TWO WAYS TO UNDERSTAND LOVE: ANDREAS CAPELLANUS VERSUS DR. LOPEZ DE VILLLALOBOS

This paper analyzes the idea of love as a literary element and its implications in human behavior. Two classic treatises have been selected that explain love in all its aspects, the De amore by Andreas Capellanus (12th century) and the Sentencias sobre amor by Francisco de Villalobos (16th century). Despite the time difference, both texts share an unequivocal link in terms of the way the two authors understand the characteristics and behaviors of love. They explain its origin, the different types that exist (essentially divided into good and bad love), the social groups that are qualified for the exercise of love or the dangers of choosing bad lovers. On the other hand, the differences drawn from the intertextual comparison are equally relevant for the purpose of the article. While Andreas Capellanus defends passionate love as an inevitable consequence of the physical attraction between men and women, Villalobos interprets it as a mental illness that ends up destroying the man, since he ends up with a serious state of alienation that pushes him to commit all kinds of imprudence. Villalobos advocates a pure and spiritual love, free of any pathology, which is the love of God. Andreas Capellanus also admits that there are loves harmful to the soul and body (with prostitutes, with nuns...) and explains the consequences of their exercise to dissuade those who might desire them.