Throughout the historical period the male character was always given a superior position than the women. The novels written during the period showed how the passivity of women was enforced through medieval attitudes towards love and marriage.

A chief theme for the courtly romances of the twelfth century was that the heroes were courteous, seeking adventure and fighting and killing various monsters to win their lady’s affections. The women in these novels struggled against all the odds for their independence, frequently finding themselves forced into a passive role within society because they had to comply with man-made rules.

Medieval Codes for Love and Marriage
Marriage was regarded as the most important factor in the romantic genre. Arranged marriages were usually settled very early on in a woman’s life, it is also shown in romantic fictions that marriages did occur when the female was just a baby or a young girl. Female passivity often involved financial practicalities and man made rule which were set to govern them. Medieval romances tended to be rather misogynistic due to the concept of the male being superior to them.

The women characters in the medieval novels were usually victimized by society. In many romance novels that were written in the historical times the women had to undergo all the problems and difficulties in life. The women character in romance fictions was depicted as the one with whom people should sympathize. The readers should lament with the heroine of such novels as she struggles to reconcile her love with the demands society make upon her.

Medieval romances were primarily tales of adventure. In medieval society the males were treated as superiors so these novels also had the male leadership. The women were often associated with many ills and evils and were treated just like a property.

Marriage and a Neat Ending to Medieval Romance Literature
As early said marriage was an essential aspect of the medieval courtly romances. The importance of marriage was to tie up loose ends and to give the readers a happy ending.

The medieval courtly romance novels showed that the medieval female protagonist cannot escape the confines of society and the rules that were set for her. The medieval code was too male-dominated for a female character to break free and become active in her own right.

All these novels just show the conditions of the society in medieval times and how women were bounded by customs and regulations throughout their lives.

Tags: love and marriage in medieval courtly romance, Medieval Codes for Love and Marriage, Medieval Romance Literature