In the Middle Ages, courtly love was a code that prescribed conduct between a lady and her lover (Britannica). The relationship of courtly love was very similar to the feudal relationship between a knight and his overlord. The lover serves his beloved, like a servant. He owes her his devotion and allegiance, and she inspires him to perform noble acts of bravery (Schwartz). Capellanus writes, in The Art of Courtly Love, “A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved.” The stories of Marie de France and Chrétien de Troyes illustrate the conventions of courtly love. According to Capellanus, “good character alone makes every man worthy of love.” In Lanval, the fairy lover chooses Lanval because he is “dignified and courteous” (Lawall 1319). Lanval willingly accepts the fairy's love. He promises to “forsake all others for [her]” (Lawall 1319). Capellanus also says that “a true lover only desires to kiss in love the one he loves.” Lanval therefore only loves his fairy lover. When the Queen offers her love to Lanval, he rejects it because his heart is devoted to his fairy lover. His beloved is the one he “values ​​more than any other” (Lawall 1320). Lanval desires no one more than his fairy lover. It gives him “great joy and pleasure” which allows him to renounce the other pleasures of the world (Lawall 1320). The rights she has over him are comparable to those of a king. A good chivalrous knight must hold ladies in esteem. He should do everything in his power to serve and protect women. Perceval's mother asks him never to “refuse [his] help” to a lady or a “young girl in distress” (Lawall 1333). She says that “he who does not honor the ladies loses his honor” (Lawall 1333)....... middle of paper ...... which is secret. Lanval, too, maintains a secret love. In fact, if he ever reveals his love, he will “lose her forever” (Lawall 1319). Indeed, when Lanval tells the Queen that he is loved by a lady more worthy than the Queen, Lanval loses his beloved. He calls “to his beloved many times, but in vain” (Lawall 1321). She leaves him once their love becomes public. Courtly love defines the romance between a knight and his beloved. A knight must be worthy of love. A knight must swear to devote himself completely to his beloved. He must hold her in high regard and do everything possible to protect her. A knight must desire no one above his beloved and the thought of her must continually be on his mind. Furthermore, courtly love must be secret love; this does not exist in marriage. The conventions of medieval courtly love steered a knight toward servitude to his beloved..