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A troubadour 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 troubadour is usually called a trobairitz.

Eleanor of Aquitaine (ca. 1122–1204) was a member of an aristocratic family, granddaughter of a troubadour, wife and mother of kings, and a patron of troubadours and trouvères.

Troubadour songs were usually monophonic, a melody without accompanying harmony. If an instrument was played as accompaniment, notes would be played one at a time in octaves with the sung melody. Many melodies were originally written by the troubadour, while others were set to pre-existing songs.

Strictly speaking, however, troubadours are those writers who composed music and lyrics in the Occitan language during the 12th and 13th centuries. The earliest known troubadours were from the nobility, and their primary audience and main point of reference was the court.

This music was generally monophonic (had a melody, but no counterpoint or chords), and could be a moralizing critique, a song about love and/or chivalry, a Crusading song, a boasting song like a sports chant, or any of a variety of types of song that would be enjoyed for entertainment purposes.

Over 1650 troubadour melodies have survived. They do not have a rhythm, yet they do have regular meter and definite beat. That's their difference from Gregorian Chant which has no meter at all.

From being the platform for 1960s debuts by Buffalo Springfield, Joni Mitchell and James Taylor to hosing some of the the biggest artists and comedians of today, the Troubadour's legacy keeps growing over 60 years since it opened.

Ed Sheeran's Road To 'Subtract': How Grief And Tragedy Forced The Pop Troubadour To Recalculate His Musical Equation. After more than a decade of planning a series of mathematically titled albums, Ed Sheeran's world turned upside down.

From being the platform for 1960s debuts by Buffalo Springfield, Joni Mitchell and James Taylor to hosing some of the the biggest artists and comedians of today, the Troubadour's legacy keeps growing over 60 years since it opened.

Most written secular music was composed by troubadours between the 12th and 13th centuries. Over 1650 troubadour melodies have survived. They do not have a rhythm, yet they do have regular meter and definite beat. That's their difference from Gregorian Chant which has no meter at all.

Troubadour was a fitting name for such creative artists: it derives from an Old Occitan word meaning "to compose." In modern contexts, troubadour still refers to the song-meisters of the Middle Ages, but it has been extended to cover contemporary poet-musicians as well.