312). This is corroborated by the fact that Ibn Dawud's Platonic study of love is apparently the only literary work mentioned in the latter book (García Gómez 1952: 38-45).

As regards the purely Platonic aspects of love, Ibn Hazm devotes his entire last chapter on the "Excellence of Continence" to this theme. Moreover, one finds purely Platonic love extolled elsewhere in The Dove's Neck-Ring as well, e.g., "and the union of the spirit is more beautiful [ . . . ] / Than the union of the body a thousand times!" (1931: 141).

Similarly, in another work, The Book of Ethics (Kitab al-Axlaq), Ibn Hazm speaks of the degrees of beauty. Concerning the highest, he asserts that it is "a thing for which there is no word in the language which would express it, but it is something unanimously felt in the souls of those who see it [. . . .] It seems as if it were something in the soul of the person seen, which the soul of the onlooker sees" (Nykl 1946: 99f). In Chapter 28 of The Dove's Neck-Ring, which deals with death from longing, Ibn Hazm cites the following, which he states is "written in the traditions": "He who fell passionately in love and abstained and died, is a martyr" (1931: 167; see Giffen 1973).

However, next to such patent stress on the Platonic aspect of love, one also finds references to the purely carnal. In the chapter on "Union," Ibn Hazm [End Page 192] clearly refers to the joys of extramarital physical love (a practice he deprecates elsewhere):

The beginnings of union, and the first stages of consent have a peculiar way of penetrating into the heart which no other thing has. I know one who was in the throes of love in some of the dwellings nearby, and was coming (to the house of his sweetheart) whenever he wished without any objection, but there was no way to do anything else but to look at and talk to the girl for a long time

(1931: 87).

In the same chapter he speaks glowingly of a young virgin's successful attempts to seduce a handsome youth. Referring to his own experiences, Ibn Hazm states:

There are some people who say that a long duration of union harms love: this is base talk; this is true only of people who get easily tired [ . . . ]; quite on the contrary, the longer [the union continues] the greater is the [yearning for] reunion. And from my experience I may tell you that I never drank of the water of union without it increasing in me the ardent thirst for more

(1931: 90).

One may object that Ibn Hazm is not being inconsistent because he has not specifically advised the reader to take part in such "non-Platonic" activities; he is simply describing his own proclivities. However, Chapter Fourteen makes short shrift of this argument. After advising the lover to take advantage of the submissiveness of the beloved, Ibn Hazm even adds verse to underscore his advice:

Grasp the opportunity, and know thatLike the passing of [ . . . ] lightning do opportunities pass by![. . . .]Make haste with the treasure you have found,And grasp the prey like a falcon that is hunting!

(1931: 64)

Thus, in the first chapter of The Dove's Neck-Ring, "Discourse on the Nature of Love," Ibn Hazm compares the beloved to "True Sublime Reason"(1931: 8f) and correspondingly stresses the Platonic aspects of love. In other chapters, when he refers to the physical drives of the lover, the carnal aspect of the love relationship comes to the fore and Ibn Hazm stresses the more erotic aspects of love.

The same ambiguity can sometimes be found in Middle High German in the so-called Classical period of Minnesang. Perhaps the most succinct example of this is presented by Reinmar in his famous "Song in Praise of Women" (Frauen-Preislied):

Zwei dinc hân ich mir vür geleit,diu strîtent mit gedanken in dem herzen mîn:ob ich ir hôhen wirdekeitmit mînem willen wolte lâzen minre sîn, [End Page 193] Oder ób ich daz welle, daz si groezer sîund sî vil saelic wîp bestê mîn und áller manne vrî.siu tuont mir beide wê:ich wírde ir lasters niemer vrô;vergêt siu mich, daz klage ich iemer mê.*************I have weighed two matters,which contend with each other, in my heart:Whether I should subordinateher great worth to my willor whether I should wish that her worth be greaterand that this blessed woman    remain free of me and all men.    Both [alternatives] cause me pain:    I would never be happy over her dishonor;    [but] if she avoids me    I would complain even more.

(MF 165, 37-45)

In the case of Reinmar, the ambiguous relationship is treated as such consciously. Hence, the term dilemma expresses the situation better than the term ambiguity.

Even in the case of the Middle High German "pre-Classicist," Heinrich von Morungen, one finds elements of this ambiguity. For example, in the "Tagelied-Wechsel," the lovers have slept together for at least one night. Yet in the last Frauenstrophe ('woman's stanza'), it appears that all her male lover has done is gaze in rapture at her, who, we are told, lay next to him naked.

She describes the puzzling situation thus:

'Owê,—Daz er sô dicke sichbî mir ersehen hât!als er endahte mich,sô wolt er sunder wâtMîn arme schouwen blôz.ez was ein wunder grôz,daz in des nie verdrôz.    Dô tagte ez.'************'Alas,—He just kept looking at me!When he uncovered me,he just desired to lookat my poor naked body.It was very strangethat he never tired of this.    Then came the dawn.'

(MF 144, 9-17) [End Page 194]

Morungen seems to allude to a dilemma similar to that of Reinmar's elsewhere. For example:

Hôher wîp von tugenden und von sinnendie enkan der himel niender ummevân,sô die guoten, die ich vor ungewinnevremden muoz und immer doch an ir bestân.*************Heaven cannot hold womenof greater virtue or sensibilitythan the noble lady from whom I must remain distant—to my great misfortune—yet to whom I must remain attached.

(MF 145, 25-28)

Thus in both the Courtly Love Lyric of al-Andalus and of Hohenstaufen Germany, elements of the Platonic-Erotic Dilemma play an ambiguous role. Hence, De Boor seems to have over-simplified matters by concluding that Medieval Germany's Minnesang raises the beloved to a transcendent level whereas the Courtly Love Lyric of al-Andalus ennobles sensuous love (1964: 225). This assertion appears to ignore the metaphor of the beloved as "Reason, Sublime and True" and its various exponents in that tradition. As Christopher Dawson expresses it:

It is, in fact, a great mistake to suppose that there is anything peculiarly Christian or European in the ideal or "Platonic" conception of love. The love of Beni-'Odhra, the "children of Chastity" who "die when they love," had been celebrated by Arab poets from a very early period, and in the tenth century Platonic love had became the subject of elaborate treatises by scholars and theologians. Ibn Hazm, the great Spanish scholar, had written on the subject in the eleventh century and his Ring of the Dove, abounds in authentic stories of Spanish Moslems, drawn from all ranks of society, whose love is Platonic and who render silent homage to their beloved and worship her with an almost mystical adoration

(1959: 202f; cf. Nykl 1946: 371).

As the passages cited above from Ibn Hazm, Reinmar, and Morungen, reveal, the cause of the ambiguity is similar in both literary traditions. And with this observation, let us return to the question discussed at the outset of this analysis: Is the beloved to be considered an ethereal edifying force—Ibn Hazm's "Reason, Sublime and True"—or a mere mortal capable of physical love?

From the various examples of Courtly Love Lyric cited above, it is apparent that both the minstrels of al-Andalus and of Hohenstaufen Germany were torn between the two alternatives. But this produced a dilemma, for, as De Boor avers, it is only when the original goal remains unattainable, i.e.,when [carnal] fulfillment remains illusory, that the civilizing task of love can be realized (1964: 218f). [End Page 195]

This is the problem that Ibn Hazm, perhaps unwittingly, faces. As long as the beloved remains a depersonalized symbol, she remains "a body from higher spheres" (1931: 13). And, as expected, when Ibn Hazm returns from the spheres to cite known cases (i.e., when he is constrained to deal with creatures of flesh and blood), fair ladies become almost the opposite of "Reason, Sublime and True." For example, in discussing falling in "Love from Description" he states that "[l]ove [experienced by] women [ . . . ] is more constant than the love [experienced by] men, on account of [women's] weakness and [the] quickness of response of their natures to this matter, and the ease with which it overpowers them" (1931: 28).

Reinmar was well aware of the ambiguity of his relationship to his edeliu vrouwe ('noble lady') for he speaks of it explicitly in Middle High German as we have seen in his "Frauen-Preislied" cited earlier. There he expresses his desire for both the physical pleasure of union with a creature of flesh and blood, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the spiritual joy which comes from worshiping the beloved as a purely spiritual, edifying force: "I have weighed two matters, which contend with each other, in my heart [ . . . ]" (MF 165, 37f). His lamentation arises not from his inability to possess one or the other of the two alternatives, but because the alternatives are mutually exclusive. Moreover, unless his noble mistress is capable of exercising an "educative" influence on him, Reinmar does not feel that she is worthy of his service:

Und wiste ich nicht, daz si mich macvor al der welte wert gemachen, obe si wil,ich gediende ir niemer mêre tac.**************And If I did not know that she could increasemy worth before the entire world if she so wills,I would not serve her for a single day.

(MF 157, 31-33).

Thus, both Ibn Hazm and Reinmar are faced with this paradox:

To be near the beloved in her most sublime form, the lover must remain further removed physically.

In other words, for earth-bound man to perceive in the beloved Ibn Hazm's guiding "beautiful natural light," she must remain man's distant lode star. As De Boor notes (cited above), "[t]hrough this depersonalization and elevation to a symbol, the woman truly becomes the lodestar toward which the ideal of human edification is oriented" (De Boor 1964: 219).

This is the same dilemma to which Morungen refers in Middle High German when he laments the fact that he must keep his distance from the beloved yet remain being drawn to her (MF 145, 25-28).

Consequently, in the Courtly Love Lyric of al-Andalus, it is not surprising to find the common motif of the beloved described as the moon or [End Page 196] another heavenly body. For example, Ibn Abd Rabbihi refers to the beloved as the "sister of the moon" (Nykl 1946: 39). In his various lyrics, Ibn Quzman refers to the beloved by such metaphors as: "Dear Little-Star" (the name of his beloved), "bright moon," etc. (Nykl 1946: 274, 290, 297 et passim). The identical theme appears in German Courtly Love Lyric. For example, in Tristan und Isold Brangaene is referred to as daz schoene volmaene ('the beautiful resplendent moon,' line 12, 566; cf. lines 9,459; 11,082; 11,509 and 12,566). Similarly, the beloved is also equated with the sun. For example, elsewhere in the same work we come across the metaphor Isolt diu liehte sunne ('Isolt, the bright sun,' line 9,456).

Perhaps the lover's dilemma underlies the description of love as a sickness in both the Courtly Love Lyric of al-Andalus and of Hohenstaufen Germany, i.e., perhaps "sickness" is a metaphor for the tension caused by the mutually exclusive alternatives (cf. Ecker 1934: 190-193).¹⁰

Another striking parallel between the love lyric of medieval Germany and the earlier love lyric of al-Andalus is the similar evolution they both underwent culminating with greater emphasis on the carnal aspects of love (so-called "Niedere Minne" in the case of the Courtly Love Lyric of medieval Germany). To be sure, the seeds of this development can be discerned even in the poetry of the Sons of Virginity and their followers. For example, writing in 10th century Umayyad Cordova, Ibn Faraj a1-Jayyani, author of the lost Book of the Gardens, expresses the typical sentiment of the so-called "love of Baghdad":

Oh she [ . . . ] agreed to the union, but IKept aloof from her, not wanting to obey the Devil![. . . .]There was no glance she cast but it containedAn urge to stirring temptations in men's hearts:But wisdom took control of my longing's channels,So that I followed continence, according to my nature:And I passed the night with her like an infant, thirsty,Yet kept from sucking the breast [through weaning]:Thus also, for one like me, there can be nothingIn a garden of flowers beyond looking and smelling the perfume;[. . . .]The garden is full of beauty, so stay near it.

(Nykl 1946: 44; cf. Morungen's dilemma in MF 145, 25-28; MF 143, 22-30; also García Gómez 1952: 42f).

In Ibn Firaj's "so stay near it" one senses the poet's unwillingness completely to renounce the erotic even though he claims he wants to turn away from the wiles of "the devil." Note the striking parallel between Ibn Firaj's "I passed the night with her like an infant thirsty, yet kept from sucking the breast " and Morungen's "Tagelied-Wechsel" cited above where the noble lady laments [End Page 197] that her lover spent the night merely gazing at her naked body in rapture (MF 144, 9-7).

In a related vein, Ibn Hazm, while stating in The Dove's Neck-Ring that true love and beauty is of the soul, nevertheless admits that physical love usually starts the relationship (1931: 31-33). Of course, in his "advice to the lover" (see above) he completely stresses the erotic aspect. Emilio García Gómez, discussing the fate of the "Virginal Love" in Spain, points out that its first poet-practitioners actually believed in it and practiced it, but that it finally resolved itself into mere conventionalized poetic themes which hardly reflected matters as they actually were, i.e., no longer purely Platonic! (1952: 44f).

It is interesting to compare this development in al-Andalus with the realities of medieval German courtly life: "There is no doubt that the actual state of affairs regarding courtly love differed radically from its idealized portrayal [ . . . ] " (De Boor 1964: 219).

Ibn Quzman, writing later, during the Almoravid Period, does not mince words in rejecting the "Platonic" theories of the "Sons of Virginity": "I am the great lover, despite the anger of him who blames me,—the lover of my time!—As regards passionate love, I am not afraid of anyone! [. . . .] Talk not to me [of the Platonic] religion of Jamil and Urwah!" (Nykl 1946: 293). Similarly, Ibn Quzman's theories as regards proper behavior near "gardens" differs considerably from al-Jayyani's cited earlier: "Listen to what the al-faquí said to me: Repent! What useless, stupid talk!—How shall I repent, when the garden is smiling and the breeze is fragrant like musk!" (Nykl 1946: 298). As one would expect, Ibn Quzman's references to physical union are even more explicit and frequent (cf. Nykl 1946: 291, 294, 296f, 349). Furthermore, as in the "niedere Minne" of Hohenstaufen Germany, fewer references are made to the educative dimension of love.

Conclusion

There appears to be no consensus as to the validity of Burdach's theory that European Courtly Love Lyric had its origin in the Love Lyric of al-Andalus. However, evaluating the various arguments which have led to the present status has not been the purpose of this study. Rather, I have attempted to review the recurring thematic similarities. This approach not only reveals striking parallels on the overt level of metaphor and simile, but enhances our insight into the problematic nature of the medieval courtly concept of love.

The difficulties surrounding the latter seem to emanate from the attitude of the lover toward the beloved—the Platonic-Erotic Dilemma. The lover wishes the beloved to be both guiding light and mistress. But she cannot be both. It is precisely this inevitable tension which underlies many of the basic motifs. Significantly, this tension lies at the very core of both the Courtly Love Lyric of al-Andalus and of Hohenstaufen Germany. This underlying [End Page 198] tension and the fact that both traditions suffered a similar decline deserves closer scrutiny.