awn
from this source.

However, transgression was probably exceptional. The idea of troubadour
love was intellectual rather than emotional; love was an art,
restricted, like poetry, by formal rules; the terms "love" and "poetry"
were identified, and the fourteenth century treatise which summarises
the principles of grammar and metre bore the title _Leys d'Amors_, the
Laws of Love. The pathology of the emotion was studied; it was treated
from a psychological standpoint and a technical vocabulary came into
use, for which it is often impossible to find English equivalents. The
first effect of love is to produce a mental exaltation, a desire to live [17]
a life worthy of the beloved lady and redounding to her praise, an
inspiring stimulus known as _joi_ or _joi d'amor_ (_amor_ in Provencal
is usually feminine).[7] Other virtues are produced by the influence of
this affection: the lover must have _valor_, that is, he must be worthy
of his lady; this worth implies the possession of _cortesia_, pleasure
in the pleasure of another and the desire to please; this quality is
acquired by the observance of _mesura_, wisdom and self-restraint in
word and deed.

The poetry which expresses such a state of mind is usually idealised and
pictures the relationship rather as it might have been than as it was.
The troubadour who knew his business would begin with praises of his
beloved; she is physically and morally perfect, her beauty illuminates
the night, her presence heals the sick, cheers the sad, makes the boor
courteous and so forth. For her the singer's love and devotion is
infinite: separation from her would be worse than death; her death would
leave the world cheerless, and to her he owes any thoughts of good or
beauty that he may have. It is only because he loves her that he can
sing. Hence he would rather suffer any pain or punishment at her hands
than receive the highest favours from another. The effects of this love
are obvious in his person. His voice quavers with supreme delight or [18]
breaks in dark despair; he sighs and weeps and wakes at night to think
of the one subject of contemplation. Waves of heat and cold pass over
him, and even when he prays, her image is before his eyes. This passion
has transformed his nature: he is a better and stronger man than ever
before, ready to forgive his enemies and to undergo any physical
privations; winter is to him as the cheerful spring, ice and snow as
soft lawns and flowery