The image of the court of Amour in Martin Le Franc’s “Champion of Ladies”: courtly space and Christian love.

Demakhina Alla Postgraduate student; Department of the History of Foreign Literature; Lomonosov Moscow State University 119991, Russia, Moscow, Leninskie Gory str., 1 aldem94@mail.ru

Martin Le Fran was born around 1410 in Normandy, educated in Paris and had a brilliant ecclesiastical career. His poem "The Defender of the Ladies" ("Le Champion des dames", c. 1441-1442) is written in the form of a vision, consists of five books, accompanied by a short prose prologue addressed to Duke Philip of Burgundy. Most of the text is occupied by lengthy debates between the allegorical figures Honest Will and Slander (other allegories are on the side of Slander, for example, Brief Advice, Vile Thought, Pretense): They touch on topics such as the dignity and virtues of a woman, love, and marriage. The poem was created in the context of the "dispute about women" — a broad literary discussion that began in the XV century in France and concerns, first of all, the moral nature of a woman, her status and position in society. The Knight of Honest Will expresses the author's point of view, acting as a "defender of the ladies." The first book of the poem is introductory: it tells about the unsuccessful attack of Slander on Amor's castle and about the arrival of the knight Honest Will at Amor's court. Also, a significant place in the first book is occupied by a description of the possessions of the deities of love (Amor and Venus), through which the narrator walks accompanied by a companion named Valentine (probably this is St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers).

Swiss researcher J.-K. Muletaler points out that Martin does not limit himself to supporting women, but addresses current historical events and political issues of the era (for example, he speaks positively about strengthening relations between the Burgundian court and the king of France) ^[1]. Thus, the theme of love turns out to be important for Martin Le Fran not only in connection with the "women's issue", but also in a political context: in particular, it is in the lack of love that he sees the source of France's political problems and failures; from Martin's point of view, "love ... affects both the poet and the seigneur, as the art of ruling, as well as literature" ^{[1, p. 83]}.

Also, according to the researcher, the very concept of Martin Le Fran's love, expressed in the poem, overcomes the framework of courtly love, it is rather Christian love. J.K. Muletaler does not believe that Martin seeks to build a coherent philosophical system, although he is influenced by various church authorities: from Augustine the Blessed to Nicholas of Cusa ^[1]. In general, Martin's concept of love can be characterized as follows: love is the embodiment of heavenly grace, a universal driving force, a source of world harmony, an absolute ideal.

In this regard, the initial episode of the poem is of particular interest — the narrator's visit to the court of Amor (in order to separate the ancient character from the medieval one, we prefer this spelling of his name, because the "god of Love" was depicted in medieval literature rather not as an ancient god, but as a noble lord). This plot is typical for courtly allegorical poems ^{[2, p. 140, p. 230]}, and Amor is the personification and the highest bearer of the values of courtly love. (Following the concept of the Swiss researcher A. Corbellari, we understand courtly love as a set of discourses about love between representatives of the noble class, which is built according to the rules and must correspond to ideal patterns ^[3].)

In his article on the character system in Defender of the Ladies, British researcher L. Brooke explains the meaning of the initial episode as follows: Martin "... needed to create not only characters, but also a suitable symbolic space in which they can act" ^{[4, p. 114]}, also "... a similar plot is likely, corresponded to the horizon of expectation of the reader or listener after the success of the "Novel about the Rose" ^{[4, p. 103]}. This explanation, in our opinion, needs to be clarified. We also note that the studies we have mentioned only partially affect Martin's description of the kingdoms of the deities of Love.

Thus, we will focus on what features of the image of space allow Martin to fit his Christian concept of love into a courtly "frame"; also, in the end, we will try to guess why Martin Le Fran rewrites a typically courtly episode in a different context.

The courtyard of Amor in medieval texts is usually depicted as a garden (sometimes a garden and a castle), while using a set of images referring to an earthly paradise: eternal spring, green trees, often a free-standing tall tree, as well as a spring or fountain (the sources of these images are the Book of Genesis, less often the Song of Songs, as well as topos locus amoenus from ancient literature ^[5-7]). The first such garden is probably found in Andrei Chaplain's treatise "On Love" ^{[5, p. 343]}, and the most famous garden is in an allegorical poem of the XIII century. "The Novel of the Rose" ("Roman de la Rose"; the poem consists of two parts; the first belongs to the pen of Guillaume de Lorris, and the second to Jean de Men), which greatly influenced subsequent allegorical literature. (Since the poem refers to several gardens ^[6], let us clarify that in this case we are talking about the garden where Amor lives and which is described in the "courtly" part of Guillaume de Lorris.)

Characterizing the image of the court of Amor in "Defender of the Ladies", we would first of all like to highlight two features:

- The space of the kingdom of Amor as a whole is significantly complicated: in addition to the garden and the castle, there is a church, a hospital and a cemetery at the court; hell and paradise of Love are also mentioned separately.

- Two kingdoms are consistently compared: Amor and Venus. Thus, each locus is present in the text in two incarnations.

The first feature, i.e. the addition of new loci to the space of the kingdom of Amor, allows the author to present the court of Amor not only as a garden, but as a full-fledged court of a noble lord, to create a kind of microcosm of Love. Martin borrows this change from Achille Collier's poem "The Shelter of Amor" ("L'ospital d'Amours", circa 1440), where a hospital and a cemetery first appear at the court of Amor ^[8]; mention of hell and punishment for unfaithful lovers is also already found in Achille's work.

It is worth noting that Martin Le Fran's description of the garden is the least detailed. We learn about the garden of Venus that a rose bush blooms there (probably a reference to the first part of the "Novel of the Rose"), and there is also a certain water space (Venus and her courtiers bathe). And the description of Amor's garden, where the narrator completes his journey through the kingdoms of the two gods of Love, is generally quite traditional: fun and joy reign in the garden, fruit trees grow, there is a spring. The narrator bluntly says that this garden resembles an earthly paradise.

The second feature is characteristic only of the poem by Martin Le Fran. Note, however, that we have already encountered the separation of the two deities of Love by function in the "Novel of the Rose": in its first part, Amor is the personification of courtly love, limited by certain rules prescribing "complete submission to the lover, adoration of the lady <...> Venus embodies in the novel the element of carnal sensual passion" ^{[9, p. 12]}. At the same time, in the second part, written by Jean de Men, sensual love is evaluated positively. Martin Le Fran does not agree with this point of view, in his opinion, such love leads to illusory pleasure, as well as very real suffering during life and punishment after death (see below). (Note also that Martin Le Franc is quite openly arguing with Jean de Men in the third book of his poem.) In Martin, we recall, the opposition of the deities of Love is based on a slightly different principle, because if Venus embodies carnal love, as in the Novel about the Rose, then Amor becomes the embodiment not of courtly, but of Christian love.

The comparison of the two kingdoms — Amora and Venus — is based on a number of oppositions:

- light and darkness

Amora Castle is located on an elevation, the walls of the castle are extremely strong, so that the guns cannot penetrate them, because they are entirely made of "fins dyamans" ("pure diamonds") ^{[10, p. 10]}, which reflect moonlight (the siege of the castle takes place at night) and brightly illuminate the battlefield. About the castle of Venus, it is said that the goddess herself is "Le fist faire... Aprez cellui du dieu d'Amours" ("Ordered it to be made… Modeled after the castle of the God of Love") ^{[10, p. 49]}. And although the castles are very similar, "Il est bien fol… Qui n'y cognoist la difference" ("That one is mad… Who does not understand the difference in them") ^{[10, p. 49]}. Venus's castle is located in a dark forest.

The chapel of Amor is made of crystal, richly decorated and reminds the narrator of a temple, inside columns of gold and silver shining like the sun, a throne made of ruby, a tabernacle decorated with precious stones.

- top and bottom

The Chapel of Venus is located underground. The service is led by the cure's Stupid Mind, which "... ne poeut regarder le ciel: / Le soleil lui fait mal es yeulx" ("... cannot look at the sky: / The sun hurts his eyes") ^{[10, p. 65]}. And in the chapel of Amor, every parishioner looks up, "vers le Dieu du ciel" ("to the heavenly God") ^{[10, p.75]}.

In the cemetery of Venus, the narrator sees graves and coffins covered with dust, thorny branches and moss. The narrator and his companion discover a "trou ardant" ("flaming hole") in the earth ^{[10, p. 60]}, looking into which you can see "monde despris" ("despicable world") ^{[10, p. 61]}, where devils fly and from where "les cris, les estraintes de dens" ("screams, gnashing of teeth") ^{[10, p. 61]}. Valentin explains that it is the souls punished for the service of "amour vaine" ("empty love") who suffer ^{[10, p. 62]}, and in front of them is one of the circles of hell, and if you go down lower, you can reach Lucifer himself. Valentin, whose function as a guide resembles Virgil from the Divine Comedy, refers to Dante: "Le florentin poete Dante / A escript merveilleusement / La paine de la vie mechante" ("The Florentine poet Dante / Perfectly described / The Punishment for an evil life") ^{[10, p. 61]}. The narrator's companion says that suffering after death awaits anyone who is devoted to Venus.

And in the Amora cemetery, the graves are extremely beautiful, made of white marble, strewn with fragrant flowers, surrounded by tall green trees. There is also a separate fenced—in space - the monastery, where the most noble servants of Amor are buried. Among them are mentioned the graves of real historical figures, in particular, Mary of Burgundy (daughter of Jean the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy). The chapel where Anne of Burgundy (another daughter of Jean the Fearless) is buried is especially beautiful. Martin even calls this chapel "petit paradiset" ("little paradise") ^{[10, p. 84]}. The heroes do not see Amor's paradise itself, but Valentin explains that the souls of the righteous lovers soared up to heaven.

- spirituality and physicality (sensuality)

Joy reigns in the chapel of Amor, the narrator hears the singing of angels, both love hymns and religious Christian chants sound there, words referring to the gospel commandments of Christ are carved above the entrance: "De tout cueur Dieu aime" ("Love God with all your heart") and "Ton prochain aime comme toy" ("Love your neighbor as yourself") ^{[10, p. 71]}. The service is conducted by Abbess Mercy. The behavior of the parishioners is decent, and during the service two hearts are brought into the church, united into one thanks to a miracle (this is a reference to the Treaty of Arras, concluded in 1435 between Cal VII and Philip of Burgundy — to whom Martin dedicates his poem).

The narrator and his companion enter the chapel of Venus without praying, as Martin specifically points out. There are many complainers and mourners in the chapel, parishioners bring gifts to the throne: not only ballads, rondos, jewels, roses, plant leaves, but also their own hearts, souls and even "breulles" ("insides") ^{[10, p. 63]}. Some "deschirent leurs peaux" ("tearing their skin") ^{[10, p. 64]}. Cure's Stupid Mind is described as follows: ugly, with bear legs and donkey ears, with claws like eagles (which resembles a fairly typical description of non-courtly characters: recall, for example, the shepherd from the chivalric novel by Chretien de Troyes "Yvaine, or the knight with the lion"). In addition, his speeches do not look like a sermon and glorify momentary sensual pleasure. Near the chapel there is a disfigured statue of Bacchus, the god of wine. Bacchus holds a bottle in his hands, from where the wine flows into a small pool: lovers loyal to Venus drink it, so there are many drunks around the chapel.

Martin does not give a detailed description of the buildings where the sick are treated at the court of Amor and Venus. However, the narrator draws the reader's attention to what different patients are in each of the hospitals. In the hospital of Venus there are paralytics, lepers, mutilated, some of the ears are bleeding, others have their hearts and eyes pierced (probably by Cupid's arrows, the crooked son of Venus) — an unpleasant, "bodily" picture. And in the Amora hospital, quiet sighs are heard, there they provide assistance to the victims of the battle against Slander — the noble defenders of Amora Castle.

- harmony and disharmony (chaos, false harmony)

If everything is harmonious in the kingdom of Amora (the castle has really strong walls capable of withstanding a siege, Catholic worship really takes place in the church, etc.), then everything is deceptive in the kingdom of Venus. The church is ancient, but it has not been completed, besides, the service taking place in it does not look like a Christian one. And the castle, which was built by the allegorical character Earthly Pleasure, only looks strong, but in fact is on the verge of destruction. (This is reminiscent of the description of the House of Fortune from The Novel of the Rose.)

This contrast continues in the description of the appearance of the deities of Love. Venus only seems beautiful, but if you walk around the goddess and look at her from the other side, her true nature becomes obvious. The narrator and Valentin see that "Le dos Venus est creux et fauls / Et proprement en tel point mis / Que le tronc d'une vielle sauls / Cavé et rongié de fourmis... L'amer venin est en la queue" ("The back of Venus is concave and feigned / And exactly as if the trunk of an old willow, / Worn out and gnawed by ants ... Bile poison [in her] tail") ^{[10, p. 55]}. This description evokes associations with Fortune from the Novel of the Rose. Note that the impermanence of both goddesses is emphasized by the constant change of clothes.

In connection with this detail, Amor's attire is of particular interest: on it the narrator sees "ymages vifs" ("tableaux vivants") ^{[10, p. 23]}. The chainmail collar depicts the sky, both clear and overcast, from which it rains and snows, and in the lower part of the collar the sea, on which ships are sailing and in which fish swim. On the right sleeve you can see Adam and Eve in the garden, and on the left sleeve the whole animal world. Amor's chest depicts people who are faithful to the precepts of right love. And the whole garment is decorated with images of trees, herbs, precious stones and metals.

As a result, we come to the following conclusions:

1) Describing the kingdoms of Amor and Venus, Martin builds an obvious moral vertical:

- it is the courtyard of Amor that is associated with the "top", the sky, as well as light, harmony, beauty, spirituality, and the courtyard of Venus is its distorted copy, moved down and into darkness (a church underground, a castle in a dark forest);

- for Martin, it is important who and how exactly fills the described space: in particular, if the behavior of lovers devoted to Amor is noble (both in the church and in the hospital), then the followers of Venus indulge in drunkenness (at the same time they are already paying for the wrong choice, since they must make cruel sacrifices to Venus and suffer from extremely unpleasant diseases);

- at the upper and lower points of space there are heaven and hell of Love, respectively: the right lovers will receive a good reward after death, and the wrong ones — punishment.

2) When describing the space, Christian motifs in general (prayers, commandments, miracles, hell and paradise) and biblical motifs in particular are strengthened: by drawing the reader's attention to the precious stones and metals that emit or reflect light, from which the castle and the church of Amor are made, Martin probably seeks to bring the topic of the New Jerusalem into the text, in the description of which such motives are actively used (see Revelation of John the Theologian 21:11-21).

3) The characteristics of the space correspond to the image of the personifications of love and the two concepts of love, respectively. Venus, deceptive in appearance, as well as the loci located at her court, represents a false ideal. And Amor acts as a symbol of universal harmony, especially since Amor's attire is a separate locus, even a whole microcosm, reflecting not only the court of the seigneur, but the entire universe, uniting the elements, people, animals, plants and elements.

Thus, Martin manages to rewrite a typically courtly episode and subordinate the secular concept of courtly love to the Christian tradition. His courtly figure of Amor personifies pure, spiritual, absolutely idealized love, faithful to the precepts of the Christian God. Amor becomes the personification of world harmony, and his courtyard is an ideal microcosm, where there is a place for a variety of manifestations of human existence (secular and religious life, illness, death, the afterlife) and where genuine values are embodied, deserving of a good reward after death (in contrast to the deceptive and sinful kingdom of Venus).

In our opinion, Martin begins the poem with a visit to the court of Amor, since it is important for him to convey to the reader his concept of love (which is significant in the context of both his position in the "dispute about women" and his political views), but first the reader needs to be interested so that he wants to familiarize himself with the content of the work in principle. This episode, being typical of courtly poems in general and evoking associations with the "Novel of the Rose" in particular, plays the role of captatio benevolentiae, i.e. it serves to attract the attention of the public (an obviously aristocratic public, in which courtly literature was a success ^{[11, pp. 19-57]}). Martin creates a work that corresponds to the "horizon of expectation" of the reader only at first glance, in fact, he plays with this "horizon of expectation", weaving Christian motives into courtly discourse (and political themes: recall the reference to the Treaty of Arras, as well as the graves of noble ladies of the Burgundian court, the mention of which should have pleased Philip Burgundian, the main addressee of the poem, on whose patronage Martin counts). Martin Le Fran's "Christianization" of the secular concept of courtly love speaks to his desire to rethink the ideals of courtliness, which, from his point of view, are less important than true Christian love, which he tries to convey to the reader.