The Origins of Courtliness by C. Stephen Jaeger

Read: 5 September, 2007

This 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.

Knights at Court by Aldo Scaglione

Read: 24 August, 2007

This is a non-fiction book that deals with the interaction between knights and nobles, two classes that were far more different in theory than in practice. Scaglione tracks the rise of the knight and the eventual merging of the two classes.

I mostly skimmed through this book because the level of detail was far deeper than I needed. I mostly enjoyed the "art imitating life imitating art" portions in which the author discusses the place of the epic romance in the evolution of the knight.

I wouldn't recommend this book to a casual reader or to someone with a general interest in the Middle Ages. If, on the other hand, you would like a book specifically dealing with knights, epic romance, or the changing political scene near the end of the Middle Ages, this would be far more appropriate.