influence of Christianity, it may be said that troubadour love is the [15]
outcome of the same theory under the influence of mariolatry. In the
eleventh century the worship of the Virgin Mary became widely popular;
the reverence bestowed upon the Virgin was extended to the female sex in
general, and as a vassal owed obedience to his feudal overlord, so did
he owe service and devotion to his lady. Moreover, under the feudal
system, the lady might often be called upon to represent her husband's
suzerainty to his vassals, when she was left in charge of affairs during
his absence in time of war. Unmarried women were inconspicuous figures
in the society of the age.

Thus there was a service of love as there was a service of vassalage,
and the lover stood to his lady in a position analogous to that of the
vassal to his overlord. He attained this position only by stages; "there
are four stages in love: the first is that of aspirant (_fegnedor_), the
second that of suppliant (_precador_), the third that of recognised
suitor (_entendedor_) and the fourth that of accepted lover (_drut_)."
The lover was formally installed as such by the lady, took an oath of
fidelity to her and received a kiss to seal it, a ring or some other
personal possession. For practical purposes the contract merely implied
that the lady was prepared to receive the troubadour's homage in poetry
and to be the subject of his song. As secrecy was a duty incumbent upon [16]
the troubadour, he usually referred to the lady by a pseudonym
(_senhal_); naturally, the lady's reputation was increased if her
attraction for a famous troubadour was known, and the _senhal_ was no
doubt an open secret at times. How far or how often the bounds of his
formal and conventional relationship were transgressed is impossible to
say; "en somme, assez immoral" is the judgment of Gaston Paris upon the
society of the age, and is confirmed by expressions of desire occurring
from time to time in various troubadours, which cannot be interpreted as