A troubadour (English , French: ; : trobador, IPA: ) was a composer and performer of during the (1100–1350). Since the word troubadour is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a .
The troubadour school or tradition began in the late 11th century in , but it subsequently spread into and . Under the influence of the troubadours, related movements sprang up throughout Europe: the in , in and , and that of the in northern . in his defined the troubadour lyric as fictio rethorica musicaque poita: 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 eventually died out around the time of the (1348).
The texts of troubadour songs deal mainly with themes of and . Most were metaphysical, intellectual, and formulaic. Many were humorous or vulgar satires. Works can be grouped into three styles: the (light), (rich), and (closed). Likewise there were many , the most popular being the , but and were especially popular in the post-classical period, in Italy and among the female troubadours, the trobair
a writer and performer of songs or poetry in the Middle Ages
· : one of a class of lyric poets and poet-musicians often of knightly rank who flourished from the 11th to the end of the 13th century chiefly in the south of France and the north of Italy and whose major theme was courtly love — compare
· 2 : a singer especially of folk songs
