Courtly Culture and Political Life in Early Medieval India [Hardcover]

Daud Ali's book explores courtly culture in classical India.This book represents the first full-length study of courtly culture in classical India. It explores the growth of royal households and the crystallisation of a courtly worldview in the Gupta period and its aftermath (c. 350 750) which would remain stable until 1200. Using both literary sources and inscriptions from this wider period, the book sets out the organisation, personnel and protocol of the royal household as the background for a sustained examination of courtly ethics, notions of beauty, and theories of erotic love.This book represents the first full-length study of courtly culture in classical India. It explores the growth of royal households and the crystallisation of a courtly worldview in the Gupta period and its aftermath (c. 350 750) which would remain stable until 1200. Using both literary sources and inscriptions from this wider period, the book sets out the organisation, personnel and protocol of the royal household as the background for a sustained examination of courtly ethics, notions of beauty, and theories of erotic love.Representing the first full-length study of courtly culture in classical India, this book explores the growth of royal households and the development of a courtly worldview in the Gupta period (c. 350-750) and its aftermath. Using both literary sources and inscriptions up to 1200, the book establishes the organization, personnel and protocol of the royal household as the background for a sustained examination of courtly ethics, notions of beauty, and theories of erotic love.Introduction; Part I. The Rise and Structure of Courtly Life in Early Medieval India: 1. The people of the court; 2. The culture of the court; 3. The protocol of the court; Part II. Aesthetics and the Courtly Sensibility: 4. Beauty and refinement; 5. The education of disposition; Part III. Anxiety and Romance: 6. Courtship and the royal household; 7. The battle of love; Postscript. ...this book is l3a