Fin'amors
Refined or courtly love (from Occitan fin'amors), a medieval tradition emphasising noble, passion-driven love, often adulterous and demanding great sacrifice and devotion. Fin'amors elevated love to spiritual and moral significance within courtly society.
Real World
The Lancelot and Guinevere affair in Arthurian legend is the defining fin'amors narrative — Lancelot's total devotion to a married queen elevates him spiritually even as it destroys Camelot, capturing the tradition's ethical tension.
Exam Focus
Don't just identify fin'amors; analyse what the author gains by invoking or subverting its conventions — this targets AO3 marks.
How well did you know this?