Read: 5 September, 2007This book explores the relationship between the literature of court and the setting in which it was written. It includes a discussion of the tension between the old warrior ethic and the newer 'effeminate' court ideal, especially ecclesiastical criticism of courtliness.
As with most of the books I've picked up recently, it didn't really have what I needed. It's great if you want an in-depth look at courtliness, but not so good if you want a general idea of courtliness you can leap off from to great your own fantasy world. For this reason, I just skimmed the book looking for anything I could use. One thing I really liked is that it would provide historical or contemporary fictional examples throughout the book, many of which made for very interesting stories.
