Vol 10. The Formation of a Western Literature: Music
The Troubadours
The eleventh and twelfth centuries saw the rise of the troubadour in Spain and southern France (their counterparts in northern France were known as trouvères). Troubadours were combination composers, poets, and musicians who sang of chivalry and courtly love; their songs, performed in the vernacular rather than Latin, were the first important vernacular music of the Middle Ages. While the first troubadours were nobles who performed at court, later troubadours were of lower birth and traveled from court to court, performing for pay at festivals and tournaments.