Romance Throughout The Years
We all dream about finding that perfect someone, but we usually don’t dream about the hoops we have to jump through to get to them! Modern dating, learning to get into a social situation with the man or woman of your choice, can be quite difficult, and no matter what you hear, no one is a natural. However, it might make you feel better to think about how rough people in the past had it. If you think getting up the guts to talk to Mr or Ms Right was bad, see what people used to have to do!
Around 1000 AD, Japan was in the middle of the Heian era, a time of political stability and great artistic leisure. The Heian was also known for its elegant language and poetry, and your skill with poetry could be what helped you get the girl or boy that you were in love with. However, poets during the Heian didn’t have it easy. Sometimes they would be called on to compose or recite poetry on the spot, and have everyone listen, and heaven forbid if you had bad meter, clumsy metaphors or or wrote it on the wrong paper!
While the lovers in Japan had it pretty rough, keep in mind that Europeans didn’t have it much easier. During the 1200s, the Age of the Troubadors, romantic love was the ideal, so much so that it was thought that “real” love could not exist between a husband and wife. Instead, there was a lot of song and story about men and women who might barely see each other a handful of times during their lives, and who would pine for each other artistically while never touching.
So it seems that poetry was a pretty important romantic currency, but what about dance? Today, you can go to any club and strut your stuff, but what if you had to ask about someone’s banking portfolio while you did it? During the Renaissance in Europe, matches between boys and girls were seen more as business mergers than as love matches, but how could you find out which girl had the best assets when it came to land and connections? The answer came in the form of couples dances, where a man and a woman would move sedately up the hall, and some quiet conversation could be had about what they each had to offer. Try to think about learning all about someone while making sure that you were moving on the right foot.
By the twentieth century, the automobile changed everything. A man and woman in a car could leave the chaperons far behind them and win themselves a little bit of privacy, while going steady was considered the first step to getting married. Don’t forget the free love of the sixties and seventies that outraged the older generation, and look back over the last few years, where group dating has made people wonder whether they were dating at all!
Dating, no matter when you do it, isn’t easy, so sit back, get to know your date, and be aware that no one’s had it easy.
History Of Dating where you can view funny “Dating Game” videos from the past of Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Ritter, and more…