Courtly love was sensual love for an unattainable, idealised lady, but it was essentially pure, which prohibited physical consummation – imagine all of the angst, desire, and jealousy that could incite passion if there was no physical release. That was the theory, at least.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2022/05/09/the-service-of-ladies-the-story-of-ulrich-von-liechtenstein/