Solomon as Lancelot: Song of Solomon viewed through the lens of chivalry/courtly love.

I stumbled upon a tragically funny post that contorts Song of Solomon into the form of the religion created to mock Christianity, courtly love (what we call chivalry).  The post is titled The Song of Solomon: the Psalm of Married Love: Part V: the Husband as Lover and the Wife as Responder.  In the post, the author describes King Solomon following the script of the courtly lover, with the minor modification (as is now customary) of bringing it into marriage.  Solomon sees the woman and is overcome by her beauty.   This compels him to woo her.

In verses 9-11 Solomon goes on to declare his romantic infatuation with his bride. Much has been written about the pitfalls of infatuation by evangelical writers, but one thing is clear here: its existence within the bonds of marriage is in line with God’s purpose.

Verses 12-15 are Solomon’s comparison of his bride with a garden and a flowing fountain. Verse 12 is noteworthy for its declaration of her exclusivity for him. (Although Solomon has already professed his utter infatuation with her, it is unfortunate that he could not have likewise professed his exclusivity for her.)

Excursus: The Christian man as a loving husband: God’s provision of an example

One of the problems of men becoming loving husbands is often their lack of an example to follow. One of the most influential images of a man upon a man’s understanding of his own identity over the past generation has been that of man as provider. Thus, many men have considered their duties fulfilled as husband and father with the provision of a steady paycheck. Another image prevalent is that of man as hero (either in war or in sports). Biblically, the image of manhood is man as a son of God by faith in Jesus Christ. This adds another dimension onto that ruling metaphor for the Biblical definition of a man’s identity, to man as loving husband. The married man who follows Jesus Christ is not fulfilling God’s purpose for his marriage or his manhood unless he begins to allow himself to be molded into the kind of loving husband that he can be by the grace of God. Here God gives an example of marital wooing of a woman as a part of that image.

This is just a taste.  See the full post at the link above for many more examples.

See Also:

• *Real men* confess their love to the gas station attendant.
• Call me unchivalrous.
• Women as responders