Fin amors, or refined love, is a must-have in medieval literature. Presenting the romantic relationships of nobles, fin amors expresses the struggles and games that play out between a man and a woman during courtship. Similar to unrequited love, fin amors focuses on women who hold the power in a relationship and therefore stay away from a man's advances. This behavior of the woman forces the man to put her on a pedestal, therefore idealizing her and desiring her even more. In The Fountain of Love by Guillaume De Machaut and The Book of the Duchess by Geoffrey Chaucer, the concept of fin amors takes center stage and determines the subject of the poem. Together, the two poems consist of unconscious insomniac narrators who witness another man's mourning because of their respected romantic relationships. None of the narrators have a love interest, but instead they tell the stories of the men they meet and their romantic woes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Although The Fountain of Love and The Book of the Duchess have their differences, they both share the common theme of fin amors, and more specifically the subject of women having all the power in the relationship, deploring lovers and women idealized and placed on a pedestal. One of the key elements of fin amor is to zealously idealize your lover. In The Book of the Duchess and The Fountain of Love, Jean, the Duke of Berry and the Man in Black adore their wives. Berry maintains that his wife is a “gentle and adorable lady” (Machaut 287), a lady “in whom all the good dwells” (288), which seems to be more qualities of her character and virtue than her physical beauty. . This is important in the context of the poem, because Berry does not want his wife to be unfaithful to him while he goes abroad. However, in Fountain of Love, the Man in Black is also concerned about Lady White's virtue, but he seems to focus more on her impeccable appearance. The Man in Black claims that Lady White has an exceptionally beautiful neck with a: Whyte, smooth, straight and pure and flat Without a hole or canel-boon As by seming, had she noon (Chaucer 942-944) Here the man in black literally says that Lady White is so perfect and her chest is so nice and full that it doesn't even look like she has collarbones, which is just a ridiculous accusation and example perfect idealization of a woman. In reality, most women have collarbones, but not Lady White, because she is the perfect example of a human woman, absolutely crazy and who also illustrates the narrator's illusion towards her. After a detailed description of the head to toe Lady White and all her aesthetically impeccable proportions, the Man in Black finally speaks of her virtue, arguing that "she loved her own name so much." (1018) – ultimately meaning that she had a pleasant reputation and would not throw herself at just any man she liked. Lady White, protective of her virtue and picky with her potential suitors, fits perfectly into the concept of fin amors. Since Machaut's La Fontaine d'amour follows the lament of Jean, Duke of Berry who is forced to leave his beloved wife because he is going to become a prisoner of war. Berry worries about the possibilities of what will happen to his wife if he leaves, saying, "if your pure heart is given out of love to another, I will be so mortally wounded that sooner or later I will die or go mad." because of this. (Machaut 287). Since Berry is so concerned with infidelity and preserving his wife's virtue or honor, this becomes the main subject of his..