The Myth of Romantic Love: Denis de Rougemont’s Love in the Western World

a lecturey by Mark Shiffman (Villanova University) given on November 13, 2014 at the University of Chicago. The celebration of passionate romantic love in the modern West has its cultural roots in the courtly poetry of medieval Provence. In Love in the Western World, Denis de Rougemont argues that this poetic tradition tacitly communicates the religious vision of the Cathars, a Gnostic dualist sect that disdained marriage and the body. His thesis unfolds into a provocative exploration of the sometimes hidden relationships of religion and culture, eros, God, nihilism and the question of a good life. This lecture celebrates the 75th anniversary of the original publication of L’Amour et l’Occident. Subscribe! Visit us at