Love is a word that can be used to define friendships, relationships, and marriages; but in the Middle Ages, love meant something completely different than it does today. Money and power were the central forces that drove two people together in marriage during the Middle Ages. Although women and men who were peasants could marry for love, noblewomen and knights had arranged marriages based on money and power. A knight's job was to be brave, generous, protective, and devoted to his lady. As one can imagine, marrying for something other than love was a difficult and strenuous task, so Andreas Cappellanus composed a list of guidelines on how to properly love. The list was called “The Art of Courtly Love,” and was made to help two people form a bond based on true love. Even though all the guidelines were made for love in the Middle Ages, some guidelines still apply to life today. “The Art of Courtly Love” by Andreas Cappellanus is still relevant today because of the ups and downs of love shown in “The Notebook,” because of the relationship described in John Legend’s “All of Me,” and because of the complex love triangle displayed in “Twilight.”

“They did not agree on much, in fact, they rarely agreed on anything,” (Sparks) describes Allie and Noah’s relationship throughout the Nicholas Sparks novel, “The Notebook” and provides evidence that Cappellanus’s rule,“ IV. It is well-known love is always increasing or decreasing,” is still relevant today. In this rule, Cappellanus implies that love is either growing or decreasing during a relationship. In “The NoteBook,” Nicholas Sparks conveys this same idea through the main characters Noah Calhoun and Allie Hamilton. Noah and Allie meet in Seabrook while Allie is on vacation, and it is hate at first sight. Their relationship is already off to a bad start because Noah thinks Allie is stuck-up. Over the course of the summer, the two fall hopelessly in love, but Noah has to leave to go into the army. Noah promises he will write Allie letters every day, but she never gets the letters because her mom takes them. As a result, Allie is heartbroken and her love for Noah decreases. Allie starts moving on and gets engaged to a man named Lon. Soon after she gets engaged to Lon, Noah returns and Allie finds out about the letters he wrote. She begins to fall in love with Noah again and lives with him for a few days while she is still engaged to Lon. Even though Noah and Allie’s love starts increasing for one another, their love soon starts to diminish again when Allie decides she has to go back to Lon. In the end, Allie and Noah’s love continues to increase and decrease throughout the entire story until they end up together. “The Notebook” is a clear example that shows love constantly is increasing or decreasing.

In comparison to Cappellanus’s guideline, “XVI. When a lover suddenly catches sight of his beloved his heart palpitates,” modern-day song, “All of Me” by John Legend is extremely similar to this rule. John Legend dedicated this song to his wife, Chrissy Teigen. Throughout the song, he sings about his extreme amount of love for her. Not only does he reveal how he feels about his wife, but he also reveals the effect she has on his mind and body. Cappellanus and John both describe what the sight of a lover can do to the human body and its physical response. The lyric “You got my head spinning, no kidding/I cannot pin you down,” describes the physical effect his wife has on him. The song overall describes the effect his wife has on him, not only including dizziness but feeling like his head is underwater and on a roller coaster ride, “My head’s underwater/I am breathing fine.”Although in the Middle Ages the rule applied to a man’s heart palpitating when he sees his lover, this lyric applies to the rule because it is also a dangerous physical effect the body has when a man sees his lover. Therefore, Cappellanus’s “The Art of Courtly Love” is proven to still apply to relationships today.

The teenage romance movie “Twilight” is an exemplary example of rule III “ No one can be bound by a double love,” in “ The Art of Courtly Love.” The plot of “Twilight is heavily based on the legends of vampires and werewolves, but it is also heavily influenced by the love triangle between Bella Swan, Jacob Black, and Edward Cullen. Bella Swan is the main character in “Twilight.” She is a teenager girl in Arizona who attends school with a boy named Edward Cullen. Bella is immediately attracted to Edward despite knowing he is said to never date anyone. Edward also feels an initial attraction to Bella and particular to the smell of her blood because he is a vampire. However, Bella also becomes attracted to Jacob, a family friend, and a werewolf. Over the course of the first “Twilight” movie, Bella is mostly focused on Edward. Over time and throughout the other “Twilight” movies, Bella has trouble deciding who she wants to be with because she starts falling in love with Jacob. Near the end of the movie series, Bella realizes she was never in love with Jacob but has always been in love with Edward. This realization results in Bella and Edward getting married and creating a family. The outcome of the “Twilight” movies shows one cannot actually be in love with two people at once but can think they are in love with two people. This relates to rule “III. No one can be bound by a double love,” because Bella is not bound by double love but only thinks she is. Just like people in the Middle Ages could not love two people at once, neither could Bella. Hence, rule III in “The Art of Courtly Love,” reveals Middle Age love guidelines are seen through modern-day relationships.

To summarize, the fluctuating relationship between Allie and Noah in “The Notebook,” the physical effect of John Legend’s wife on him in “All of Me,” and the complicated love triangle between Bella, Jacob, and Edward in “Twilight,” all reveal how common some rules in “The Art of Courtly Love” are, even today.  Allie and Noah’s love in “The Notebook” is a rollercoaster ride of intense love and immense hate, showing how love can increase or decrease constantly. Noah and Allie ending up together despite all their fights and hardships show that love must always increase or decrease. Noah and Allie’s relationship confirms rule IV of the guidelines, “It is well-known love is always increasing or decreasing.” “All of me,” written by John Legend, displays a clear example of rule XVI, “When a lover suddenly catches sight of his beloved his heart palpitates.” Legend confesses all the physical symptoms that occur when he is with his wife, such as dizziness and feeling like his head is underwater. “All of Me” proves a man feels life-threatening physical symptoms when he sees his lover. Lastly, the confusing love triangle in the movie “Twilight” between Bella, Jacob, and Edward shows one cannot truly love two people at once. The ending of Bella and Edward getting married proves rule III, “No one can be bound by a double love.” Overall, “The Art of Courtly Love” may be meant to serve as a guide for love in the Middle Ages, but it still applies to everyday scenarios about love in the modern day world.