This paper argues that the humanities are ideally situated to respond to fundamental human concerns when approached with an open mind, acknowledging the enduring relevance of older sources alongside contemporary ones. While this may seem like “bringing owls to Athens,” it is of imminent importance today to revisit this issue, especially given the precarious status of pre-modern literature. To illustrate this phenomenon, this paper turns to one of the most influential courtly romances, Gottfried von Strassburg’s Tristan and Isolde (ca. 1210), where the love experience is intensive but greatly painful. The poet ultimately presents a utopia where the two lovers find refuge from societal constraints but ultimately choose to return to courtly society, in other words, other people or human society, hence, honor. The argument advanced here is that the discourse of love, as complex as it has always proven to be, requires us to consider the widest range of literary contributions that illustrate its diverse approaches, options, opportunities, contradictions, and dialectics. Insofar as love can be identified as one of the most important though highly conflictual human emotions, the study of relevant texts (or images, music, and others) constitutes a critical component of education; this is exemplified in Dante Alighieri’s Divina Commedia (ca. 1320), although it is predicated on a different concept. However, even there, the pilgrim Dante experiences his epiphany at the end because his beloved, Beatrice, conducts him toward the highest goal in Paradiso.