THE COURTS OF LOVE

by Peter Bourne ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 20, 1958

A tale of the Twelfth Century in France, of the laws of the chivalric age, prescribing that married women of high rank should be singled out by knights for avowed and heralded devotion, accepted in all planes but the physical, days when troubadors and jongleurs were attached to households, when courts of love met and passed on actual and imagined cases involving the relative merits of men and women in the amorous virtues. Against a colorful pageant of life in high places- and a sordid picture of serfdom- is told the story of Joscelin of Sabres, cousin and vowed to serve his cousin, Raymond of Prissac, to his death. Given a chance to win his freedom by capturing a lovely heiress and bringing her to his lord for marriage, Joscelin accepts the challenge, never envisioning the dangers attendant on the mission, the bloody combat, the betrayal, the imprisonment, the escape and flight -- and the emotional complexities. For those who like their tales of derring-do with historical figures -- Eleanor of Aquitaine, her sons and their revolt against their father Henry II of England, and many others, and with a many faceted portrait of the period- this is cut to their measure.

Pub Date: June 20, 1958

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1958

Categories: FICTION