Profs & Pints Austin: The Medieval Rise of Romantic Love

Profs and Pints Austin presents: “The Medieval Rise of Romantic Love,” on how Geoffrey Chaucer might deserve more credit than Saint Valentine for all of those flowers, chocolates, and ventures of the heart, with Elizabeth Scala, professor of medieval romance, historiography and culture in the English department of the University of Texas at Austin.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/austin-medieval-love .]

Regardless of whether your Valentine’s Day brought triumph, tragedy, or just life as usual, you’ll find yourself in love with learning if you come to Tapville Social on February 19th. That’s when Profs and Pints will debut in Austin with a fascinating look at how love and romance became associated with an ancient religious festival and an exploration of the medieval cultural forces that helped passion displace convenience as a motivation to marry.

The speaker, Professor Elizabeth Scala, is a scholar whose research and teaching explores the lingering impact of medieval texts as well as subjects such as Shakespeare, modern film, and the lyrics of Taylor Swift, making her the perfect person to give a lecture that’s actually romantic.

Teaming up to help you embrace such experiences as a rewarding new nightlife alternative is Profs and Pints—a national social enterprise devoted to democratizing access to higher learning and providing scholars with new audiences—and Austin’s Tapville Social, a modern eatery known for its unique self-pour taps for craft beer, wine, and cocktails.

Professor Scala will discuss how European society did not regard the idea of romantic love as worth endorsing and celebrating until the 12th century, when love literature took hold in the courts of medieval France.

Reviewing classical and popular legend, she’ll make the argument that Geoffrey Chaucer may deserve the credit for the association of Saint Valentine’s Day with romantic love rather than simply as a day of remembrance of a Christian martyr. Chaucer’s dream-vision poem “Parliament of Fowls,” written in about 1380, gives an account of birds picking their mates for the year on St. Valentine’s Day. It marks the first mention of St. Valentine’s Day in English writing, and it may be what’s most responsible for the idea that that St. Valentine had anything to do with love.

Professor Scala will leave you with a sense of why knowing Chaucer is every bit as important for literature lovers as knowing Shakespeare. Her talk promises to leave you looking forward to future Profs and Pints events. (Doors: $17, or $15 with student ID. Door open at 5 pm and the talk begins at 6:30.)

Image: From a work from the early 1300s by the German painter known as Master of the Codex Manesse.