A troubadour (Perdigon) playing his fiddle. Perdigon or Perdigo (fl 1190&ndash1212 was a Troubadour from Lespéron in the Gabales, Diocese of Gévaudan, modern Lozère.

A troubadour (IPA: [tɾuβaˈðuɾ], originally [tɾuβaˈðoɾ]) was a composer and performer of Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA is a system of phonetic notation based on the Latin alphabet, devised by the International Phonetic Occitan ( IPA BrE: /ˈɒksɪtn/ AmE: /ˈɑksəˌtɑn/ known also as Lenga d'òc or Langue d'oc (native name occitan Lyric poetry refers to a usually short poem that expresses personal feelings which may or may not be set to music The High Middle Ages was the period of European history in the 11th 12th and 13th centuries (AD 1000&ndash1299 The troubadour school or tradition began in the eleventh century in Occitania, but it subsequently spread into Italy, Spain, and even Greece. Occitania ( Occitan: Occitània) refers to the lands where Occitan is the traditional language in use though more recently viewed as a minority language Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Under the influence of the troubadours, related movements sprang up throughout Europe: the Minnesang in Germany, trovadorismo in Galicia and Portugal, and that of the trouvères in northern France. Minnesang was the tradition of lyric and Song writing in Germany which flourished in the 12th century and continued into the 14th century Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. In the High Middle Ages, a lyric poetic phenomenon arose called trovadorismo in Portugal and trobadorismo in Galicia Galicia (occasionally Galiza) is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Trouvère ( MWCD: /trü'ver trü'vər/ sometimes spelled trouveur, is the Northern French ( Langue d'oïl) form of the word Troubadour This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Dante Alighieri in his De vulgari eloquentia defined the troubadour lyric as fictio rethorica musicaque poita: rhetorical, musical, and poetical fiction. De vulgari eloquentia ( On Eloquence in the vernacular) is the title of an essay by Dante Alighieri, written in Latin and initially meant to consist After a "classical" period around the turn of the thirteenth century and a mid-century resurgence, the art of the troubadours declined in the fourteenth century and eventually died out around the time of the Black Death (1348). The Black Death, or the Black Plague, was one of the deadliest Pandemics in human history widely thought to have been caused by a bacterium named Yersinia

The texts of troubadour songs deal mainly with themes of chivalry and courtly love. Chivalric order Chivalry is a term related to the Medieval institution of Knighthood. Courtly love was a Medieval European conception of ennobling love which found its genesis in the ducal and princely courts of Aquitaine, Provence Most were metaphysical, intellectual, and formulaic. Many were humorous or vulgar satires. Works can be grouped into three styles: the trobar leu (light), trobar ric (rich), and trobar clus (closed). The trobar leu, or light style of Poetry, was the most popular style used by the Troubadours Its accessibility gave it a wide audience though modern readers may find The trobar ric, or rich form of poetry was a Trobadour style It was distinguished by its verbal gymnastics its best exponent was Arnaut Daniel. Trobar clus, or closed form was the style of poetry used by Troubadours for their more discerning audiences and it was only truly appreciated by an elite few Likewise there were many genres, the most popular being the canso, but sirventes and tensos were especially popular in the post-classical period, in Italy, and among the female troubadours, the trobairitz. A genre (ˈʒɑːnrə also /ˈdʒɑːnrə/ from French "kind" or "sort" from Latin: genus (stem gener-) is a loose set The canso or canço is a Song style used by the Troubadours It consists of three parts The sirventes or serventes ( Mistralian norm sirventès) is a Genre of Occitan Lyric poetry used by The trobairitz (tɾuβajˈɾits were Occitan female Troubadours of the 12th and 13th centuries

Etymology of name

The word "troubadour" and its cognates in other languages—trov(i)èro and then trovatore in Italian, trovador in Spanish, trobador in Catalan—are of disputed origin. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Catalan ˈkætəˌlæn ( català kətəˈla or) is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official

Latin

The English word "troubadour" comes by way of Old French from the Occitan word trobador, the oblique case of the nominative trobaire, a substantive of the verb trobar, which is derived from the hypothetical Late Latin *tropāre, in turn from tropus, meaning a trope, from Greek τρόπος (tropos), meaning "turn, manner". Old French was the Romance Dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium An oblique case (casus generalis in Linguistics is a Noun case of Synthetic languages that is used generally when a Noun is the object The nominative case is a Grammatical case for a Noun, which generally marks the subject of a Verb, as opposed to its object or other Vulgar Latin (in Latin sermo vulgaris, "folk speech" is a Blanket term covering the popular Dialects and Sociolects of the Latin In Music a trope is In Medieval music From the Greek τρόπος ( tropos) "turn" related to the root of Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly ^[1] Another possible Latin root is turbare, to upset or (over)turn. Trobar is cognative with the modern French word trouver, meaning "to find". French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Whereas French trouver became trouvère, the nominative form, instead of the oblique trouveor or trouveur, the French language adopted the Occitan oblique case and from there it entered English. Trouvère ( MWCD: /trü'ver trü'vər/ sometimes spelled trouveur, is the Northern French ( Langue d'oïl) form of the word Troubadour ^[1] The general sense of "trobar" in Occitan is "invent" or "compose" and this is how it is commonly translated. A troubadour thus composed his own work, whereas a joglar performed only that of others. minstrel was a medieval European Bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories about distant places or about real or imaginary historical events This etymology is supported by the French dictionaries Académie Française, Larousse, and Petit Robert. Etymology is the study of the History of Words &mdash when they entered a language from what source and how their form and meaning have changed over time L'Académie française, or the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Grand Larousse encyclopédique en dix volumes ("Great Larousse encyclopedia in ten volumes" is a French encyclopedic dictionary published by Larousse Le Petit Robert is a popular single-volume French Dictionary first published by Paul Robert in 1967, an abridgement of his 8-volume

Not surprisingly, the Greek → Latin → Occitan → French → English hypothesis has been widely supported by those who find the origins of troubadour poetry in classical Latin forms or in medieval Latin liturgies, such as Peter Dronke and Reto Bezzola.

Arabic

There is a second, less traditional and less popular, theory as to the etymology of the word trobar. It has the support of some, such as María Rosa Menocal, in the camp which seeks the troubadours' origins in Arabic Andalusian musical practices. María Rosa Menocal is a scholar of Medieval culture and history According to them, the Arabic word tarrab, "to sing", is the root of trobar. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language

Some proponents of this theory argue, on cultural grounds, that both etymologies may well be correct, and that there may have been a conscious poetic exploitation of the phonological coincidence between trobar and the triliteral Arabic root TRB when sacred Sufi Islamic musical forms with a love theme were first exported from Al-Andalus to southern France. Phonology ( Greek φωνή (phōnē voice sound + λόγος (lógos word speech subject of discussion is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف Al-Andalus (الأندلس was the Arabic name given to those parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims or It has also been pointed out that the concepts of "finding", "music", "love", and "ardour"—the precise semantic field attached to the word troubadour—are allied in Arabic under a single root (WJD) that plays a major role in Sufic discussions of music, and that the word troubadour may in part reflect this. ^[2]

Ezra Pound, who worked on troubadour translations in English and incorporated references to their work in his own, was a proponent of the Hispano-Arabic theory

Origins

The early study of the troubadours focussed intensely on their origins. No academic consensus was ever achieved in the area. Today, one can distinguish at least eleven competing theories (the adjectives used below are a blend from the Grove Dictionary of Music and Roger Boase's The Origins and Meaning of Courtly Love):

1. Arabic (also Arabist or Hispano-Arabic)
   Ezra Pound, in his Canto VIII, famously declared that William of Aquitaine "had brought the song up out of Spain / with the singers and veils. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an Encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians Ezra Weston Loomis Pound ( Hailey, Idaho Territory, United States October 30 1885 – Venice, Italy November 1 1972 was an American Expatriate . . " referring to the troubadour song. The hypothesis that the troubadour tradition was created, more or less, by William after his experience of Moorish arts while fighting with the Reconquista in Spain was championed by Ramón Menéndez Pidal in the early twentieth-century, but its origins go back to the Cinquecento and Giammaria Barbieri (died 1575) and Juan Andrés (died 1822). The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of Muslim (and earlier non-Muslim people of Berber and Arab descent The Reconquista (a Spanish and Portuguese word for "Reconquest" Arabic: الاسترداد, "Recapturing" was a period Ramón Menéndez Pidal ( March 13, 1869 - November 14, 1968) was a Spanish Philologist and historian Cinquecento ( Italian for five hundred; short for "millecinquecento" 1500 is a term used to describe the Italian Renaissance of the Juan Andrés was a Littérateur and historian (b Planes Valencia, Spain - 1740 d Meg Bogin, English translator of the trobairitz, held this hypothesis. Certainly "a body of song of comparable intensity, profanity and eroticism [existed] in Arabic from the second half of the 9th century onwards. "^[3]
2. Bernardine-Marianist or Christian
   According to this theory, it was the theology espoused by Bernard of Clairvaux and the increasingly important Mariology that most strongly influenced the development of the troubadour genre. Bernard of Clairvaux, OCist ( 1090 - August 20, 1153) was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian monastic order Mariology is the theological study of Mary which methodically presents teachings about her to other parts of the faith such as teachings about Jesus Christ, redemption Specifically, the emphasis on religious and spiritual love, disinterestedness, mysticism, and devotion to Mary would explain "courtly love". The emphasis of the reforming Robert of Arbrissel on "matronage" to achieve his ends can explain the troubadour attitude towards women. Robert of Arbrissel (c 1045 - 1116) was an itinerant preacher and founder of the abbey of Fontevrault. ^[4] Chronologically, however, this hypothesis is hard to sustain (the forces believed to have given rise to the phenomenon arrived later than it). But the influence of Bernardine and Marian theology can be retained without the origins theory. This theory was advanced early by Eduard Wechssler and further by Dmitri Scheludko (who emphasises the Cluniac Reform) and Guido Errante. The Cluniac (Clunian Reform was a series of changes within medieval monasticism, focused on restoring the traditional Monastic life encouraging art and caring for Mario Casella and Leo Spitzer have added "Augustinian" influence to it.
3. Celtic or Chivalric-Matriarchal
   The survival of pre-Christian sexual mores and warrior codes from matriarchal societes, be they Celtic, Germanic, or Pictish, among the aristocracy of Europe can account for the idea (fusion) of "courtly love". Matriarchy is a term which is applied to gynocentric form of Society, in which the leading role is by the Female and especially by the Mothers Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic Pictish is a term used for the Extinct language or languages thought to have been spoken by the Picts, the people of northern and central Scotland The existence of pre-Christian matriarchy has usually been treated with scepticism as has the persistence of underlying paganism in high medieval Europe.
4. Classical Latin
   The classical Latin theory emphasises parallels between Ovid, especially his Amores and Ars amatoria, and the lyric of courtly love. Publius Ovidius Naso ( March 20, 43 BC – 17 AD was a Roman poet known to the English -speaking world as Ovid who wrote on many topics including The aetas ovidiana that predominated in the eleventh century in and around Orléans, the quasi-Ciceronian ideology that held sway in the Imperial court, and the scraps of Plato then available to scholars have all been cited as classical influences on troubadour poetry. This article is about the French city of Orléans for other meanings see Orleans (disambiguation. Marcus Tullius Cicero ( Classical Latin ˈkikeroː usually ˈsɪsərəʊ in English January 3, 106 BC &ndash December 7, 43 BC was a Roman The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece ^[5]
5. (Crypto-)Cathar
   According to this thesis, troubadour poetry is a reflection of Cathar religious doctrine. While the theory is supported by the traditional and near-universal account of the decline of the troubadours coinciding with the suppression of Catharism during the Albigensian Crusade (first half of the thirteenth century), support for it has come in waves. The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade (1209&ndash1229 was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Roman Catholic Church to eliminate the Cathar The explicitly Catholic meaning of many early troubadour works also works against the theory.
6. Liturgical
   The troubadour lyric may be a development of the Christian liturgy and hymnody. A liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group according to their particular traditions A hymn is a type of Song, usually religious specifically written for the purpose of praise adoration or Prayer, and typically addressed to a deity/deities The influence of the Song of Songs has even been suggested. There is no preceding Latin poetry resembling that of the troubadours. Latin poetry was a major part of Latin literature during the height of the Latin language. On those grounds, no theory of the latter's origins in classical or post-classical Latin can be constructed, but that has not deterred some, who believe that a pre-existing Latin corpus must merely be lost to us. ^[6] That many troubadours received their grammatical training in Latin through the Church (from clerici, clerics) and that many were trained musically by the Church is well-attested. The musical school of Saint Martial's at Limoges has been singled out in this regard. St Martial's Abbey was an abbey in Limoges, France, founded in 848 and dissolved in 1791. Limoges ( Lemòtges / Limòtges in the Limousin dialect of Occitan language) is a city and commune in France, the préfecture ^[7] "Para-liturgical" tropes were in use there in the era preceding the troubadours' appearance.
7. Feudal-social or -sociological
   This theory or set of related theories has gained ground in the twentieth century. It is more a methodological approach to the question than a theory; it asks not from where the content or form of the lyric came but rather in what situation/circumstances did it arise. ^[8] It includes the prevailing Marxist theory. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Under Marxist influence, Erich Köhler, Marc Bloch, and Georges Duby have suggested that the "essential hegemony" in the castle of the lord's wife during his absence was a driving force. Marc Léopold Benjamin Bloch ( July 6, 1886 – June 16, 1944) was a French Historian of medieval France in the Georges Duby ( October 7, 1919 - December 3, 1996) was a French historian specializing in the social The use of feudal terminology in troubadour poems is seen as evidence. Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval Europe Political system composed This theory has been developed away from sociological towards psychological explanation. Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and
8. Folklore or Spring Folk Ritual
   According to María Rosa Menocal, Alfred Jeanroy first suggested that folklore and oral tradition gave rise to troubadour poetry in 1883. María Rosa Menocal is a scholar of Medieval culture and history Alfred Jeanroy (1859-1954 was a French linguist Jeanroy was born at Mangiennes, Meuse, Lorraine. History The concept of folklore developed as part of the 19th century ideology of Romantic nationalism, leading to the reshaping of oral traditions to serve modern ideological Oral tradition, oral culture and oral lore is a way for a society to transmit history, literature, law and other Knowledges According to F. M. Warren, it was Gaston Paris, Jeanroy's reviewer, in 1891 who first located troubadour origins in the festive dances of women hearkening the spring in the Loire Valley. Bruno Paulin Gaston Paris ( August 9, 1839 – March 5, 1903) known as Gaston Paris was a French writer and scholar Loire Valley (Vallée de la Loire is known as the Garden of France and the Cradle of the French Language. This theory has since been widely discredited, but the discovery of the jarchas raises the question of the extent of literature (oral or written) in the eleventh century and earlier. ^[8]
9. Medieval Latin or Mediolatin (Goliardic)
   Hans Spanke analysed the intertextual connexion between vernacular and medieval Latin (such as Goliardic) songs. Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the Liturgical language of the medieval The Goliards were a group of Clergy who wrote bibulous satirical Latin Poetry in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. This theory is supported by Reto Bezzola, Peter Dronke, and musicologist J. Chailley. According to them, trobar means "inventing a trope", the trope being a poem where the words are used with a meaning different from their common signification, i. e. metaphor and metonymy. Metaphor (from the Greek: μεταφορά - metaphora, meaning "transfer" is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects In Rhetoric, metonymy (mɨˈtɒnɨmi is the use of a word for a concept or object associated with the concept/object originally denoted by the word This poem was originally inserted in a serial of modulations ending a liturgic song. Then the trope became an autonomous piece organized in stanza form. ^[9] The influence of late eleventh-century poets of the "Loire school", such as Marbod of Rennes and Hildebert of Lavardin, is stressed in this connexion by Brinkmann. Hildebert of Lavardin or Hildebert of Tours (c 1055&ndash December 18, 1133) was a French writer and ecclesiastic ^[10]
10. Neoplatonic
    This theory is one of the more intellectualising. The "ennobling effects of love" in specific have been identified as Neoplatonic. Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical Philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD founded by ^[11] It is viewed either as a strenth or weakness that this theory requires a second theory about how the Neoplatonism was transmitted to the troubadours; perhaps it can be coupled with one of the other origins stories or perhaps it is just peripheral. Käte Axhausen has "exploited" this theory and A. J. Denomy has linked it with the Arabist (through Avicenna) and the Cathar (through John Scotus Eriugena). TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> ( Persian /ابو علی الحسین ابن عبدالله ابن سینا (born ^[12]

History

William IX of Aquitaine portrayed as a knight, who first composed poetry on returning from the Crusade of 1101

Early period

The earliest troubadour whose work survives is Guilhem de Peitieus (1071–1127). Peter Dronke, author of The Medieval Lyric, however, believes that "[his] songs represent not the beginnings of a tradition but summits of achievement in that tradition. "^[13] His name has been preserved because he was the Duke of Aquitaine, but his work plays with already established structures; Eble II of Ventadorn is often credited as a predecessor, though none of his work survives. The Duke of Aquitaine ( French: Duc d'Aquitaine) ruled the historical region of Aquitaine under the supremacy of the Frankish and later the Eble II of Ventadorn was viscount of Ventadour ( Corrèze, France Orderic Vitalis referred to Guilhem composing songs about his experiences on his return from the Crusade of 1101 (c. Orderic Vitalis (1075&ndashc 1142 was an English chronicler who wrote one of the great contemporary Chronicles of 11th and 12th century Normandy and The Crusade of 1101 was a minor Crusade of three separate movements organized in 1100 and 1101 in the successful aftermath of the First Crusade 1102). This may be the earliest reference to troubadour lyrics.

Orderic also provides us what may be the first description of a troubadour performance: an eyewitness account of William of Aquitaine in 1135.

Picauensis uero dux . . . miserias captiuitatis suae . . . coram regibus et magnatis atque Christianis coetibus multotiens retulit rythmicis uersibus cum facetis modulationibus. (X. 21)

Then the Poitevin duke . . . the miseries of his captivity . . . before kings, magnates, and Christian assemblies many times related with rhythmic verses and witty measures. ^[14]

Spread (rayonnement)

The first half of the twelfth century saw relatively few recorded troubadours. Only in the last decades of the century did troubadour activity explode. Almost half of all troubadour works survive from the period 1180–1220. ^[15]

The troubadour tradition seems to have begun in western Aquitaine (Poitou and Saintonge) and Gascony, from there spreading over into eastern Aquitaine (Limousin and Auvergne) and Provence. Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Saintonge is a small region on the Atlantic coast of France within the département Charente-Maritime, west and south of Charente Gascony (Gascogne gaskɔɲ Gascon Occitan: Gasconha, pronounced) is an area of southwest France that constituted a province of France Limousin ( Occitan: Lemosin) is a former Province of France around the city of Limoges in central France. Auvergne ( Occitan: Auvèrnhe/Auvèrnha) was the name of an historically independent county in the center of France, as well as later a Province of Provence ( Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm is a region of southeastern France At its height it had become popular in Languedoc and the regions of Rouergue, Toulouse, and Quercy (c. Languedoc ( in French Lengadòc in Occitan) is a former Province of France, now continued in the modern-day ''régions'' of Languedoc-Roussillon Rouergue ( Occitan: Roergue) is a former province of France, bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest Quercy (pronounced /kɛʀsi/ in French;) ( Occitan: Carcin, pronounced, locally) is a former Province of France located in the southwest 1200). Finally, in the early thirteenth century it began to spread into first Italy and then Catalonia, whence to the rest of Spain. Catalonia (Cataluña Catalunya Aranese: Catalonha) is an Autonomous Community in the northeast part of Spain. This development has been called the rayonnement des troubadours. ^[16]

Classical period

The classical period of troubadour activity lasted from about 1170 until about 1220. The most famous names among the ranks of troubadours belong to this period. During this period the lyric art of the troubadours reached the height of its popularity and the number of surviving poems is greatest from this period. During this period the canso, or love song, became distinguishable as a genre. The canso or canço is a Song style used by the Troubadours It consists of three parts The master of the canso and the troubadour who epitomises the classical period is Bernart de Ventadorn. Bernart de Ventadorn (1130-1140 &ndash 1190-1200 also known as Bernard de Ventadour or Bernat del Ventadorn, was a prominent Troubador of the classical He was highly regarded by his contemporaries, as were Giraut de Bornelh, reputed by his biographer to be the greatest composer of melodies to ever live, and Bertran de Born, the master of the sirventes, or political song, which became increasingly popular in this period. Giraut de Bornelh (c 1138 &ndash 1215 whose first name is also spelled Guiraut and whose nickname Borneil ( l) or Borneyll, was a Troubadour Bertran de Born (1140s &ndash by 1215 was a Baron from the Limousin in France, and one of the major Occitan Troubadours of the twelfth The sirventes or serventes ( Mistralian norm sirventès) is a Genre of Occitan Lyric poetry used by

The classical period came to be seen by later generations, especially in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and outside of Occitania, as representing the high point of lyric poetry and models to be emulated. The language of the classic poets, its grammar and vocabularly, their style and themes, were the ideal to which poets of the troubadour revival in Toulouse and their Catalan and Castilian contemporaries aspired. During the classical period the "rules" of poetic composition had first become standardised and written down, first by Raimon Vidal and then by Uc Faidit. Raimon Vidal de Bezaudu(n ( Catalan: Ramon Vidal de Besalú, French: Raymond Vidal de Besaudun; c Uc de Saint Circ ( San Sir) or Hugues (Hugh de Saint Circq (fl

Albigensian Crusade and decline

Gay Saber and revival

Who they were

See also: List of troubadours and trobairitz

The 450 or so troubadours known to us came from a variety of backgrounds. This is a geographical list of Troubadours and Trobairitz. It comprises Medieval figures who are known to have written lyric verse in the They made their living in a variety of ways, lived and travelled in many different places, and were actors in many types of social context. The troubadours were not wandering entertainers. Typically, they stayed in one place for a lengthy period of time under the patronage of a wealthy nobleman or woman. Many did travel extensively, however, sojourning at one court and then another.

Status

The earliest troubadour, the Duke of Aquitaine, came from the high nobility. He was followed immediately by two members of the knightly class, Cercamon and Marcabru, and by a member of the princely class, Jaufre Rudel. Cercamon (fl c 1135-1145 whose real name as well as any actual biographical datum is unknown was one of the earliest Troubadours He was apparently a jester of sorts born Marcabru (fl 1130-1150 is one of the earliest Troubadours whose poems are known Jaufre Rudel ( Jaufré in Modern Occitan) was the Prince of Blaye ( Princes de Blaia) and a Troubadour of the early&ndashmid 12th century At the outset, the troubadours were universally noblemen, sometimes of high rank and sometimes of low. Many troubadours are described in their vidas as poor knights. It was one of the most common descriptors of status: Berenguier de Palazol, Gausbert Amiel, Guilhem Ademar, Guiraudo lo Ros, Peire de Maensac, Peirol, Raimon de Miraval, Rigaut de Berbezilh, and Uc de Pena. "Berenguer de Palou" redirects here For the bishops of Barcelona see Berenguer de Palou I and Berenguer de Palou II. Gau ( s) bert Amiel or Gausbertz Amiels was a 13th-century Gascon Troubadour. Guilhem Ademar (also spelled Guillem, Adamar, or Azemar; fl 1190/1195&ndash1217 was a Troubadour from the Gévaudan. Guiraudo lo Ros or Guiraudet le Roux (meaning "the redhead" or "the blonde" was a Troubadour from Toulouse from a poor family of knightly Peire de Maensac was an Auvergnat Knight and Troubadour. He was from Maensac (either Mauzat or Mainsat) in the lands of Peirol or Peiròl (approximately "pay-rol" peʁɔl in French or in Occitan birth estimated around 1160/1225 death in the 1220s was an Auvergnat Raimon de Miraval(h (c 1135/1160 &ndash c 1220 was a Troubadour (fl Rigaut (also Richart or Richartz) de Berbezilh (also Berbezill or Barbesiu; Rigaud de Barbezieux Rigaudus de Berbezillo was a Uc, Uco, or Ugo de Pena or Penna was a Troubadour of the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Albertet de Sestaro is described as the son of a noble jongleur, presumably a petty noble lineage. Albertet de Sestaro, Sestairo, Sestairon, Sestarron, Sisteron, or Terascon (fl

Later troubadours especially could belong to lower classes, ranging from the middle class of merchants and "burgers" (persons of urban standing) to tradesmen and others who worked with their hands. Salh d'Escola and Elias de Barjols were described as the sons of merchants and Elias Fonsalada was the son of a burger and jongleur. Salh, Sail, or Saill d'Escola (fl 1195 was a Troubadour from Bergerac in the Périgord, a former province of France. Elias de Barjols (fl 1191&ndash1230 was a bourgeois Aquitainian Troubadour who eventually established roots in Provence as a landed nobleman Elias ( de) Fonsalada (fl late 12th/first quarter of the 13th century was a Troubadour from Bergerac in the Périgord (the Diocese Perdigon was the son of a "poor fisherman" and Elias Cairel of a blacksmith. Perdigon or Perdigo (fl 1190&ndash1212 was a Troubadour from Lespéron in the Gabales, Diocese of Gévaudan, modern Lozère. Elias Cairel (or Cayrel; fl 1204&ndash1222 was a Troubadour of international fame Arnaut de Mareuil is specified in his vida as coming from a poor family, but whether this family was poor by noble standards or more global ones is not apparent. Arnaut de Mareuil ( fl late 12th century) was a Troubadour, composing Lyric poetry in the Occitan language.

Trobadors and joglars

See also: Jongleur

The Occitan words trobador and trobaire are relatively rare compared with the verb trobar (compose, invent), which was usually applied to the writing of poetry. minstrel was a medieval European Bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories about distant places or about real or imaginary historical events It signified that a poem was original to an author (trobador) and was not merely sung or played by one. The term was used mostly for poetry only and in more careful works, like the vidas, is not generally applied to the composition of music or to singing, though the troubadour's poetry itself is not so careful. Sometime in the middle of the twelfth century, however, a distinction was definitely being made between an inventor of original verse and the performers of others'. These last were called joglars, from the Latin ioculatores, giving rise also to the French jongleur, Castilian juglar, and English juggler, which has come to refer to a more specific breed of performer. Juggling is a physical human skill involving the movement of objects usually through the air for entertainment (see Object manipulation) The medieval jongleur/joglar is really a minstrel. minstrel was a medieval European Bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories about distant places or about real or imaginary historical events

At the height of troubadour poetry (the "classical period"), troubadours are often found attacking jongleurs and at least two small genres arose around the theme: the ensenhamen joglaresc and the sirventes joglaresc. These terms are debated, however, since the adjective joglaresc would seem to imply "in the manner of the jongleurs". Inevitably, however, pieces of said genres are verbal attacks at jongleurs, in general and in specific, with named individuals being called out. It is clear, for example from the poetry of Bertran de Born, that jongleurs were performers who did not usually compose and that they often performed the troubadour's songs: singing, playing instruments, dancing, and even doing acrobatics. Bertran de Born (1140s &ndash by 1215 was a Baron from the Limousin in France, and one of the major Occitan Troubadours of the twelfth ^[17]

In the late thirteenth century Guiraut Riquier bemoaned the inexactness of his contemporaries and wrote a letter to Alfonso X of Castile, a noted patron of literature and learning of all kinds, for clarification on the proper reference of the terms trobador and joglar. Guiraut Riquier (c1230 - 1292 is among the last of the Provençal Troubadours He is well known because of his great care in writing out his works and keeping them together Alfonso X (November 23 1221 Toledo Spain &ndash April 4 1284 Seville Spain) was a Spanish monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, According to Riquier, every vocation deserved a name of its own and the sloppy usage of joglar assured that it covered a multitude of activities, some which, no doubt, Riquier did not wish to be associated. In the end Riquier argued—and Alfonso X seems to agree, though his "response" was probably penned by Riquier—that a joglar was a courtly entertainer (as opposed to popular or low-class one) and a troubadour was a poet and composer.

Vidas and razos

See also: Vida (Occitan literary form) and Razo

Late sixteenth-century Italian cursive on paper, recording a song of Perceval Doria

Podestà-troubadours

A phenomenon arose in Italy, recognised around the turn of the twentieth-century by Giulio Bertoni, of men serving in several cities as podestàs on behalf of either the Guelph or Ghibelline party and writing political verse in Occitan rhyme. Vida is the usual term for a brief prose biography written in Occitan, of a Troubadour or Trobairitz. A razó or razo was a short piece of Occitan Prose detailing the circumstances of a Troubadour composition For information on the phantom island of the same name see Podesta (island. The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting respectively the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in central and northern Italy These figures generally came from the urban middle-class. They aspired to high culture and though, unlike the nobility, they were not patrons of literature, they were its disseminators and its readers.

The first podestà-troubadour was Rambertino Buvalelli, possible the first native Italian troubadour, who was podestà of Genoa between 1218 and 1221. Rambertino di Guido Buvalelli (1170/1180 &ndash September 1221 a Bolognese judge statesman diplomat and poet was the earliest of the Podestà - Genoa ( Genova, ˈdʒɛːnova in Italian; Zena in Genoese and Ligurian; Genua in Latin and archaically in English Rambertino, a Guelph, served at one time or another as podestà of Brescia, Milan, Parma, Mantua, and Verona. Brescia ( Lombard: Brèsa) is a city in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. Parma is a City in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna near Modena famous for its Architecture and the fine countryside around it Mantua (Màntova in the local dialect of Lombard language Mantua is a city in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the Verona is a city and provincial capital in Veneto, Northern Italy. It was probably during his three-year tenure there that he introduced Occitan lyric poetry to the city, which was later to develop a fluorishing Occitan literary culture.

Among the podestà-troubadours to follow Rambertino, four were from Genoa: the Guelphs Luca Grimaldi, who also served in Florence, Milan, and Ventimiglia, and Luchetto Gattilusio, who served in Milan, Cremona, and Bologna, and the Ghibellines Perceval Doria, who served in Arles, Avignon, Asti, and Parma, and Simon Doria, sometime podestà of Savona and Albenga. Luca Grimaldi (fl 1240&ndash1275 was a Genoese Troubadour and Guelph politician and diplomat Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. Ventimiglia (Vintimille Album Intimilium Albintimilium is a frontier town commune and episcopal see of Liguria, Italy, in the Province of Imperia (formerly Luchetto Gattilusio (fl 1248 &ndash 1307 was a Genoese statesman diplomat and man of letters Cremonese redirects here For the football team see US Cremonese Cremona is a City in northern Italy, situated Bologna (boloɲa from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in Bolognese dialect is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy Perceval Doria (1195 &ndash 1264 was a Genoese naval and military leader in the thirteenth century Arles (aʁl̥ Provençal Occitan: Arles in both classical and Mistralian norms is a City in the south of France, Avignon (/aviɲɔ̃/ in French) ( Provençal: Avinhon in classical norm or Avignoun in Mistralian norm is a commune Asti is a city and Comune in the Piemonte or Piedmont region, in north-western Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro Parma is a City in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna near Modena famous for its Architecture and the fine countryside around it Simon Doria (Simone Symon fl 1250&ndash1293 was a Genoese statesman and man of letters of the important Doria family This article is about the Italian city For the small town of Savona Canada please see Savona British Columbia, or the village in the USA, see Savona Albenga is a city situated on the Gulf of Genoa on the Italian Riviera in the Province of Savona in Liguria, northern Italy. Among the non-Genoese podestà-troubadours was Alberico da Romano, a nobleman of high rank who governed Vicenza and Treviso as variously a Ghibelline and a Guelph. Alberico da Romano (1196 &ndash 26 August 1260) called Alberico II, was an Italian Condottiero, Troubadour, and an alternatingly Vicenza, a city in northern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region at the northern base of the Monte Berico Treviso (Venetian Trevizo, French Trévise, Latin Tarvisium) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy. He was a patron as well as a composer of Occitan lyric.

Mention should be made of the Provençal troubadour Isnart d'Entrevenas, who was podestà of Arles in 1220, though he does not fit the phenomenon Giulio Bertoni first identified in Italy. Isnart or Iznart d'Entrevenas or d'Antravenas (fl 1203&ndash1225 was a Provençal Troubadour, the son of Raimon d'Agout, a patron

Trobairitz

Main article: Trobairitz

The trobairitz were the female troubadours, the first female composers of secular music in the Western tradition. The trobairitz (tɾuβajˈɾits were Occitan female Troubadours of the 12th and 13th centuries Secular music is non- Sacred music that developed in the Middle Ages. The word trobairitz was first used in the thirteenth-century Romance of Flamenca and its derivation is the same as that of trobaire but in feminine form. The Romance of Flamenca is a 13th century romance, written in the Occitan language in Occitania. There were also female counterparts to the joglars: the joglaresas. minstrel was a medieval European Bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories about distant places or about real or imaginary historical events The number of trobairitz varies between sources: there were twenty or twenty-one named trobairitz, plus an additional poetess known only as Domna H. There are several anonymous texts ascribed to women; the total number of trobairitz texts varies from twenty-three (Schultz-Gora), twenty-five (Bec), thirty-six (Bruckner, White, and Shepard), and forty-six (Rieger). Pierre Bec (in Occitan Pèire Bèc) is an Occitan poet and linguist Only one melody composed by a trobairitz (the Comtessa de Dia) survives. Beatritz or Beatriz de Dia (born c 12th century - flourished circa 1175 Provence) was a Trobairitz, that is a female Troubadour, a poet-musician Out of a total of about 450 troubadours and 2,500 troubadour works, the trobairitz and their corpus form a minor but interesting and informative portion. They are, therefore, quite well-studied.

Azalais de Porcairagues in an illuminated initial from an early chansonnier

The trobairitz were in most respects as varied a lot as their male counterparts, with the general exceptions of their poetic style and their provenance. An illuminated manuscript is a Manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration such as decorated Initials borders and A chansonnier (cançoner cançonièr Galician and cancioneiro canzoniere or canzoniéro cancionero is a Manuscript or printed book which contains a They wrote predominantly cansos and tensos; only one sirventes by a named woman, Gormonda de Monpeslier, survives (though two anonymous ones are attributed to women). The canso or canço is a Song style used by the Troubadours It consists of three parts Na Gormonda de Monpeslier or Montpelher (fl 1226&ndash1229 was a Trobairitz from Montpellier in Languedoc. One salut d'amor, by a woman (Azalais d'Altier) to a woman (Clara d'Anduza) is also extant and one anonymous planh is usually assigned a female authorship. Azalais or Azalaïs d'Altier was an early 13th-century Trobairitz. Clara d'Anduza was a Trobairitz from the first third of the Thirteenth century, probably born to the ruling family of Anduze. The planh or plaing is a funeral lament used by the Troubadours modeled on the medieval Latin Planctus. They wrote almost entirely within the trobar leu style, only two poems, one by Lombarda and another Alais, Yselda, and Carenza, are usually considered to belong to the more demanding trobar clus. The trobar leu, or light style of Poetry, was the most popular style used by the Troubadours Its accessibility gave it a wide audience though modern readers may find Lombarda (born c 1190 was an early 13th-century Trobairitz from Toulouse (fl Alais and Yselda (or Iselda, from Isold) were two young noble Trobairitz, probably sisters or Nuns who wrote an Occitan Trobar clus, or closed form was the style of poetry used by Troubadours for their more discerning audiences and it was only truly appreciated by an elite few None of the trobairitz were prolific, or if they were there work has not survived. Only two have left us more than one piece: the Comtessa de Dia, with four, and Castelloza, with three or four. Na Castelloza (fl early 13th century) was a noblewoman and Trobairitz from Auvergne. One of the known trobairitz, Gaudairença, wrote a song entitled Coblas e dansas, which has not survived; no other piece of hers has either. Raimon de Miraval(h (c 1135/1160 &ndash c 1220 was a Troubadour (fl

The trobairitz came almost to a woman from Occitania. Occitania ( Occitan: Occitània) refers to the lands where Occitan is the traditional language in use though more recently viewed as a minority language There are representatives from the Auvergne, Provence, Languedoc, the Dauphiné, Toulousain, and the Limousin. Auvergne ( Occitan: Auvèrnhe/Auvèrnha) was the name of an historically independent county in the center of France, as well as later a Province of Provence ( Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm is a region of southeastern France Languedoc ( in French Lengadòc in Occitan) is a former Province of France, now continued in the modern-day ''régions'' of Languedoc-Roussillon The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, roughly corresponding to the present departments ' of the Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest Limousin ( Occitan: Lemosin) is a former Province of France around the city of Limoges in central France. One trobairitz, Ysabella, may have been born in Périgord, Northern Italy, Greece, or Palestine. Ysabel or Ysabella (poss b c 1180 was a 13th-century Trobairitz. The Périgord ( ( Occitan: Peiregòrd / Perigòrd) is a former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne Related categories Central Italy Southern Italy Insular Italy Northeast Italy The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople (original Latin name Imperium Romaniae, " Empire of Romania " is the This article is about the Christian kingdom For the history of the city see History of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Christian All the trobairitz whose families we know were high-born ladies; only one, Lombarda, was probably of the merchant class. All the tobairitz known by name lived around the same time: the late twelfth century and the early thirteenth (c. 1170 – c. 1260). The earliest was probably Tibors de Sarenom, who was active in the 1150s (the date of her known composition is uncertain). Tibors de Sarenom or Tiburge (c 1130 &ndash aft 1198 is the earliest attestable Trobairitz, active during the classical period of medieval Occitan literature The latest was either Garsenda of Forcalquier, who died in 1242, though her period of poetic patronage and composition probably occurred a quarter century earlier, or Guilleuma de Rosers, who composed a tenso with Lanfranc Cigala, known between 1235 and 1257. Garsenda or Garsende ( II) de Sabran (c 1180 &ndash c 1242 was the Countess of Provence as the wife of Alfonso II from 1193 and Guillelma de Rosers (fl 1235&ndash1265 also spelled Guilleuma, Guillielma, Guilielma, or Guilhelma, was a Provençal Trobairitz Lanfranc Cigala or Cicala (Lanfranco Lafranc fl 1235&ndash1257 was a Genoese nobleman knight judge and man of letters of the mid thirteenth century There exist brief prose biographies—vidas—for eight trobairitz: Almucs de Castelnau (actually a razo), Azalais de Porcairagues, the Comtessa de Dia, Castelloza, Iseut de Capio (also a razo), Lombarda, Maria de Ventadorn, and Tibors de Sarenom. Vida is the usual term for a brief prose biography written in Occitan, of a Troubadour or Trobairitz. Almucs de Castelnau or Castelnou (c 1140 &ndash bef 1184 was a Trobairitz, that is a female Troubadour, from a town near Avignon in A razó or razo was a short piece of Occitan Prose detailing the circumstances of a Troubadour composition Azalais de Porcairagues (also Azalaïs) or Alasais de Porcaragues was a Trobairitz (woman troubadour composing in Occitan in the late 12th N' Iseut de Capio or Capion (born c 1140 was a noblewoman and Trobairitz from Gévaudan. Maria de Ventadorn or Ventedorn (Marie de Ventadour was a patron of Troubadour poetry at the end of the 12th century

Gay Science

Main articles: Consistori del Gay Saber and Consistori de Barcelona

Works

Schools and styles

There have been three main styles of Occitan lyric poetry identified: the trobar leu (light), trobar ric (rich), and trobar clus (closed, hermetic). The Consistori del Gay (or Gai) Saber ("Consistory of the Gay Science" commonly called the Consistori de Tolosa ("Consistory of Toulouse" The Consistori ( de la Gaya Sciència) de Barcelona ("Academy of the Gay Science" was a literary academy founded in Barcelona by John the The trobar leu, or light style of Poetry, was the most popular style used by the Troubadours Its accessibility gave it a wide audience though modern readers may find The trobar ric, or rich form of poetry was a Trobadour style It was distinguished by its verbal gymnastics its best exponent was Arnaut Daniel. Trobar clus, or closed form was the style of poetry used by Troubadours for their more discerning audiences and it was only truly appreciated by an elite few Hermeticism is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, who is put forth as a The first was by far the most common: the wording is straightforward and relatively simple compared to the ric and literary devices are less common than in the clus. This style was the most accessible and it was immensely popular. The most famous poet of the trobar leu was Bernart de Ventadorn. Bernart de Ventadorn (1130-1140 &ndash 1190-1200 also known as Bernard de Ventadour or Bernat del Ventadorn, was a prominent Troubador of the classical The most difficult style on the other hand was the last. The trobar clus regularly escapes modern scholarly interpretation. Words are commonly used metaphorically and symbolically and what a poem appears to be about on its surface is rarely what is intended by the poet or understood by audiences "in the know". The clus style was invented early by Marcabru but only favoured by a few masters thereafter. Marcabru (fl 1130-1150 is one of the earliest Troubadours whose poems are known The trobar ric style is not as opaque as the clus, rather it employs a rich vocabulary, using many words, rare words, invented words, and unusual, colourful wordings.

Modern scholars reocgnise several "schools" in the troubadour tradition. Among the early is a school of followers of Marcabru, sometimes called the "Marcabrunian school": Bernart Marti, Bernart de Venzac, Gavaudan, and Peire d'Alvernhe. Bernart Marti was a Troubadour, composing poems and satires in Occitan, in the mid Twelfth century. Bernart de Venzac (fl 1180&ndash1210 was an obscure Troubadour from Venzac near Rodez in the Rouergue. Gavaudan (fl c 1195&ndash1215 known in 1212&ndash1213 was a Troubadour and hired soldier ( soudadier) at the courts of both Raymond V and Raymond Peire d'Alvernhe or d'Alvernha ( Pèire in modern Occitan; b c These poets favoured the trobar clus or ric or a hybrid of the two. They were often moralising in tone and critical of contemporary courtly society. Another early school, whose style seems to have fallen out of favour, was the "Gascon school" of Cercamon, Peire de Valeira, and Guiraut de Calanso. Cercamon (fl c 1135-1145 whose real name as well as any actual biographical datum is unknown was one of the earliest Troubadours He was apparently a jester of sorts born Peire de Valeira, Valeria, or Valera (fl early&ndashmid Twelfth century) was a Gascon Troubadour. Giraut or Guiraut de Calanso or Calanson (fl 1202&ndash1212 was a Gascon Troubadour in the Occitan language. Cercamon was said by his biographer to have composed in the "old style" and Guiraut's songs were d'aquella saison ("of that time"). This style of poetry seems to be attached to early troubadours from Gascony and was characterised by references to nature: leaves, flowers, birds, and their songs. Gascony (Gascogne gaskɔɲ Gascon Occitan: Gasconha, pronounced) is an area of southwest France that constituted a province of France This Gascon "literary fad" was unpopular in Provence in the early thirteenth century, harming the reputation of the poets associated with it. Provence ( Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm is a region of southeastern France

In the late thirteenth century a school arose at Béziers, once the centre of pre-Albigensian Languedoc and of the Trencavel lordships, in the 1260s–80s. Béziers ( Besièrs in Occitan, and Besiers in Catalan) is a town in Languedoc, in the southwest of France. Three poets epitomise this "school": Bernart d'Auriac, Joan Esteve, Joan Miralhas, and Raimon Gaucelm. Bernat or Bernart d'Auriac was a minor Troubadour notable mainly for initiating a cycle of five short Sirventes in the summer of 1285 Joan Esteve ( Occitan for "John" fl 1270&ndash1288 was a Troubadour from Béziers. Joan Miralhas was Troubadour of Béziers in the late 13th century Raimon Gaucelm de Bezers (fl 1262&ndash1275 was a Languedocian Troubadour with nine surviving works All three were natives of Béziers and lived there. All three were members of the urban middle class and no courtesans: Miralhas was possibly a potter and Bernart was a mayestre (teacher). All three were supporters of the French king Louis IX and the French aristocracy against the native Occitan nobility. List of Queens and Empresses of France Wikipedia_talkFeatured_lists#Proposed_change_to_all_featured_lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below They have been described as "Gallicised". Raimon Gaucelm supported the Eighth Crusade and even wrote a planh, the only known one of its kind, to a burgher of Béziers. The Eighth Crusade was a Crusade launched by Louis IX, King of France, in Joan Esteve and Bernart both composed in support the French in the Aragonese Crusade. The Aragonese Crusade or Crusade of Aragón, a part of the larger War of the Sicilian Vespers, was declared by Pope Martin IV against the King of Aragón The Béziers are a shining example of the transformation of Occitania in the aftermath of Albigensian Crusade, but also of the ability of troubadours to survive it.

The Young Shepherdess (1895) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau depicting a pastorela, the central subject of a like-named troubadour genre

Genres

Troubadours, at least after their style became established, usually followed some set of "rules", like those of the Leys d'amors (compiled between 1328 and 1337). William-Adolphe Bouguereau (November 30 1825 – August 19 1905 was a French academic painter. The pastorela ("little/young shepherdess" diminutive of pastora, feminine of pastor, meaning "shepherd" was an Occitan Initially all troubadour verses were called simply vers, yet this soon came to be reserved for only love songs and was later replaced by canso, though the term lived on as an antique expression for the troubadours' early works and was even employed with a more technically meaning by the last generation of troubadours (mid-fourteenth century), when it was thought to derive from the Latin word verus (truth) and was thus used to describe moralising or didactic pieces. The early troubadours developed many genres and these only proliferated as rules of composition came to be put in writing. The known genres are:

• Alba (morning song)— the song of a lover as dawn approaches, often with a watchman warning of the approch of a lady's jealous husband
• Canso, originally vers, also chanso or canço— the love song, usually consisting of five or six stanzas with an envoi
• Cobla esparsa— a stand-alone stanza
• Comiat— a song renouncing a lover
• Crusade song (canso de crozada)— a song about the Crusades, usually encouraging them
• Dansa or balada— a lively dance song with a refrain
• Descort— a song heavily discordant in verse form and/or feeling
• Desdansa— a dance designed for sad occasions
• Ensenhamen— a long didactic poem, usually not divided into stanzas, teaching a moral or practical lesson
• Enuig— a poem expressing indignation or feelings of insult
• Escondig— a lover's apology
• Estampida— a late thirteenth-century dance song
• Gap— a boasting song, often presented as a challenge, often similar to modern sports chants
• Maldit— a song complaining about a lady's behaviour and character
• Partimen— a poetical exchange between two or more poets in which one is presented with a dilemma by another and responds
• Pastorela— the tale of the love request of a knight to a shepherdess
• Planh— a lament, especially on the death of some important figure
• Plazer— a poem expressing pleasure
• Salut d'amor— a love letter addressed to another, not always one's lover
• Sestina— highly-structure verse form
• Sirventes— a political poem or satire, originally put in the mouth of a paid soldier (sirvens)
• Sonnet— an Italian genre imported into Occitan verse in the thirteenth century
• Tenso, also tenson, later tenço— a poetical debate which was usually an exchange between two poets, but could be fictional
• Torneyamen— a poetical debate between three or more persons, often with a judge (like a tournament)
• Viadeyra— a traveller's complaint

All these genres were highly fluid. The alba ("sunrise" is a Subgenre of Occitan Lyric poetry. The canso or canço is a Song style used by the Troubadours It consists of three parts In Poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger Poem. In modern poetry the term is often equivalent with Strophe; in popular vocal music a stanza is In Poetry, an envoi is a short Stanza at the end of a Poem used either to address an imagined or actual person or to comment on the preceding body of the A cobla is a Stanza in Occitan Lyric poetry, the artform of the Troubadours. The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents A dansa or dança was an Occitan form of Lyric poetry developed in the late thirteenth century among the Troubadours It A refrain (from Vulgar Latin refringere, "to repeat" and later from Old French refraindre) is the Line or lines that are The descort or descortz is a Subgenre of Occitan Lyric poetry used by the Troubadours It is a song heavily discordant A dansa or dança was an Occitan form of Lyric poetry developed in the late thirteenth century among the Troubadours It An ensenhamen (meaning "instruction" or "teaching" ensenyament enseignement insegnamento was an Occitan didactic (often lyric) This article is about the medieval dance for the German band see Estampie (band. A gab or gap is an Occitan boasting song of the High Middle Ages (1100&ndash1350 when the Troubadours were popular The partimen, partiment, partia, or joc partit is a Genre of Occitan Lyric poetry The pastorela ("little/young shepherdess" diminutive of pastora, feminine of pastor, meaning "shepherd" was an Occitan Knight is the English term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. A shepherd is a person who tends to feeds or guards Sheep, especially in flocks The planh or plaing is a funeral lament used by the Troubadours modeled on the medieval Latin Planctus. A sestina (also sextina, sestine, or sextain) is a highly structured Poem consisting of six six-line Stanzas followed by a Tercet The sirventes or serventes ( Mistralian norm sirventès) is a Genre of Occitan Lyric poetry used by Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human The sonnet is one of the poetic forms that can be found in Lyric poetry from Europe. The viadeyra, viadera, or viandela was a lyric Genre of Catalan and Occitan literature A cross between a sirventes and a canso was a meg-sirventes (half-sirventes). A tenso could be "invented" by a single poet; an alba or canso could be written with religious significance, addressed to God or the Virgin; and a sirventes may be nothing more than a political attack. The maldit and the comiat were often connected as a maldit-comiat and they could be used to attack and renounce a figure other than a lady or a lover, like a commanding officer (when combined, in a way, with the sirventes).

Most "Crusading songs" are classified either as cansos or sirventes but sometimes separately. Some styles became popular in other languages and in other literary or musical traditions. In French, the alba became the aubade, the pastorela the pastourelle, and the partimen the jeu parti. This article is a general introduction to French literature For detailed information on French literature in specific historic periods see the separate historical articles in the An aubade is a Poem or Song of or about lovers separating at dawn The pastourelle is a typically Old French lyric form concerning the romance of a shepherdess Jeu parti [[Provençal] joc partit “ Partimen ”] A debate or dialogue in the form of a poem The sestina became popular in Italian literature. The troubadours were not averse to borrowing either. The planh developed out of the Latin planctus and the sonnet was stolen from the Sicilian School. A planctus is a Lament, or song or poem which expresses grief or mourning The Sicilian School was a small community of Sicilian, and to a lesser extent mainland Italian poets gathered around Frederick II, most of them belonging to his court Interestingly, the basse danse (bassa dansa) was first mentioned in the troubadour tradition (c. The basse danse, or "low dance" was the most popular Court dance in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries especially at the Burgundian 1324), but only as being performed by jongleurs.

The Monge de Montaudon receiving a sparrow hawk as a prize for his performance in a contest

Performance

Troubadours performed their own songs. The ( Lo) Monge ( s) de Montaudo ( n) (sometimes Monje, meaning "monk of Montaudon" fl Jongleurs (performers) and cantaires (singers) also performed troubadours' songs. They could work from chansonniers, many of which have survived, or possibly from more rudimentary (and temporary) songbooks, none of which have survived, if they even existed. A chansonnier (cançoner cançonièr Galician and cancioneiro canzoniere or canzoniéro cancionero is a Manuscript or printed book which contains a Some troubadours, like Arnaut de Maruelh, had their own jongleurs who were dedicated to singing their patron's work. Arnaut de Mareuil ( fl late 12th century) was a Troubadour, composing Lyric poetry in the Occitan language. Arnaut's joglar et cantaire, probably both a singer and a messenger, who carried his love songs to his lady, was Pistoleta. Pistoleta (fl 1185&ndash1228 was a Provençal Troubadour. His name (actually a nickname means "little letter (epistle" in Occitan. The messenger was commonplace in troubadour poetry, many songs reference a messenger who will bring it to its intended ear. A troubadour often stayed with a noble patron of his own and entertained his court with his songs. At court songs could be used not only as enterntainment but also as propaganda, praising the patron, mocking his enemies, encouraging his wars, teaching ethics and etiquette, and maintaining religous unity.

The court was not the only venue for troubadour performance. Competitions were held from an early date. According to the vida of the Monge de Montaudon, he received a sparrow hawk, a prized hunting bird, for his poetry from the cour du Puy, some sort of poetry society associated with the court of Alfonso II of Aragon. The ( Lo) Monge ( s) de Montaudo ( n) (sometimes Monje, meaning "monk of Montaudon" fl Alfonso II (Aragon or Alfons I (Provence and Barcelona ( Huesca, 1157 &ndash Perpignan, 1196 called the Chaste or the Troubadour The most famous contests were held in the twilight of the troubadours in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The jocs florals held by the Consistori del Gay Saber at Toulouse, by Peter IV of Aragon at Lérida, and the Consistori de la Gaya Sciència at Barcelona awarded floral prizes to the best poetry in various categories, judging it by its accordance with a code called the Leys d'amors. Floral Games were any of a series historically-related Poetry contests with Floral prizes The Consistori del Gay (or Gai) Saber ("Consistory of the Gay Science" commonly called the Consistori de Tolosa ("Consistory of Toulouse" Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest Peter IV (also known as Pedro or Pere 5 September 1319, Balaguer – 5 January 1387) called the Ceremonious ( el Ceremonioso Lleida (Standard Central Catalan ˈʎejðə or North-Western Catalan; Spanish Lérida, though officially referred as Lleida The Consistori ( de la Gaya Sciència) de Barcelona ("Academy of the Gay Science" was a literary academy founded in Barcelona by John the Barcelona ( Catalan bəɾsəˈlonə Spanish baɾθeˈlona is the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia

Troubadour songs are still performed and recorded today, albeit rarely.

A chantar m'er

The only existing song by a trobairitz which survives with music.

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Poetry

Music

Troubadour songs were usually monophonic. In Music, monophony is the simplest of textures, consisting of Melody without accompanying Harmony. Fewer than 300 melodies out of an estimated 2500^[18] survive. Most were composed by the troubadours themselves. Other troubadours set their poems to pre-existing pieces music. Raimbaut de Vaqueyras wrote his Kalenda maya (The Calends of May) to music composed by jongleurs at Montferrat. Raimbaut de Vaqueiras or Riambaut de Vaqueyras (floruit 1180-1207 was a Provençal Troubadour and later in his life knight Montferrat (in Piemontèis, Monfrà; in Italian, Monferrato) is part of the region of Piedmont in Northern Italy. Troubadours sing tales of bravery and stories about life and death. The most common kinds of songs they sang were: morning songs; political poems; dirges; and disputes. Their favorite kinds of songs were about courtly love, war, and nature.

Legacy

Main article: Occitan literature

Transmission

Some 2,600 poems or fragments of poem shave survived from around 450 identifiable troubadours. Occitan literature — still sometimes called Provençal literature — is a body of texts written in Occitan in what is nowadays the South of France They are largely preserved in songbooks called chansonniers made for wealthy patrons. A chansonnier (cançoner cançonièr Galician and cancioneiro canzoniere or canzoniéro cancionero is a Manuscript or printed book which contains a

Table of parchment chansonniers

Image	Troubadour manuscript letter	Provenance (place of origin, date)	Location (library, city)	Manuscript name/number	Notes
	A	Lombardy, 13th century	Biblioteca Vaticana, Rome	Latin 5232
	B	Occitania, 13th century	Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris	BN f. Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the The Vatican Library ( Latin: Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana) is the Library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Occitania ( Occitan: Occitània) refers to the lands where Occitan is the traditional language in use though more recently viewed as a minority language Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city f. 1592
	C	Occitania, 14th century	Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris	BN f. Occitania ( Occitan: Occitània) refers to the lands where Occitan is the traditional language in use though more recently viewed as a minority language Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city f. 856
	D	Lombardy, 12 August 1254	Biblioteca Estense, Modena	Kg. Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the Events 1099 - First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon - Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid Modena (ˈmɔːdena Mòdna in Modenese dialect is a city and a Comune ( Municipality) on the south side of the Po valley, in the 4. MS2=E. 45=α. R. 4. 4	Poetarum Provinciali.
	E	Occitania, 14th century	Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris	BN f. Occitania ( Occitan: Occitània) refers to the lands where Occitan is the traditional language in use though more recently viewed as a minority language Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city f. 1749
	F	Lombardy, 14th century	Biblioteca Vaticana, Rome	Chigi L. Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the The Vatican Library ( Latin: Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana) is the Library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 IV. 106
	G	Lombardy or Venetia, late 13th century	Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan	R 71 sup. Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the The Biblioteca Ambrosiana is a historical Library in Milan, also housing the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana art gallery Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy.	Contains troubadour music.
	H	Lombardy, late 13th century	Biblioteca Vaticana, Rome	Latin 3207
	I	Lombardy, 13th century	Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris	BN f. Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the The Vatican Library ( Latin: Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana) is the Library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city f. 854
	J	Occitania, 14th century	Biblioteca Nazionale, Florence	Conventi Soppressi F. Occitania ( Occitan: Occitània) refers to the lands where Occitan is the traditional language in use though more recently viewed as a minority language Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany IV. 776
	K	Lombardy, 13th century	Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris	BN f. Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city f. 12473
	L	Lombardy, 14th century	Biblioteca Vaticana, Rome	Latin 3206
	M	Lombardy, 14th century	Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris	BN f. Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the The Vatican Library ( Latin: Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana) is the Library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city f. 12474
	N	Lombardy, 14th century	Pierpont Morgan, New York	819	The Philipps Manuscript. Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the The Morgan Library & Museum (formerly The Pierpont Morgan Library) is a museum and research library in New York City. The City of New York
	O	Lombardy, 14th century	Biblioteca Vaticana, Rome	Latin 3208
	P	Lombardy, 1310	Biblioteca Laurenziana, Florence	XLI. Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the The Vatican Library ( Latin: Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana) is the Library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany 42
	Q	Lombardy, 14th century	Biblioteca Riccardiana, Florence	2909
	R	Toulousain or Rouergue, 14th century	Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris	BN f. Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest Rouergue ( Occitan: Roergue) is a former province of France, bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city f. 22543	Contains more troubadour music than any other manuscript. Perhaps produced for Henry II of Rodez. Henry II (c 1236 &ndash 1304 of the House of Millau, was the Count of Rodez and Viscount of Carlat from 1274 until his death
	S	Lombardy, 13th century	Bodleian Library, Oxford	Douce 269
	Sg	Catalonia, 14th century	Biblioteca de Catalunya, Barcelona	146	The famous Cançoner Gil. Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the The Bodleian Library ( the main Research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in England Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, Catalonia (Cataluña Catalunya Aranese: Catalonha) is an Autonomous Community in the northeast part of Spain. The Biblioteca de Catalunya ( Catalan for Library of Catalonia) in Barcelona is the National library of Catalonia. Barcelona ( Catalan bəɾsəˈlonə Spanish baɾθeˈlona is the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia The Cançoner Gil is an Occitan Chansonnier produced in Barcelona in the middle of the 14th century. Called Z in the reassignment of letter names by François Zufferey.
	T	Lombardy, late 13th century	Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris	BN f. Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city f. 15211
	U	Lombardy, 14th century	Biblioteca Laurenziana, Florence	XLI. Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany 43
	V	Catalonia, 1268	Biblioteca Marciana, Venice	fr. Catalonia (Cataluña Catalunya Aranese: Catalonha) is an Autonomous Community in the northeast part of Spain. The Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, the National Library of St Mark's, is one of the earliest surviving public manuscript depositories in Italy and holds one of Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the App. cod. XI
	W	perhaps Artois, 1254–c. Artois (Artesië (adjective Artesian) is a former province of northern France. 1280	Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris	BN f. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city f. 844	Also trouvère manuscript M. Contains the chansonnier du roi of Theobald I of Navarre. Theobald I ( 30 May 1201 &ndash 8 July 1253) called the Troubadour, the Chansonnier, and the Posthumous, was Possibly produced for Charles I of Naples. Charles I ( 21 March 1226 &ndash 7 January 1285) commonly called Charles of Anjou, was the King of Sicily by conquest Contains troubadour music.
	X	Lorraine, 13th century	Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris	BN f. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city f. 20050	Chansonnier de Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Also trouvère manuscript U and therefore has marks of French influence. Contains troubadour music. Owned by Saint-Germain-des-Prés in 18th century. Saint-Germain-des-Prés is an area of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés
	Y	France/Lombardy, 13th century	Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris	BN f. Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city f. 795
	Z	Occitania, 13th century	Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris	BN f. Occitania ( Occitan: Occitània) refers to the lands where Occitan is the traditional language in use though more recently viewed as a minority language Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city f. 1745

References

Sources

External links

• Literary Encyclopedia: Troubadour.
• Said I. Abdelwahed. Troubadour Poetry: An Intercultural Experience.

Notes