Description
The dates for the emergence of the European spirit in its own terms in this secular literature and mythology are between 1150 and 1250. That’s the crucial century here. It’s the century, as I’ve said, of the building of the great cathedrals and also of the flowering of Arthurian romance. — Joseph Campbell
The twelfth-century in Europe was a time of change, growth, and conflict. The Western individualistic tradition of romance and heroism challenged the norms of medieval society, as poets and singers attempted to find a middle path between love (amor) and orthodoxy (Roma).