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Although lyric poetry has a long and close association with love, and European lyric poetry in the vernacular arose with the courtly love tradition, it is not exclusively love poetry. Many of the courtly love poets (whether troubadours, [[trouvères]], or [[Minnesänger]]) also wrote lyric poems about war and peace, nature and nostalgia, grief and loss. Notable among these are [[Christine de Pisan]] and [[Charles, Duke of Orléans]], two of the great French lyric poets of the fifteenth century.
Spiritual themes are also prominent in lyric poetry. Some of the best medieval poets wrote exclusively religious poetry. Prominent among these are such poets as [[St. John of the Cross]] and [[Teresa of Avila]]. Note that it is sometimes hard to distinguish love poetry and religious poetry, since God and especially the Virgin Mary are often addressed in much the same terms as an earthly lover, and particularly like the noble lady in the courtly love tradition. Such poets as [[John Donne]], [[Gerard Manley Hopkins]], and [[T. S. Eliot]] provide examples of fine literary poetry based on spiritual or [[numinous]] experience.
Nature is also a common theme of lyrical poetry, often being portrayed as a reflection of (or contrast to) the poet's state of mind.
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