Troubadour
After establishing the troubadour style of music, many genres, defined by rules of composition developed. Genres include the morning song, a song renouncing a lover, a song about the Crusades, a lover’s apology, a lament, a song complaining about a lady’s behavior and character, a boasting song, and a traveller’s complaint. Early Medieval troubadours usually stayed for long periods under the patronage of one wealthy noble; however, some travelled from village to village, abroad, and even accompanying knights on Crusade. Many of the troubadours who travelled on Crusade were aristocrats. Noble troubadours include the King of Navarre, the King of Spain, and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, the mother of Richard the Lionheart. The earliest troubadour was the Duke of Aquitaine, who came from high nobility. Cercamon and Marcabru, who are of unknown origins, and Jaufre Rudel, a prince, followed him. Some troubadours denounced wealth and lived as poor knights or knights templar. Later, troubadours could belong to lower classes, including the middle class merchants, tradesmen, and others who worked with their hands. Many possessed a clerical education, the foundation for their ability to compose. Troubadour songs were usually monophonic. Fewer than 300 of an estimated 2,500 melodies survive. About 2,600 poems or fragments of poems by about 450 identifiable troubadours survive. The troubadours greatly influenced music and poetry and mass appeal and appreciation for these art forms.
