Books about Courtly from Amazon.com

• On the great influence of a valiant lord: "The companions, who see that good warriors are honored by the great lords for their prowess, become more determined to attain this level of prowess "
  
  
• On the lady who sees her knight honored: "All of this makes the noble lady rejoice greatly within herself at the fact that she has set her mind and heart on loving and helping to make such a good knight or good man-at-arms."
  
  
• On the worthiest amusements: "The best pastime of all is to be often in good company, far from unworthy men and from unworthy activities from which no good can come."

Enter the real world of knights and their code of ethics and behavior. Read how an aspiring knight of the fourteenth century would conduct himself and learn what he would have needed to know when traveling, fighting, appearing in court, and engaging fellow knights.

Composed at the height of the Hundred Years War by Geoffroi de Charny, one of the most respected knights of his age, A Knight's Own Book of Chivalry was designed as a guide for members of the Company of the Star, an order created by Jean II of France in 1352 to rival the English Order of the Garter.

This is the most authentic and complete manual on the day-to-day life of the knight that has survived the centuries, and this edition contains a specially commissioned introduction from historian Richard W. Kaeuper that gives the history of both the book and its author, who, among his other achievements, was the original owner of the Shroud of Turin.

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Price: $8.81 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The most recent archaeological discoveries and a host of dramatic illustrations illuminate royal life at the court of the ancient Maya.

Maya artistic expression during the second half of the first millennium reached the highest peaks of opulence and cultural refinement in the New World. Living in a tropical rain forest, supported by a society of astonishing wealth and complexity, the ancient Maya kings and queens commissioned extraordinary works of art and architecture in order to memorialize themselves and to ensure their place in history.

Seated on thrones of jaguar pelt, rulers contemplated the social, religious, and political affairs of their kingdom while a coterie of dwarves, hunchbacks, scribes, singers, actors, fan bearers, and drummers catered to their every need. Supplicants of lordly favor brought lavish gifts and tribute, cloth and shells, beads and cacao. From one generation to another, nobles began to take on additional titles, providing an ever more refined notion of courtly rights and responsibilities, rankings and rituals.

Published to accompany a touring exhibition, this groundbreaking book gathers together the latest research into Maya civilization and hundreds of illustrations to illuminate their achievements. Nowhere is this more spectacularly revealed than at Palenque, but the courtly world becomes more tangible to us too from works found at Tonina, Yaxchilan, Bonampak, and Copan, among other places. Ceramic censers, stucco heads, jade masks, terra-cotta figurines, incised wood boxes, great carved limestone lintels—the range of objects is astounding, and they have been drawn together from major collections in the Americas, Europe, and Australia. 328 illustrations, 233 in color.

With contributions by: Guillermo Bernal Romero • Michael D. Coe • Martha Cuevas García • Beatriz de la Fuente • Héctor L. Escobedo • Roberto García Moll • Arnoldo González Cruz • Stephen D. Houston • Roberto López Bravo • Diana Magaloni • Julia C. Miller • Alfonso Morales • Merle Greene Robertson • David Stuart • Teresa Uriarte.
Price: $31.40 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In this classic work, often described as "The History of the Rise, Decline, and Fall of the Love Affair," Denis de Rougemont explores the psychology of love from the legend of Tristan and Isolde to Hollywood. At the heart of his ever-relevant inquiry is the inescapable conflict in the West between marriage and passion--the first associated with social and religious responsiblity and the second with anarchic, unappeasable love as celebrated by the troubadours of medieval Provence. These early poets, according to de Rougemont, spoke the words of an Eros-centered theology, and it was through this "heresy" that a European vocabulary of mysticism flourished and that Western literature took on a new direction.

Bringing together historical, religious, philosophical, and cultural dimensions, the author traces the evolution of Western romantic love from its literary beginnings as an awe-inspiring secret to its commercialization in the cinema. He seeks to restore the myth of love to its original integrity and concludes with a philosophical perspective on modern marriage.

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Price: $15.96 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $11.11 [Notify me when price goes down.]

England's past comes alive in this classic tale featuring the disinherited knight Ivanhoe, his fair lady Rowena, and such larger-than-life characters as Richard the Lion Hearted and Robin Hood. A novel of the crusades, chivalry, and courtly love that not only recreated history, but made history as well..
Price: $1.25 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $47.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]