Chapter VII, Tales of Love and Marriage Summary and Analysis

The subject of Love and Marriage was first considered in Chapter I where Campbell presents some lofty ideals concerning marriage and is critical of love affairs. Here Campbell and Moyers take up the theme again and identify the development of the cult of the individual as an important milestone in the evolution of modern western culture.

The concept of romantic love originates with the troubadours in France in the twelfth century. The troubadours are members of the nobility and become known as the "singers of love." The movement quickly spreads to other royal courts in Europe and in Germany, for example, they are called the "Minnesingers." The psychology of love and the consideration of it as an all encompassing person-to-person relationship eventually extends to the knights' code of chivalry...