Medieval Wedding Nights

At the risk of sounding a bit risque, I've been struck by the beauty and discretion of a number of medieval romances and their accounts of a knight's first night with his lady. Erec and Enide itself has what I think is the most beautiful:

When they were left alone in the room, they paid homage to each member. The eyes, which channel love and send the message to the heart, renewed themselves with looking, for whatever they saw greatly pleased them. After the message from the eyes came the sweetness, worth far more, of the kisses that bring on love; they both sampled that sweetness and refreshed their hearts within, so that with great difficulty they drew apart. Kissing was their first game. The love between the two of them made the maiden more bold: she was not afraid of anything; she endured all, whatever the cost. Before she arose again, she had lost the name of maiden; in the morning she was a new lady.

The sweetest part of the Erec and Enide account is the emphasis on waiting and anticipation. The deferment has made the reward far greater.

I'll keep my eye out for similiarly nice passages. Many of them, obviously, are about illicit liasons with lovers--not quite what I'm going for in a blog about marriage.

I quote Erec and Enide from Arthurian Romances by Chrétien de Troyes, translated by Carleton W. Carroll.