Love service is a ritualized form of male love-devotion toward women, especially noble women, that was popularized in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

History

The practice of love service appeared first in

Medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and was modeled on a combination of

feudalistic Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

class distinctions,

courtly love Courtly love ( oc, fin'amor ; french: amour courtois ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing vari ...

tenets, and gendered aspects of the chivalric class code regarding respectful treatment of women. Love service had certain resemblances with vassalage, especially the concept of obedience. According to Sandra R. Alfonsi the entire concept of love-service was patterned after the vassal’s oath to serve his lord with loyalty, tenacity, and courage. These same virtues were demanded of the male supplicant. Like the

liegeman A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

vis-a-vis his sovereign, the male approached his lady with fear and respect, submitted obediently to her and awaited a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

or in this case an honor of reception as did the vassal. The vocabulary of love service borrowed some terminology from the vocabulary of

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

indicative of the ties between a man to his lord. Examples are ''servitium'' (service), ''dominus'' (denoting the feudal Lord, or Lady), ''homo ligius'' (addressing the Lord's

or 'my man'), ''homage'' (duty toward Lord), and ''honor'' (honoring gestures). The men were sometimes referred to as

domnei Domnei or donnoi is an Old Provençal term meaning the attitude of chivalrous devotion of a knight to his Lady, which was mainly a non-physical and non-marital relationship. Principles This type of relationship was highly ritualized and complex ...

or donnoi, meaning an attitude of chivalrous devotion of a knight to his Lady based in servitude and duty.Sandra R Alfonsi, ''Masculine Submission in Troubadour Lyric (American University Studies)'', Peter Lang Publishing, 1986

References

{{reflist Love Medieval society