Romantic stories of courtly love were spread throughout Medieval Europe by troubadours and minstrels. These wandering minstrels and troubadors sang ballads about courtly love and were expected to memorize the words of long poems describing valor and the code of chivalry followed by the Medieval knights. This new style of expressive writing transcended everything from ballads of battles and monsters like Beowulf to romantic adventures, such as the Arthurian legends.
The romance of courtly love popularized during the Middle Ages was combined with the code of chivalry. There were strict rules of courtly love that were practiced and observed by the members of the courts across Europe during the Middle Ages. These rules allowed knights and ladies to show their admiration regardless of their marital state. It was a common occurrence for a married lady to give a token to a knight of her choice to be worn during a Medieval tournament. Despite the existence of these rules, the parties who started their relationship with such elements would sometimes become deeply involved. A famous example of a relationship which was stirred by courtly love is described in the Legend of King Arthur, where his Queen, Guinevere fell in love with Sir Lancelot. Many illicit court romances were fuelled by such practices. The Comtessa de Dia or Beatritz (born c. 1140) was perhaps the most famous of a small group of trobairitz, or female troubadours who wrote songs of courtly love during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. She was married but fell in love with a count, for whom she wrote several songs. Her poems, often set to the music of a flute, are indicative of the role of women at the time: optimism stemming from the freedom to express her love of another, self-respect and praise for her love, as well as ultimate betrayal. She was, in a sense, a forerunner of early feminism.
