4. Layla and Majnun
A famous medieval poet of Iran, Nizami of Ganje is acknowledged mainly for his quixotic poem Layla and Majnun. He got the inspiration for this poem from an Arab myth, Layla and Majnun. It's a catastrophic tale about unachievable love. It had been told and retold for centuries, and portrayed in manuscripts and other media for example, ceramics for virtually as long as the poem has been written. Layla and Qays fall in love while studying at school. Their love is noticed and they are soon prohibited from meeting one another. In desolation, Qays exiles himself to the desert to live among and be comforted by animals. He abandons to eat and becomes thin. Owing to his odd behavior, he becomes recognized as Majnun (madman). There he takes the help of an old Bedouin who assures to win him Layla's hand through rivalry and fighting. Layla's tribe is overpowered, but her father continues to say no to her wedding with Majnun because of his crazy behavior, and she is wed to another. When Layla's husband dies, the old Bedouin arranges a meeting between Layla and Majnun, but they are never fully acquiescent in life. After their death, they are buried alongside. This tale is among those love stories is often construed as a metaphor of the soul's thirst to be unified with the divine.
5. Lancelot and Guinevere
The heartrending love story of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere is perhaps one of the best-known stories of Arthurian myths. Lancelot fell in love with Queen Guinevere, King Arthur's spouse. Their love developed gradually, as Guinevere kept her lover away from her. In due course however, her affection and fervor overwhelmed her and the couple became lovers. One night, Sir Agravain and Sir Modred, King Arthur's nephew, escorted a group of 12 knights to Guinevere's assembly room, where they attacked the lovers. Discovered, Sir Lancelot made a combating run off, but Guinevere was not so fortunate. She was detained and destined to burn to death for her disloyalty. Fear not. Sir Lancelot returned some days later to liberate his beloved Guinevere from the fire. This whole miserable affair separated the Knights of the Round Table and destabilized Arthur's kingdom. Poor Lancelot ended his days as a humble recluse and Guinevere became a preacher at Amesbury where she died.
6. Paris and Helena
Narrated in Homer's Iliad, the most famous love story in history of Helen of Troy and the Trojan War is a Greek heroic myth, merging fact and fiction. Helen of Troy is thought as one the most gorgeous lady in all literature. She was wed with Menelaus, king of Sparta. Paris, child of King Priam of Troy, fell in love with Helen and kidnapped her, taking her back to Troy. The Greeks brought together a huge army, guided by Menelaus's brother, Agamemnon, to get back Helen. Troy was ruined. Helen returned undamaged to Sparta, where she lived joyfully with Menelaus for the rest of her life.
7. Paolo and Francesca
Paolo and Francesca are made legendary characters by the Dante's masterwork "Divine Comedy". It is a true narrative: Francesca is wed with Gianciotto Malatesta an appalling person, but she has Gianciotto's brother, Paolo, as an aficionado. Love between them develops when they read collectively a book (as stated by Dante) about Lancelot and Guinevere. When the two lovers are found out they are killed by Gianciotto.
8. Eloise and Abelard
This love story is also very famous and is among the top ten famous love stories. It is the tale of a priest and a nun whose love letters are popular worldwide. Around 1100, Peter Abelard went to Paris to study at the school of Notre Dame. He got the status of an exceptional philosopher. Fulbert, the canon of Notre Dame, employed Abelard to teach his niece, Heloise. Abelard and the intellectual personality Heloise fell profoundly in love, conceived a baby, and were clandestinely married. But Fulbert was angry, so Abelard sent Heloise for protection in a convent. Thinking that he was determined to dump Heloise, Fulbert had his servants castrate Abelard while he was sleeping. Abelard became a priest and devoted his life to knowledge and wisdom. The inconsolable Heloise became a preacher also. In spite of their separations and troubles, Abelard and Heloise remained in love. Their emotional love letters later came in print.
9. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
This love story is about English monarchs who grieved for her husband's death for 40 years. Victoria was a sparkling, smiling girl, who was fond of sketching and painting. She came up the throne of England in the year 1837 after the death of her uncle, King William IV. 3 years later, she wed with her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. While initially Prince Albert was ostracized somehow owing to his German nationality, he came to be appreciated for his sincerity, assiduousness, and his loyalty to his family. The couple had nine kids. Victoria loved her husband profoundly. She relied on his recommendation in state affairs, particularly in diplomacy. When Albert died in 1861, Victoria was distressed. She did not come out in public for three years. Her extensive seclusion created significant public criticism. A number of attempts were made on Victoria's life. On the other hand, under the authority of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, Victoria continued her public life, opening Parliament in 1866. But Victoria never stopped grieving her much-loved prince, sporting black until her death in 1901. During her sovereignty, the greatest in English history, Britain became a super power on which "the sun never set."
10. Salim and Anarkali
The love story of Salim and Anarkali is an account that every lover is familiar with. The son of the great Mughal monarch Akbar, Salim, fell in love with an ordinary but gorgeous courtesan Anarkali. He was fascinated by her loveliness and fell in love as soon as he met her. But the emperor could not assimilate the fact that his son is going to marry an ordinary courtesan. He started forcing Anarkali and worked out all types of schemes o make her fall in the eyes of the prince. When Salim was informed of his father's tactics against Anarkali, he declared a combat against his own father. But the grand emperor's huge army is too much for the young prince to overcome. He gets beaten and is sentenced to death. This is when Anarkali arbitrates and relinquishes her love to save her darling from death. She is entombed alive in a brick wall right in front of her lover's eyes.
Hope you've gained some insight into what true love actually means after reading all the top ten famous love stories in history.