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{{short description|Composer and performer of lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages}}

{{Redirect|Trovatore|the opera|Il trovatore|other uses of "troubadour"|Troubadour (disambiguation)}}{{overly detailed|date=February 2023}}
[[File:BnF ms. 854 fol. 49 - Perdigon (1).jpg|thumb|right|The troubadour [[Perdigon]] playing his fiddle]]
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A '''troubadour''' ({{IPAc-en|lang|ˈ|t|r|uː|b|ə|d|ɔːr|,_|-|d|ʊər}},<ref>https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/troubadour</ref><ref>https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/troubadour</ref> {{IPA|fr|tʁubaduʁ|lang|LL-Q150 (fra)-DSwissK-troubadour.wav}}; {{langx|oc|trobador}} {{IPA|oc|tɾuβaˈðu||LL-Q14185 (oci)-Davidgrosclaude-trobador.wav}}<!--, <small>archaically:</small> {{IPA|oc|tɾuβaˈðor|}}{{Citation needed|reason=reliable source needed four the Old Occitan pronunciation|date=September 2013}}-->) was a [[composer]] and performer of [[Old Occitan]] [[lyric poetry]] during the [[High Middle Ages]] (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''[[trobairitz]]''.

The troubadour school or tradition began in the late 11th century in [[Occitania]], but it subsequently spread to the Italian and [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberian Peninsulas]]. Under the influence of the troubadours, related movements sprang up throughout Europe: the [[Minnesang]] in Germany, ''[[trovadorismo]]'' in [[Galicia, Spain|Galicia]] and [[Portugal]], and that of the [[trouvère]]s in northern France. [[Dante Alighieri]] in his ''[[De vulgari eloquentia]]'' defined the troubadour lyric as ''fictio rethorica musicaque poita'': [[Rhetoric|rhetorical]], musical, and poetical fiction. After the "classical" period around the turn of the 13th century and a mid-century resurgence, the art of the troubadours declined in the 14th century and around the time of the [[Black Death]] (1348) and since died out.

The texts of troubadour songs deal mainly with themes of [[chivalry]] and [[courtly love]]. Most were [[Metaphysics|metaphysical]], intellectual, and formulaic. Many were humorous or vulgar [[Satire|satires]]. Works can be grouped into three styles: the ''[[trobar leu]]'' (light), ''[[trobar ric]]'' (rich), and ''[[trobar clus]]'' (closed). Likewise there were many [[genre]]s, the most popular being the ''[[canso (song)|canso]]'', but ''[[sirventes]]'' and ''[[tenso]]s'' were especially popular in the post-classical period.

==Etymology==
The English word ''troubadour'' was borrowed from the French word first recorded in 1575 in a historical context to mean "langue d'oc poet at the court in the 12th and 13th century" ([[Jean de Nostredame]], ''Les vies des plus célèbres et anciens Poètes provençaux'',<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nostredame |first=Jean de |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4251z |title=Les vies des plus célèbres et anciens poètes provençaux ([Reprod. en fac-sim.]) / Jehan de Nostredame ; nouvelle édition ... préparée par Camille Chabaneau ; et publiée avec une introduction et commentaire par Joseph Anglade |date=1913 |language=EN}}</ref> p.&nbsp;14 in Gdf. Compl.).<ref name="cnrtl.fr">{{cite web|url=http://www.cnrtl.fr/etymologie/troubadour|title=Troubadour: Etymologie de Troubadour}}</ref> The first use and earliest form of ''troubador'' is ''trobadors'', found in a 12th-century Occitan text by [[Cercamon]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Wolf|first=George|title=The Poetry of Cercamon and Jaufre Rudel.|year=1983|publisher=Garland Publishing|location=London}}</ref>

The French word itself is borrowed from the Occitan ''trobador''. It is the [[oblique case]] of the [[nominative]] ''trobaire'' "composer", related to ''trobar'' "to compose, to discuss, to invent" ([[Wace]], ''Brut'', editions I. Arnold, 3342). ''Trobar'' may come, in turn, from the hypothetical [[Late Latin]] *''tropāre'' "to compose, to invent a poem" by regular [[phonetic change]]. This reconstructed form is based on the Latin root ''tropus'', meaning a [[Trope (music)|trope]]. In turn, the Latin word derives ultimately from [[Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|grc|τρόπος}} (''trópos''), meaning "turn, manner".<ref name=chaytor>Chaytor, [http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Troubadours1.html Part 1.]</ref> [[Intervocal]] Latin {{IPA|[p]}} shifted regularly to {{IPA|[b]}} in Occitan (cf. Latin ''sapere'' → Occitan ''saber'', French ''savoir'' "to know"). The Latin suffix ''-ātor'', ''-ātōris'' explains the Occitan suffix, according to its [[declension]] and [[Diacritical mark|accentuation]]: [[Gallo-Romance languages|Gallo-Romance]] *''tropātor''<ref>Jacques Allières, ''La formation de la langue française'', coll. Que sais-je ?, éditions PUF, 1982, p. 49. 2) Imparisyllabiques β) Mots en -OR -ŌRE.</ref> → Occitan ''trobaire'' (subject case) and *''tropātōre''<ref name="ALLIÈRES 49">Allières 49.</ref> → Occitan ''trobador'' (oblique case).

There is an alternative theory to explain the meaning of ''trobar'' as "to compose, to discuss, to invent". It has the support of some [[Historian|historians]], specialists of literature, and [[Musicology|musicologists]] to justify the troubadours' origins in Arabic [[Andalusian classical music|Andalusian musical]] practices. According to them, the Arabic word ''ṭaraba'' "music" (from the [[triliteral]] root ''ṭ–r–b'' {{lang|ar|ط ر ب}} "provoke emotion, excitement, agitation; make music, entertain by singing" as in {{lang|ar|طرب أندلسي}}, [[Andalusian classical music|''ṭarab ʾandalusī'']]) could partly be the [[Etymology|etymon]] of the verb ''trobar''.<ref>Maria Rosa Menocal (1985), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/474171 "Pride and Prejudice in Medieval Studies: European and Oriental"], ''Hispanic Review'', '''53''':1, 61–78.</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The origin and meaning of courtly love: a critical study of European scholarship|author=Roger Boase|page=131|year=1977|publisher=Manchester University Press}}</ref> Another Arabic root had already been proposed before: ''ḍ–r–b'' ({{lang|ar|ض ر ب}}) "strike", by extension "play a musical instrument".<ref>[http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/ahess_0395-2649_1966_num_21_5_421446 Richard Lemay, « À propos de l'origine arabe de l'art des troubadours », ''Annales. Économies, sociétés, civilisations'', vol. 21, n°5, 1966, p. 991 (French)]</ref>

In archaic and classical troubadour poetry, the word is only used in a mocking sense, having more or less the meaning of "somebody who makes things up". Cercamon writes:
:''Ist trobador, entre ver e mentir,''
:''Afollon drutz e molhers et espos,''
:''E van dizen qu'Amors vay en biays''
::(These troubadours, between truth and lies/corrupt lovers, women and husbands, / and keep saying that Love proceeds obliquely).<ref>''Puois nostre temps comens'a brunezir''; read the whole text [http://www.trobar.org/troubadours/cercamon/cmn5.php here]</ref>

[[Peire d'Alvernha]] also begins his famous mockery of contemporary authors ''cantarai d'aquest trobadors'',<ref>read the whole text [http://www.trobar.org/troubadours/alvernha/pealv12.php here]</ref> after which he proceeds to explain why none of them is worth anything.<ref>{{cite book|last=Del Monte|first=A.|title=Peire d'Alvernha, Liriche|year=1955|location=Turin}}</ref> When referring to themselves seriously, troubadours almost invariably use the word ''chantaire'' ("singer").

==Origins==
The early study of the troubadours focused 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''):

===Arabic===
The sixteenth century Italian historian Giammaria Barbieri<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dainotto |first=Roberto M. |date=2006 |title=Of the Arab Origin of Modern Europe: Giammaria Barbieri, Juan Andrés, and the Origin of Rhyme |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40279344 |journal=Comparative Literature |volume=58 |issue=4 |pages=271–292 |doi=10.1215/-58-4-271 |jstor=40279344 |issn=0010-4124|url-access=subscription }}</ref> was perhaps the first to suggest Arabian (also ''Arabist'' or ''Hispano-Arabic'') influences on the music of the troubadours.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Diminutives in the "dīwān" of Ibn Quzmān: A Product of Their Hispanic Milieu?|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|volume=52|issue=2|year=1989|page=241|last1=Abu-Haidar|first1=JA|doi=10.1017/S0041977X00035448|s2cid=162509292 }}</ref> Later scholars like J.B. Trend have asserted that the poetry of troubadours is connected to Arabic poetry written in the Iberian Peninsula,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Veldeman|first1=Marie-Christine|year=2001|volume=28|issue=2|pages=87–100|journal=Equivalences|title=Egypt, or the quest for syncretism and spiritual wholeness in Lawrence Durrell's Avignon Quintet|doi=10.3406/equiv.2001.1233}}</ref> while others have attempted to find direct evidence of this influence. In examining the works of [[William IX of Aquitaine]], [[Évariste Lévi-Provençal]] and other scholars found three lines that they believed were in some form of Arabic, indicating a potential Andalusian origin for his works. The scholars attempted to translate the lines in question, though the medievalist Istvan Frank contended that the lines were not Arabic at all, but instead the result of the rewriting of the original by a later scribe.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Malkin|first1=Peter|title=Provence and Pound|page=[https://archive.org/details/provencepound0000maki/page/326 326]|publisher=University of California|year=1979|isbn=978-0520034884|url=https://archive.org/details/provencepound0000maki/page/326}}</ref><ref name="Beech1992">{{cite journal|title=Troubadour Contacts with Muslim Iberia and Knowledge of Arabic: New Evidence Concerning William IX of Aquitaine |journal=Romania|year=1992|pages=14–26|last1=Beech|first1=George T.|volume=113|issue=449|doi=10.3406/roma.1992.2180}}</ref>

Scholars like [[Ramón Menéndez Pidal]] stated that the troubadour tradition was created by William, who had been influenced by [[Moorish]] music and poetry while fighting with the [[Reconquista]]. However, George T. Beech states that there is only one documented battle that William fought in the Iberian Peninsula, and it occurred towards the end of his life. Beech adds that while the sources of William's inspirations are uncertain, he and his father did have individuals within their extended family with Iberian origins, and he may have been friendly with some Europeans who could speak the Arabic language.<ref name="Beech1992" /> Regardless of William's personal involvement in the tradition's creation, [[Magda Bogin]] states that Arab poetry was likely one of several influences on European "courtly love poetry", citing [[Ibn Hazm]]'s "[[The Ring of the Dove]]" as an example of a similar Arab tradition.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bogin|first1=Magda|last2=Bogin|first2=Meg|title=The Women Troubadours|year=1995|publisher=WW Norton|pages=46–47|isbn=978-0393009651}}</ref>

Methods of transmission from Arab Iberia to the rest of Europe did exist, such as the [[Toledo School of Translators]], though it only began translating major romances from Arabic into Latin in the second half of the thirteenth century, with [[Expurgation|objectionable sexual content]] removed in deference to the [[Catholic Church]].<ref>{{cite book|year=1997|isbn=978-0415609845|title=Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies|editor=Mona Baker and Kirsten Malmkjaer|page=553|chapter=Spanish tradition|publisher=Routledge}}</ref> 

===Bernardine-Marianist===

According to the Bernardine-Marianist (or Christian) 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. Specifically, the emphasis on religious and spiritual love, disinterestedness, mysticism, and devotion to Mary explained "courtly love". The emphasis of the reforming [[Robert of Arbrissel]] on "matronage" to achieve his ends can explain the troubadour attitude towards women.<ref>Gerald A. Bond, "Origins", in Akehurst and Davis, p. 246.</ref>

Chronologically, however, this hypothesis is hard to sustain, as 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. Mario Casella and Leo Spitzer have added "[[Augustine of Hippo|Augustinian]]" influence to it.

===Celtic or chivalric-matriarchal===
The survival of pre-Christian sexual ''mores'' and warrior codes from [[matriarchal]] societies, be they [[Celt]]ic, [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]], or [[Pictish]], among the aristocracy of Europe can account for the idea (fusion) of "courtly love". The existence of pre-Christian matriarchy has usually been treated with scepticism as has the persistence of underlying paganism in high medieval Europe, though the Celts and Germanic tribes were certainly less patriarchal than the Greco-Romans.

===Classical Latin===
The classical Latin theory emphasises parallels between [[Ovid]], especially his ''[[Amores (Ovid)|Amores]]'' and ''Ars amatoria'', and the lyric of courtly love. The ''aetas ovidiana'' that predominated in the 11th century in and around [[Orléans]], the quasi-[[Cicero]]nian ideology that held sway in the [[Holy Roman Empire|Imperial court]], and the scraps of [[Plato]] then available to scholars have all been cited as classical influences on troubadour poetry.<ref>Gerald A. Bond, "Origins", in Akehurst and Davis, p. 243.</ref>

===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 13th century), support for it has come in waves. The explicitly Catholic meaning of many early troubadour works also works against the theory.

===Liturgical===
The troubadour lyric may be a development of the Christian [[liturgy]] and [[hymnody]]. The influence of the [[Song of Songs]] has even been suggested. There is no preceding [[Latin poetry]] resembling that of the troubadours. 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.{{sfn|Warren|1912|p=4}} 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 [[St. Martial's Abbey, Limoges|Saint Martial's]] at [[Limoges]] has been singled out in this regard.{{sfn|Warren|1912|p=7}} "Para-liturgical" [[trope (literature)|trope]]s were in use there in the era preceding the troubadours' appearance.

===Feudal-social===
This theory or set of related theories has gained ground in the 20th 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 or circumstances did it arise.<ref name=menocal47>Menocal, 47.</ref> 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. The use of [[feudal]] terminology in troubadour poems is seen as evidence. This theory has been developed away from sociological towards [[psychological]] explanation.

===Folklore===
This theory may relate to spring folk rituals. According to [[María Rosa Menocal]], [[Alfred Jeanroy]] first suggested that [[folklore]] and [[oral tradition]] gave rise to troubadour poetry in 1883. 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]]. This theory has since been widely discredited, but the discovery of the ''[[jarcha]]s'' raises the question of the extent of literature (oral or written) in the 11th century and earlier.<ref name=menocal47/>

===Medieval Latin or Goliardic===
Hans Spanke analysed the intertextual connexion between vernacular and [[medieval Latin]] (such as [[Goliardic]]) songs. This theory is supported by Reto Bezzola, Peter Dronke, and musicologist [[Jacques 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]]. 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.<ref name="DITL">[http://www.ditl.info/arttest/art4482.php Troubadour], ''Observatoire de terminologie littéraire'', [[University of Limoges]], France.</ref> The influence of late 11th-century poets of the "Loire school", such as [[Marbod of Rennes]] and [[Hildebert of Lavardin]], is stressed in this connexion by Brinkmann.<ref>Gerald A. Bond, "Origins", in Akehurst and Davis, 244.</ref>

===Neoplatonic===
This theory is one of the more intellectualising. The "ennobling effects of love" in specific have been identified as [[neoplatonic]].<ref>Menocal, 46.</ref> It is viewed either as a strength 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]]).{{sfn|Silverstein|1949|p=118}}

==History==
[[File:Vilém9.jpg|thumb|left|[[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 Guilhèm de Peitieus, better known as Duke [[William IX of Aquitaine]] (1071–1126). 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."<ref>Peter Dronke, ''The Medieval Lyric'', Perennial Library, 1968. p. 111.</ref> 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. [[Orderic Vitalis]] referred to William composing songs about his experiences on his return from the [[Crusade of 1101]] (c. 1102). This may be the earliest reference to troubadour lyrics. Orderic also provides us (1135) with what may be the first description of a troubadour performance: an eyewitness account of William of Aquitaine.
<blockquote>
''Picauensis uero dux ... miserias captiuitatis suae ... coram regibus et magnatis atque Christianis coetibus multotiens retulit rythmicis uersibus cum facetis modulationibus''. (X.21)
<br><br>
Then the Poitevin duke ... the miseries of his captivity ... before kings, magnates, and Christian assemblies many times related with rhythmic verses and witty measures.<ref>Translation based on [[Marjorie Chibnall]], in Bond, p. 240.</ref>
</blockquote>

===Spread===
[[File:King David and musicians from Olomouc Bible, folio 276R, color enhanced.jpg|thumb|200px|Trobadours, 14th century]]
The first half of the 12th century saw relatively few recorded troubadours. Only in the last decades of the century did troubadour activity explode. Almost half of all troubadour works that survive are from the period 1180–1220.{{sfn|Paden|2005|p=161}} In total, moreover, there are over 2,500 troubadour lyrics available to be studied as linguistic artifacts (Akehurst, 23). The troubadour tradition seems to have begun in western Aquitaine ([[Poitou]] and [[County of Saintonge|Saintonge]]) and [[Gascony]], from there spreading over into eastern Aquitaine ([[Limousin (province)|Limousin]] and [[Auvergne (province)|Auvergne]]) and [[Provence]]. At its height it had become popular in [[Languedoc]] and the regions of [[Rouergue]], [[Toulouse]], and [[Quercy]] (c. 1200). Finally, in the early 13th century it began to spread into first Italy and then [[Catalonia]], whence to the rest of modern Spain and then Portugal. This development has been called the ''rayonnement des troubadours'' ({{IPA|fr|ʁɛjɔnəmɑ̃ de tʁubaduːʁ|pron}}).{{sfn|Paden|2005|p=163}}

===Classical period===
The classical period of troubadour activity lasted from about 1170 until about 1213. 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 (song)|canso]]'', or love song, became distinguishable as a genre. The master of the ''canso'' and the troubadour who epitomises the classical period is [[Bernart de Ventadorn]]. 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.

The classical period came to be seen by later generations, especially in the 14th and 15th 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 vocabulary, their style and themes, were the ideal to which poets of the troubadour revival in [[Toulouse]] (creation of the [[Consistori del Gay Saber]] in 1323) 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]].

==Lives==
{{see also|List of troubadours and trobairitz|Minstrel|Vida (Occitan literary form)|Razo|Consistori del Gay Saber|Consistori de Barcelona}}
The 450 or so troubadours known to historians came from a variety of backgrounds. 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 known troubadour, the Duke of Aquitaine, came from the high nobility. He was followed immediately by two poets of unknown origins, known only by their sobriquets, [[Cercamon]] and [[Marcabru]], and by a member of the princely class, [[Jaufre Rudel]]. 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]], [[Marcabru]], [[Peire de Maensac]], [[Peirol]], [[Raimon de Miraval]], [[Rigaut de Berbezilh]], and [[Uc de Pena]] are all so described. [[Albertet de Sestaro]] is described as the son of a noble [[Jongleur]], presumably a [[Petty nobility|petty noble]] lineage.

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. [[Perdigon]] was the son of a "poor fisherman" and [[Elias Cairel]] of a blacksmith. [[Arnaut de Mareuil]] is specified in his ''vida'' as coming from a poor family, but whether this family was poor by noble standards or materially is not apparent.

Many troubadours also possessed a clerical education. For some this was their springboard to composition, since their clerical education equipped them with an understanding of musical and poetic forms as well as vocal training. The ''vidas'' of the following troubadours note their clerical status: [[Aimeric de Belenoi]], [[Folquet de Marselha]] (who became a bishop), [[Gui d'Ussel]], [[Guillem Ramon de Gironella]], [[Jofre de Foixà]] (who became an abbot), [[Peire de Bussignac]], [[Peire Rogier]], [[Raimon de Cornet]], [[Uc Brunet]], and [[Uc de Saint Circ]].

===''Trobadors'' and ''joglars''===
[[File:Vielles and Citole, Manuscript T (El Escorial, Biblioteca del Real Monasterio, MS. T. I. 1), fol. 5r, detail.jpg|thumb|right|Musicians in the time of the [[Cantigas de Santa Maria]]. These were in the court of the king, two [[vielle]] players and one [[citoler]].]]

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. 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 12th century, however, a distinction was definitely being made between an inventor of original verse and the performers of others'. The latter were called ''joglars'' in both Occitan and Catalan, 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. The medieval ''jongleur/joglar'' is really a [[minstrel]].

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'' seems to imply "in the manner of the ''jongleurs''". Inevitably, however, pieces of these 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. They often performed the troubadours' songs: singing, playing instruments, dancing, and even doing acrobatics.{{notetag|The earliest reference to the ''[[basse danse]]'' comes from [[Raimon de Cornet]], who attributes it to the ''jongleurs'' of the mid-14th century.}}

In the late 13th 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''. 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, no doubt, with which 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.

Despite the distinctions noted, many troubadours were also known as jongleurs, either before they began composing or alongside. [[Aimeric de Belenoi]], [[Aimeric de Sarlat]], [[Albertet Cailla]], [[Arnaut de Mareuil]], [[Elias de Barjols]], [[Elias Fonsalada]], [[Falquet de Romans]], [[Guillem Magret]], [[Guiraut de Calanso]], [[Nicoletto da Torino]], [[Peire Raimon de Tolosa]], [[Peire Rogier]], [[Peire de Valeira]], [[Peirol]], [[Pistoleta]], [[Perdigon]], [[Salh d'Escola]], [[Uc de la Bacalaria]], [[Uc Brunet]], and [[Uc de Saint Circ]] were jongleur-troubadours.

===''Vidas'' and ''razos''===

A ''vida'' is a brief prose biography, written in [[Occitan language|Occitan]], of a troubadour. The word ''vida'' means "life" in Occitan. In the [[chansonnier]]s, the manuscript collections of medieval troubadour poetry, the works of a particular author are often accompanied by a short prose biography. The ''vidas'' are important early works of vernacular prose nonfiction.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Egan |first1=Margarita |title=The Vidas of the Troubadours |date=2018 |publisher=Routlegde |location=Abingdon |isbn=978-0367189440 |pages=xiv}}</ref> Nevertheless, it appears that many of them derive their facts from literal readings of their objects' poems, which leaves their historical reliability in doubt. Most of the ''vidas'' were composed in Italy in the 1220s, many by [[Uc de Saint Circ]].

A ''razo'' (from Occitan for "reason") was a similar short piece of Occitan prose detailing the circumstances of a particular composition. A ''razo'' normally introduced the poem it explained; it might, however, share some of the characteristics of a ''vida''. The ''razos'' suffer from the same problems as the ''vidas'' in terms of reliability. Many are likewise the work of Uc de Saint Circ.

[[File:Perceval Doria.jpg|thumb|right|Late 16th-century Italian cursive on paper, recording a song of Perceval Doria]]

===''Podestà''-troubadours===
A phenomenon arose in Italy, recognised around the turn of the 20th century by Giulio Bertoni, of men serving in several cities as ''[[podestà]]s'' on behalf of either the [[Guelphs and Ghibellines|Guelph or Ghibelline]] party and writing political verse in Occitan rhyme. 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]], possibly the first troubadour native to the Italian Peninsula, who was ''podestà'' of [[Genoa]] between 1218 and 1221. Rambertino, a Guelph, served at one time or another as ''podestà'' of [[Brescia]], [[Milan]], [[Parma]], [[Mantua]], and [[Verona]]. It was probably during his three-year tenure there that he introduced Occitan lyric poetry to the city, which was later to develop a flourishing 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, Italy|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]]. 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. 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.

===Trobairitz===
{{main|Trobairitz}}
The ''trobairitz'' were the female troubadours, the first female composers of [[secular music]] in the Western tradition. The word ''trobairitz'' was first used in the 13th-century ''[[Romance of Flamenca]]'' and its derivation is the same as that of ''trobaire'' but in feminine form. There were also female counterparts to the ''joglars'': the ''[[joglaresse|joglaresas]]''. The number of trobairitz varies between sources: there were twenty or twenty-one named trobairitz, plus an additional poet known only as [[Domna H.]] There are several anonymous texts ascribed to women; the total number of trobairitz texts varies from twenty-two (Schultz-Gora),{{sfn|Schultz-Gora|1888|p=12}} twenty-five ([[Pierre Bec|Bec]]), thirty-six (Bruckner, Shepard, and White),{{sfn|Bruckner|Shepard|White|2000|p=xxxvi}} and forty-six (Rieger).{{sfn|Rieger|1991|p=xii}} Only one melody composed by a trobairitz (the [[Beatritz de Dia|Comtessa de Dia]]) survives. 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.

[[File:BnF ms. 12473 fol. 110v - Na Castelloza (2).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Castelloza]]

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. They wrote predominantly ''[[cansos]]'' and ''[[tenso]]s''; only one ''sirventes'' by a named woman, [[Gormonda de Monpeslier]], survives (though two anonymous ones are attributed to women). 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. 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]]''. None of the trobairitz were prolific, or if they were their 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. One of the known trobairitz, [[Gaudairença]], wrote a song entitled ''Coblas e dansas'', which has not survived; no other piece of hers has either.

The trobairitz came almost to a woman from [[Occitania]]. There are representatives from the [[Auvergne (province)|Auvergne]], [[Provence]], [[Languedoc]], the [[Dauphiné]], [[Toulousain]], and the [[Limousin (province)|Limousin]]. One trobairitz, [[Ysabella (trobairitz)|Ysabella]], may have been born in [[Périgord]], Northern Italy, [[Latin Empire|Greece]], or [[Kingdom of Jerusalem|Palestine]]. All the trobairitz whose families we know were high-born ladies; only one, Lombarda, was probably of the merchant class. All the trobairitz known by name lived around the same time: the late 12th and the early 13th century (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). 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. There exist brief prose biographies—''[[Vida (Occitan literary form)|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.

==Works==

===Schools and styles===

Three main styles of Occitan lyric poetry have been identified: the ''[[trobar leu]]'' (light), ''[[trobar ric]]'' (rich), and ''[[trobar clus]]'' (closed, [[Hermeticism|hermetic]]). 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]]. 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. 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 recognise several "schools" in the troubadour tradition. Among the earliest is a school of followers of Marcabru, sometimes called the "Marcabrunian school": [[Bernart Marti]], [[Bernart de Venzac]], [[Gavaudan]], and [[Peire d'Alvernhe]]. 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 was said by his biographer to have composed in the "old style" (''la uzansa antiga'') 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. This Gascon "literary fad" was unpopular in [[Provence]] in the early 13th century, harming the reputation of the poets associated with it.

In the late 13th century a school arose at [[Béziers]], once the centre of pre-Albigensian Languedoc and of the Trencavel lordships, in the 1260s–80s. Four poets epitomise this "school": [[Bernart d'Auriac]], [[Joan Esteve]], [[Joan Miralhas]], and [[Raimon Gaucelm]]. The latter three were natives of Béziers and all four lived there. All were members of the urban middle class and no courtesans: Miralhas was possibly a potter and Bernart was a ''mayestre'' (teacher). All wrote in Occitan but were supporters of the French king [[Louis IX of France|Louis IX]] and the French aristocracy against the native Occitan nobility. 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. Joan Esteve and Bernart both composed in support of the French in the [[Aragonese Crusade]]. The Béziers poets are a shining example of the transformation of Occitania in the aftermath of the Albigensian Crusade, but also of the ability of troubadours to survive it.{{sfn|de Riquer|1975}}

===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). 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-14th 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 (poetry)|Alba]]'' (morning song) – the song of a lover as dawn approaches, often with a watchman warning of the approach of a lady's jealous husband
*''[[Arlabecca]]'' – a song defined by poetic metre, but perhaps once related to the [[rebec]]
*''[[Canso (song)|Canso]]'', originally ''vers'', also ''chanso'' or ''canço'' – the love song, usually consisting of five or six [[stanza]]s with an [[envoi]]
*''[[Cobla (Occitan literary term)|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
*''[[Devinalh]]'' – a riddle or cryptogram
*''[[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 dance-like song
*''[[Gap (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
*''[[Serena (genre)|Serena]]'' – the song of a lover waiting impatiently for the evening (to consummate his love)
*''[[Sestina]]'' – highly structured verse form
*''[[Sirventes]]'' – a political poem or [[satire]], originally put in the mouth of a paid soldier (''sirvens'')
*[[Sonnet]] (''sonet'') – an Italian genre imported into Occitan verse in the 13th century
*''[[Tenso]]'' – 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|Viadeira]]'' – a traveller's complaint

All these genres were highly fluid. A cross between a ''sirventes'' and a ''canso'' was a ''meg-sirventes'' (half-''sirventes'').{{notetag|Sometimes ''canso-sirventes'' or ''sirventes-canso'' was used. [[Bertran de Born]] uses the term ''miei 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'').

[[Peire Bremon Ricas Novas]] uses the term ''mieja chanso'' (half song) and [[Cerverí de Girona]] uses a similar phrase, ''miga canço'', both to refer to a short ''canso'' and not a mixture of genres as sometimes supposed. Cerverí's ''mig'' (or ''meig'') ''vers e miga canço'' was a ''vers'' in the new sense (a moralising song) that was also highly critical and thus combined the ''canso'' and the ''sirventes''. Among the more than one hundred works of Cerverí de Girona are many songs with unique labels, which may correspond more to "titles" than "genres", but that is debatable: ''peguesca'' (nonsense), ''espingadura'' ([[flageolet]] song), ''libel'' (legal petition), ''esdemessa'' (leap), ''somni'' (dream), ''acuyndamen'' (challenge), ''desirança'' (nostalgia), ''aniversari'' (anniversary), ''serena'' (serene).<ref>Frank M. Chambers (1985), ''An Introduction to Old Provençal Versification'', (Darby, PA: Diane Publishing, {{ISBN|0-87169-167-1}}.), pp. 195–96.</ref>

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 literature|French]], the ''alba'' became the ''[[aubade]]'', the ''pastorela'' the ''[[pastourelle]]'', and the ''partimen'' the ''[[jeu parti]]''. 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]]. The [[basse danse]] (''bassa dansa'') was first mentioned in the troubadour tradition (c. 1324), but only as being performed by jongleurs.

[[File:BnF ms. 854 fol. 135 - Le moine de Montaudon (1).jpg|thumb|left|The [[Monge de Montaudon]] receiving a [[Eurasian sparrowhawk|sparrow hawk]] as a prize for his performance in a contest]]

===Performance===
Troubadours performed their own songs. Jongleurs (performers) and ''cantaires'' (singers) also performed troubadours' songs. They could work from [[chansonnier]]s, many of which have survived, or possibly from more rudimentary (and temporary) songbooks, none of which have survived, if they even existed. Some troubadours, like [[Arnaut de Maruelh]], had their own jongleurs who were dedicated to singing their patron's work. Arnaut's ''joglar et cantaire'', probably both a singer and a messenger, who carried his love songs to his lady, was [[Pistoleta]]. 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. Court songs could be used not only as entertainment but also as propaganda, praising the patron, mocking his enemies, encouraging his wars, teaching ethics and etiquette, and maintaining religious 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 [[Eurasian sparrowhawk|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 most famous contests were held in the twilight of the troubadours in the 14th and 15th centuries. The ''[[jocs florals]]'' held by the [[Consistori del Gay Saber]] at [[Toulouse]], by [[Peter IV of Aragon]] at [[Lleida]], and the [[Consistori de Barcelona|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]]''.

Troubadour songs are still performed and recorded today, albeit rarely.
{{Listen|filename=A Chantar2.ogg|title=A chantar m'er|description=The only existing song by a ''trobairitz'' which survives with music.|format=[[Ogg]]}}

===Music===
Troubadour songs were usually [[monophony|monophonic]]. Fewer than 300 melodies out of an estimated 2500 survive.<ref>''The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music'' edited by Stanley Sadie. Macmillan Press Ltd., London.</ref> Most were composed by the troubadours themselves. Some were set to pre-existing pieces of music. [[Raimbaut de Vaqueyras]] wrote his ''Kalenda maya'' ("The Calends of May") to music composed by jongleurs at [[Montferrat]].

===Grammars and dictionaries===
Beginning in the early 13th century, the spread of Occitan verse demanded grammars and dictionaries, especially for those whose native tongue was not Occitan, such as the Catalan and Italian troubadours, and their imitators. The production of such works only increased with the academisation of the troubadour lyric in the 14th century.
{| class="wikitable"
!Image
!Title
!Translation of title
!Author
!Date, place
!Character
|-
|[[File:Razos de Trobar.jpg|75px]]
|''Razos de trobar''
|"Explanations of composition"
|[[Raimon Vidal]]
|c. 1210
| Prose guide to poetic composition that defends the superiority of Occitan over other vernaculars. Occitan–Italian dictionary.
|-
|
|''Donatz proensals''
|"Provençal Donatus"
|[[Uc Faidit]]
|c. 1243
|An Occitan imitation of [[Latin grammar]]ian [[Aelius Donatus]]. A rhymary and Latin–Occitan dictionary designed for Italians.
|-
|
|''Doctrina de compondre dictats''
|"Doctrinal of understanding sayings"
|Anonymous,<br>possibly [[Raimon Vidal]]
|late 13th century
|A catalogue and explanation of the different poetic genres. It expands on the ''Razos'' and may be the concluding section of the ''Regles'' of Jaufre de Foixa.
|-
|[[File:Ensenhamen.PNG|75px]]
|''Lo breviari d'amors''
|"Breviary of love"
|[[Matfre Ermengau]]
|begun 1288
| A pious [[encyclopedia]], the last section of which, "Perilhos tractatz d'amor de donas, seguon qu'en han tractat li antic trobador en lurs cansos", is an Occitan grammar.
|-
|
|''Doctrina d'acort''{{notetag|Sometimes ''Doctrina de cort'': "Doctrinal of court".}}
|"Doctrinal of concordance"
|[[Terramagnino da Pisa]]
|1282–96, Sardinia
|A condensed verse adaptation of the ''Razos'', poorly preserved in the manuscripts.
|-
|[[File:Regles de Trobar.jpg|75px]]
|''Regles de trobar''{{notetag|Sometimes ''Vers e regles de trobar'': "Verses and rules of composition".}}
|"Rules of composition"
|[[Jaufre de Foixa]]
|1289–91, Sicily
| Contains many examples of troubadour verse, designed to augment the ''Razos de trobar''.
|-
|[[File:Mirall de Trobar.jpg|75px]]
|''Mirall de trobar''
|"Mirror of composition"
|[[Berenguer d'Anoia]]
|early 14th century
| Mainly covers rhetoric and errors, and is littered with examples of troubadour verse.
|-
|
|''[[Cançoneret de Ripoll]]''
|"Little Chansonnier of Ripoll"
|Anonymous
|1346, Roussillon or Cerdagne
|A [[chansonnier]] containing a unique grammar, including a catalogue of poetic genres, expands on the ''Doctrina de compondre dictats'' and the ''Leys d'amors''.
|-
|[[File:Leys d'amor, initial.jpg|75px]]
|''Leys d'amors''{{notetag|name=leys|Fully ''Las flors del Gay Saber, estiers dichas las leys d'amors'': "The flowers of the Gay Science, which are called the laws of love".}}
|"Laws of love"
|[[Guilhem Molinier]]
|1328–37, Toulouse
| First commissioned in 1323. Prose rules governing the [[Consistori del Gay Saber]] and the [[Consistori de Barcelona]].
|-
|
|''Leys d'amors''{{notetag|name=leys}}
|"Laws of love"
|Anonymous
|1337–47, Toulouse
|Verse adaptation of the prose ''Leys''.
|-
|
|''Leys d'amors''{{notetag|name=leys}}
|"Laws of love"
|[[Joan de Castellnou]]
|1355, Toulouse
|Final, expanded, prose version of the previous ''Leys''.
|-
|
|''Doctrinal de trobar''
|"Doctrinal of composition"
|[[Raimon de Cornet]]
|c. 1324<br>(before 1341)
|Dedicated to [[Peter IV of Aragon]], identical in structure to the ''Leys'' of Guilhem Molinier.
|-
|
|''Glosari''
|"Glossary"
|[[Joan de Castellnou]]
|1341
|A commentary on the ''Doctrinal de trobar''.
|-
|
|''Compendi''{{notetag|Fully ''Compendi de la conexença dels vicis que.s podon esdevenir en las dictats del Gay Saber'': "Compendium of the knowledge of the vices that can be expressed in the Gay Science".}}
|"Compendium"
|[[Joan de Castellnou]]
|before 1341
|A catalogue of all the "vices" one can commit by transgressing the ''Leys'' etc.
|-
|
|''Libre de concordances''<br>(or ''Diccionari de rims'')
|"Book of concordances"<br>(or "Dictionary of rhymes")
|[[Jaume March II]]
|1371
|An Occitan rhymary for Catalans.
|-
|
|''Torcimany''
|"Translation"
|[[Luys d'Averçó]]
|late 14th century
|A rhymary and Catalan–Occitan dictionary.
|}

==Legacy==
{{main|Occitan literature}}

===Transmission===
Some 2,600 poems or fragments of poems have survived from around 450 identifiable troubadours. They are largely preserved in songbooks called ''[[chansonnier]]s'' made for wealthy patrons.

Troubadour songs are generally referred to by their [[incipit]]s, that is, their opening lines. If this is long, or after it has already been mentioned, an abbreviation of the incipit may be used for convenience. A few troubadour songs are known by "nicknames", thus ''D'un sirventes far'' by [[Guilhem Figueira]] is commonly called the ''Sirventes contra Roma''. When a writer seeks to avoid using unglossed Occitan, the incipit of the song may be given in translation instead or a title may even be invented to reflect the theme of the work. Especially in translations designed for a popular audience, such as Ezra Pound's, English titles are commonly invented by the translator/editor. There are examples, however, of troubadour songs given Occitan titles in the manuscripts, such as an anonymous ''pastorela'' that begins ''Mentre per una ribeira'', which is entitled ''Porquieira''.

===Table of chansonniers===
The number of Occitan parchment chansonniers given as extant varies between authors, depending on how they treat fragmentary and multilingual manuscripts. Conventionally, fragments are classified as fragments of the surviving chansonnier they most closely resemble and not as chansonniers in their own right. Some chansonniers have received both Occitan and French letters: troubadour D is trouvère H, W is M and X is U. The lettering (''siglas'') was introduced by [[Karl Bartsch]], who placed sources he considered more reliable higher in the alphabet. This system is imperfect, however, since many of the chansonniers produced for an Italian audience are heavily edited and do not necessarily more closely resemble the original compositions. While parchment chansonniers are more durable, paper ones also exist and have received lower-case ''siglas''.<ref>Gaunt and Kay, "Appendix 4", 303–04.</ref><ref>Paden, "Manuscripts", in Akehurst and Davis, 329.</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!Image
!Troubadour manuscript letter (''sigla'')
!Provenance (place of origin, date)
!Location (library, city)
![[Shelfmark]]<br>(with external link to digitization, where available)
!Notes
|-
|[[File:Perdigon's vida, miniature, and canso, MS A.jpg|75px]]
|A
|[[Lombardy]],<br>13th century
|[[Biblioteca Vaticana]],<br>[[Rome]]
|[https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.lat.5232 Latin 5232]
|
|-
|[[File:Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 1592, fol. 4r.jpeg|75px]]
|B
|[[Occitania]],<br>13th century
|{{Lang|fr|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]|italic=no}},<br>[[Paris]]
|[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8419241r BN f.f. 1592]
|
|-
|[[File:Chansonnier C.jpg|75px]]
|C
|[[Occitania]],<br>14th century
|{{Lang|fr|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]|italic=no}},<br>[[Paris]]
|[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8419246t.image BN f.f. 856]
|
|-
|[[File:Peire dela Cauarana and Peire de Gauaret.jpg|75px]]
|D
|[[Lombardy]],<br>12 August 1254
|[[Biblioteca Estense]],<br>[[Modena]]
|[http://bibliotecaestense.beniculturali.it/info/img/mss/i-mo-beu-alfa.r.4.4.pdf α.R.4.4] = Kg.4.MS2 = E.45
|The ''[[Poetarum Provinciali]]''.
|-
|[[File:Arnaut Plagues.png|75px]]
|E
|[[Occitania]],<br>14th century
|{{Lang|fr|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]|italic=no}},<br>[[Paris]]
|[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6000801v.image BN f.f. 1749]
|
|-
|[[File:Rome, Biblioteca Vaticana, MS Chig.L.IV.106.pt.A, folio 1r.jpg|75px]]
|F
|[[Lombardy]],<br>14th century
|[[Biblioteca Vaticana]],<br>[[Rome]]
|[https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Chig.L.IV.106.pt.A Chigi L.IV.106]
|
|-
|[[File:Chansonnier G.jpg|75px]]
|G
|[[Lombardy]] or [[Venetia (region)|Venetia]],<br>late 13th century
|[[Biblioteca Ambrosiana]],<br>[[Milan]]
|[https://ambrosiana.comperio.it/opac/detail/view/ambro:catalog:91073 R 71 sup.]
|Contains troubadour music.
|-
|[[File:Trobairitz of Dieus sal la terra e.l pais.png|75px]]
|H
|[[Lombardy]],<br>late 13th century
|[[Biblioteca Vaticana]],<br>[[Rome]]
|[https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.lat.3207 Latin 3207]
|
|-
|[[File:Jaufre rudel.jpg|75px]]
|I
|[[Lombardy]],<br>13th century
|{{Lang|fr|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]|italic=no}},<br>[[Paris]]
|[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8419245d BN f.f. 854]
|
|-
|[[File:Troubadour chansonnier J.jpg|75px]]
|J
|[[Occitania]],<br>14th century
|[[Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Firenze|Biblioteca Nazionale]],<br>[[Florence]]
|[https://archive.org/details/conventi-soppressi-f.-iv.-776 Conventi Soppressi F.IV.776]
|
|-
|[[File:Azalaïs de Porcairagues - BN MS12473 1.jpg|75px]]
|K
|[[Lombardy]],<br>13th century
|{{Lang|fr|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]|italic=no}},<br>[[Paris]]
|[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b60007960 BN f.f. 12473]
|
|-
|[[File:Vat. lat. 3206 f. 1r.jpg|75px]]
|L
|[[Lombardy]],<br>14th century
|[[Biblioteca Vaticana]],<br>[[Rome]]
|[https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.lat.3206 Latin 3206]
|
|-
|
|M
|[[Lombardy]],<br>14th century
|{{Lang|fr|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]|italic=no}},<br>[[Paris]]
|[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6000427q.image BN f.f. 12474]
|
|-
|[[File:The Morgan Library and Museum, MS M.819, fol. 1r.jpg|75px]]
|N
|[[Italy]], ca. 1285-1300
|[[Pierpont Morgan Library|Pierpont Morgan]],<br>[[New York City|New York]]
|[https://www.themorgan.org/manuscript/147160 819]
|The [[Philipps Manuscript]].
|-
|[[File:Contencio Rambaut et albertet.png|75px]]
|O
|[[Lombardy]],<br>14th century
|[[Biblioteca Vaticana]],<br>[[Rome]]
|[https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.lat.3208 Latin 3208]
|
|-
|[[File:Raimon Guillem and Ferrarino da Ferrara.jpg|75px]]
|P
|[[Lombardy]],<br>1310
|[[Biblioteca Laurenziana]],<br>[[Florence]]
|[http://mss.bmlonline.it/s.aspx?Id=AWOIsUjNI1A4r7GxMI1O Plut.XLI.42]
|
|-
|[[File:Troubadour chansonnier Q, folio 1r.jpg|75px]]
|Q
|[[Lombardy]],<br>14th century
|[[Biblioteca Riccardiana]],<br>[[Florence]]
|2909<br>([https://archive.org/details/ilcanzonierepro00bertgoog/ diplomatic edition])
|
|-
|[[File:Song of Guiraut Riquier.jpg|75px]]
|R
|[[Toulouse|Toulousain]] or [[Rouergue]],<br>14th century
|{{Lang|fr|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]|italic=no}},<br>[[Paris]]
|[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b60004306.image BN f.f. 22543]
|Contains more troubadour music than any other manuscript. Perhaps produced for [[Henry II of Rodez]].
|-
|[[File:Rambertino Buvalelli.jpg|75px]]
|S
|[[Lombardy]],<br>13th century
|[[Bodleian Library]],<br>[[Oxford]]
|[https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/c6e3d99f-c135-40e6-bd51-85b0f9a62902/ Douce 269]
|
|-
|[[File:Initial M from Cançoner Gil.jpg|75px]]
|Sg
|[[Catalonia]],<br>14th century
|[[Biblioteca de Catalunya]],<br>[[Barcelona]]
|[https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra/canconer-provencal-canconer-gil-manuscrit--0/ 146]
|The famous [[Cançoner Gil]]. Called Z in the reassignment of letter names by François Zufferey.
|-
|[[File:Bieris de Romans - Na Maria, pretz e fina valors (Ms. Bnf fr. 15211 T, fol. 208v).jpg|center|frameless|145x145px]]
|T
|[[Lombardy]],<br>late 13th century
|{{Lang|fr|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]|italic=no}},<br>[[Paris]]
|[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6000798t BN f.f. 15211]
|
|-
|[[File:Tenso between Nicolet da Torino and Joan d'Albusson.jpg|75px]]
|U
|[[Lombardy]],<br>14th century
|[[Biblioteca Laurenziana]],<br>[[Florence]]
|[http://mss.bmlonline.it/s.aspx?Id=AWOIei6AI1A4r7GxMHw4 Plut.XLI.43]
|
|-
|
|V
|[[Catalonia]],<br>1268
|[[Biblioteca Marciana]],<br>[[Venice]]
|fr. App. cod. XI
|
|-
|[[File:Chansonnier du Roi.jpg|75px]]
|W
|perhaps [[Artois]],<br>1254–{{Circa|1280}}
|{{Lang|fr|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]|italic=no}},<br>[[Paris]]
|[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84192440 BN f.f. 844]
|Also trouvère manuscript M. Contains the ''[[chansonnier du roi]]'' of [[Theobald I of Navarre]]. Possibly produced for [[Charles I of Naples]]. Contains troubadour music.
|-
|[[File:BnF ms. 20050 fol. 81v.jpg|75px]]
|X
|[[Lorrain (province)|Lorraine]],<br>13th century
|{{Lang|fr|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]|italic=no}},<br>[[Paris]]
|[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b60009580 BN f.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 the 18th century.
|-
|
|Y
|[[France]]/[[Lombardy]],<br>13th century
|{{Lang|fr|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]|italic=no}},<br>[[Paris]]
|[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8419243k BN f.f. 795]
|
|-
|
|Z
|[[Occitania]],<br>13th century
|{{Lang|fr|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]|italic=no}},<br>[[Paris]]
|[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84192425.image BN f.f. 1745]
|
|-
|
|a
|
|[[Biblioteca Riccardiana]],<br>[[Florence]]
|2814
|Copy of a lost manuscript compiled by [[Bernart Amoros]].
|-
|
|a<sup>1</sup>
|
|[[Biblioteca Estense]],<br>[[Modena]]
|[http://bibliotecaestense.beniculturali.it/info/img/mss/i-mo-beu-gamma.n.8.4.11-13.pdf Gamma.N.8.4.11–13] = Càmpori Appendice 426, 427, 494
|Copy of a lost manuscript compiled by [[Bernart Amoros]].
|-
|
|b
|
|[[Biblioteca Vaticana]],<br>[[Rome]]
|[https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Barb.lat.4087 Barberiniani 4087]
|Copy of a lost manuscript compiled by [[Miquel de la Tor]].
|-
|
|c
|
|[[Biblioteca Laurenziana]],<br>[[Florence]]
|Plut. XC inferiore 26
|
|-
|
|d
|
|[[Staatsbibliothek]],<br>[[Berlin]]
|Phillipps 1910
|Pillet-Carstens ''N<sup>2</sup>'', since Pillet-Carstens ''d'' is a mere copy of ''K''.
|-
|
|e
|
|[[Biblioteca Vaticana]],<br>[[Rome]]
|[https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.lat.7182 Latin 7182]
|
|-
|
|e (Pillet-Carstens)
|
|[[Biblioteca Vaticana]],<br>[[Rome]]
|Barberiniani 3965
|Copy of a lost manuscript compiled by [[Miquel de la Tor]].
|-
|
|f
|
|{{Lang|fr|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]|italic=no}},<br>[[Paris]]
|[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6000800f BN f.f. 12472]
|
|}

== See also ==
{{Divcol|content=* [[Ashik]]
* [[Bard]]
* [[Bhāts]]
* [[Dziady (wandering beggars)]]
* [[Filí]]
* [[Griot]]
* [[Gusans]]
* [[Lirnyk]]
* [[Minstrels]]
* [[Rhapsode]]
* [[Skald]]
* [[Trouvère]]}}

== Notes ==
{{notefoot}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite journal
 |last=Abraham |first=Mary C.
 |date=2012
 |title=The Rhetoric of the Troubadours
 |journal=Musical Offerings
 |volume=1 |number=1
 |url=http://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/musicalofferings/vol1/iss1/1
}}
* {{cite book
 |last1=Akehurst |first1=F. R. P.
 |last2=Davis |first2=Judith M.
 |date=1995
 |title=A Handbook of the Troubadours
 |location=Berkeley
 |publisher=University of California Press
 |isbn=0-520-07976-0
}}
* {{cite journal
 |last=Aubrey |first=Elizabeth
 |date=1989
 |title=References to Music in Old Occitan Literature
 |journal=Acta Musicologica
 |volume=61 |number=2 (May–August)
 |pages=110–149
|doi=10.2307/932607
 |jstor=932607
 }}
* {{cite book
 |last=Boase |first=Roger
 |date=1977
 |title=The Origin and Meaning of Courtly Love: A Critical Study of European Scholarship
 |location=Manchester
 |publisher=Manchester University Press
 |isbn=0-87471-950-X
}}
* {{cite book
 |last1=Bruckner |first1=Matilda
 |last2=Shepard |first2=Laurie
 |last3=White |first3=Sarah
 |date=2000
 |title=Songs of the Women Troubadours
 |location=New York
 |publisher=Garland Publishing
 |isbn=978-0-81533-568-9
}}
* {{cite book
 |last=Chaytor |first=Henry John
 |year=1912
 |title=The Troubadours
 |location=Cambridge
 |publisher=Cambridge University Press
 |url=http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Troubadours.html
}}
* {{cite book
 |last1=Gaunt |first1=Simon
 |last2=Kay |first2=Sarah |author2-link=Sarah Kay
 |year=1999
 |title=The Troubadours: An Introduction
 |location=Cambridge
 |publisher=Cambridge University Press
 |isbn=0-521-57473-0
}}
* {{Cite EB1911
 |last= Gosse |first= Edmund William |author-link= Edmund William Gosse
 |wstitle= Troubadour
 |volume= 27
 |pages = 308&ndash;311
}}
* {{cite journal
 |last=Jones |first=W. Powell
 |date=1931
 |title=The Jongleur Troubadours of Provence
 |journal=PMLA
 |volume=46 |number=2 (June)
 |pages=307–311
}}
* {{cite journal
 |last=Menocal |first=María Rosa |author-link=María Rosa Menocal
 |date=1981
 |title=Close Encounters in Medieval Provence: Spain's Role in the Birth of Troubadour Poetry
 |journal=Hispanic Review
 |volume=49 |number=1 (Williams Memorial Issue, Winter)
 |pages=43–64
 |doi=10.2307/472655 |jstor=472655
}}
* {{cite book
 |last=Paden |first=William D.
 |date=2005
 |chapter=Troubadours and History
 |pages=157–182
 |title=The world of Eleanor of Aquitaine : literature and society in southern France between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries
 |editor1=Marcus Bull
 |editor2=Catherine Léglu
 |location=Woodbridge
 |publisher=Boydell Press
 |isbn=1-84383-114-7
}}
* {{cite book
 |last=Rieger |first=Angelica
 |date=1991
 |title=Trobairitz: Der Beitrag der Frau in der altokzitanischen höfischen Lyrik. Edition des Gesamtkorpus
 |trans-title=Trobairitz: The Contribution of Women in Old Occitan Courtly Poetry. Edition of the entire corpus
 |lang=de
 |location=Tübingen
 |publisher=Niemeyer
 |isbn=978-3-4845-223-36
}}
* {{cite book
 |last= de Riquer |first= Martín |author-link= Martí de Riquer i Morera
 |date= 1975
 |title= Los trovadores: historia literaria y textos
 |trans-title= Troubadours: Literary History and Texts
 |language= es
 |location= Barcelona
 |publisher= Planeta
 |isbn= 978-8434405479
}}
* {{cite book
 |last=Schultz-Gora |first=Oskar |author-link=:de:Oskar Schultz-Gora
 |date=1888
 |title=Die provenzalischen Dichterinnen: Biographien und Texte
 |trans-title=The Provençal Women Poets: Biographies and Texts
 |lang=de
 |location=Leipzig
 |publisher=Gustav Fock
 |url=https://archive.org/details/dieprovenzalisc00schugoog/
}}
* {{cite journal
 |last=Silverstein |first=Theodore
 |date=1949
 |title=Andreas, Plato, and the Arabs: Remarks on Some Recent Accounts of Courtly Love
 |journal=Modern Philology
 |volume=47 |number=2 (November)
 |pages=117–126
 |doi=10.1086/388831
 |jstor=434698
}}
* {{cite book
 |last=Smythe |first=Barbara
 |date=1966
 |title=Trobador Poets: Selections from the Poems of Eight Trobadors, Translated from the Provençal with Introduction & Notes
 |location=New York
 |publisher=Cooper Square Publishers
}}
* {{cite journal
 |last=Warren |first=F. M.
 |date=1912
 |title=The Troubadour ''Canso'' and Latin Lyric Poetry
 |journal=Modern Philology
 |volume=9 |number=4 (April)
 |pages=469–487
 |doi=10.1086/386873
 |jstor=432644
}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commonscat|Troubadours}}
*[http://www.troubadourmelodies.org/ Database of extant Troubadour melodies]
*[http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1310 Literary Encyclopedia: Troubadour.]
*[http://www.rialto.unina.it/ The University of Naples' troubadours' text collection]
*[http://www.trobar.org/troubadours/ Complete works of the major troubadours]
*[http://www.espaci-occitan.com/botiga/en/425-trobadors-e-trobairitz Books about Troubadours]
*Said I. Abdelwahed. [http://www.arabworldbooks.com/Literature/troubadour_poetry.htm Troubadour Poetry: An Intercultural Experience.]
*[http://courtlysite.eu Courtly Site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817052205/http://courtlysite.eu/ |date=2014-08-17 }} - site on courtly love, literature, troubadours
*{{cite journal|author=Pound, Ezra|author-link=Ezra Pound|title=Troubadors: Their Sorts and Conditions|journal=The Quarterly Journal|volume=219|date=October 1913|pages=426–440|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015056059556;view=1up;seq=454}}

{{Medieval music|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Troubadours| ]]
[[Category:Medieval performers]]
[[Category:High Middle Ages]]
[[Category:Medieval literature]]
[[Category:Old Occitan literature]]
[[Category:Occitan music]]
[[Category:Galician literature]]
[[Category:Music of Galicia]]
[[Category:Occupations in music]]
[[Category:Obsolete occupations]]
[[Category:Medieval occupations]]