The god of Love’s advice to the lover presents the kind of “do and don’t” discourse now commonly associated with fashion publishing. A careful distinction is made between true cointerie and behavior that exceeded the bounds of presumption, outrecuidance. Following the logic of theatricality, in a fashion system one may make a personal statement but should not violate the basic silhouette; one must not exaggerate excessively, as that would bring negative attention. These are precisely the rules of cointerie established by the god of Love. Guillaume de Lorris draws a fine line between the orguilleus, the man showing narcissistic, prideful, foolish, and sinful behavior, and the appropriate level of attention to one’s person. In so doing, he anticipates and attempts to thwart any criticism of his statement. Such criticisms of attention to worldly appearance were abundant in this period, especially coming from the church.224 225 The poet’s careful definition of the quality of cointerie as antithetical to pride and exaggeration suggests that he expected the word to be charged with controversy and to face criticism, an important symptom of fashion’s presence in a culture.
When the god of Love makes the lover his vassal with the ceremonial hand clasp and kiss, the lover begins to gain confidence because he feels cointe: “Atant devins ses hom mains jointes,/ et sachiez que mout me fis cointes...” (Then 1 became his man with hands joined, and know that 1 felt very cointe..., lines 1953-5). Here is testimony to fashion’s effect on the personal psyche, described in criterion 4. He is now a member of an elite social group, and will be able to act confidently because he has acquired the knowledge of the mandated conduct for gaining superior social approval (the codes for appropriate social imitation discussed in criterion 3). Cointerie operates at the nexus of superior knowledge and style of display. Guillaume de Lorris emphasizes that it should build self-esteem, but not inflated ego or anything similarly false.
World History
