Courtly Love and Damyan. Chaucer uses conventions of courtly love throughout the Canterbury Tales, and The Merchants Tale is no exception.

The first 200 words of this essay...

Courtly Love & Damian

Chaucer uses conventions of courtly love throughout the Canterbury Tales, and The Merchant's Tale is no exception. As an elaborate code of conduct governing the actions and relations of aristocratic lovers in the 14th century, it is described satirically by Chaucer, who perhaps thought of the whole process as farcical. As well as Januarie being sarcastically described as a courtly lover, his squire Damian is also shown to take part in the process of courtly love.

The typical courtly lover in the 14th century is one of high social class or nobility. While Januarie does not display the characteristics of a courtly lover (he picks out May from a market), as a noble knight he is of sufficient social stature to take part in the action of courtly love if he so chooses. His squire Damian on the other hand is not of "noble birth" and therefore should not be expected or even allowed to become a courtly lover. The fact that he attempts to conform to these conventions could be seen as a satirical observation of courtly love by Chaucer, as Damian feebly attempts to win May's heart. While the typical courtly