Wandering womanisers? These charismatic bards took the medieval world (and its women) by storm

And as historian Linda Paterson explains on the HistoryExtra podcast, their influence echoed far beyond their own time.

Medieval fame and fortune

What is a troubadour? It was the name given to “a poet-musician, active in the south of France and many other places in the 12th and 13th centuries,” says Paterson. This was the time when they had reached the peak of their fame and influence, writing and performing songs that fused poetry and music with resonant emotional expression.

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But the troubadour tradition had emerged slightly earlier, first appearing in southern France at the end of the 11th century, originating from the region of Occitania.

Unlike earlier literary traditions written in Latin, troubadour poetry was composed in Occitan, then the vernacular language of southern France. The poetry was part of a broader cultural shift: it elevated secular subjects, local languages and the personal voice as legitimate themes in elite artistic circles.

Finding a medieval court

Troubadours weren’t necessarily starving artists. They performed for noble courts and travelling lords, trading their words for gifts, status and hospitality.

They were “mainly interested in performing where people are going to pay them well or give them a nice present, like a horse or a cloak,” says Paterson. That meant they’d go where wealth was, “and so the courts are important.”

But a ‘court’ didn’t always mean a palace. A court, Paterson explains, was simply wherever a lord held sway. It could also mean that they performed “wherever crowds gather… they certainly could perform in an open space or a pub, but that probably won’t be the preferred place.”

But what set them apart from street performers was the sophistication of their compositions. “They’re singing often very refined compositions,” Paterson notes. “They might be political. They might be even rude. But they certainly would be entertaining.”

Why become a troubadour?

Becoming a troubadour wasn’t strictly limited by class.

“Almost anybody could be a troubadour,” Paterson explains. “From a king to a count, to a lord, to a knight,” it was a role defined more by skill and charisma than by birth – and aristocrats did join the tradition, though “farmers and peasants” were unlikely to make the cut.

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But for the already wealthy and ennobled, what was to gain from being a troubadour? Writing and performing poetry could offer cultural and social capital and prestige – in short, a chance to show off.

“The people at the top of the scale became troubadours because it gave you prestige – because it was a courtly thing to do.”

Lyrical debates and lust

While troubadours are best remembered for their songs of courtly love – poems of admiration and longing directed at unattainable noblewomen – their repertoire was wide-ranging.

“Courtly love is about desire just on the edge of fulfilment,” Paterson says. “So, the troubadours sing of their longing for their lady, and they ask for the rest too.”

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But the themes could stretch far beyond romance. “They can write about anything – political songs, debate songs, rude songs, entertaining songs, songs about the Crusades,” she adds.

One popular format was the tenso, or poetic debate. These could be light-hearted or bawdy. “There are a lot of debate poems,” says Paterson, “which deal with questions such as: ‘Which would you rather have: three jars of rocket, which is an aphrodisiac, or three women who are likely to be very voracious?’”

Lover, lyricist – or lech?

With their seductive lyrics and tales of noble ladies, it’s little wonder that troubadours gained a reputation for their risky and romantic escapades. But how true is the stereotype of the wandering charmer?

“There’s a popular perception of the troubadour as someone who beds women, escapes out windows,” Paterson says. “That’s not necessarily typical.”

Still, the love poetry of these bards frequently included suggestive lines. “They certainly talked about sex a lot in the love poetry,” she notes. “They talk about it in a gentle way. For example, saying, ‘I would like to be there when my lady goes to bed and I would like to take her slipper off her foot.’”

The first known troubadour – William IX, Duke of Aquitaine, who lived from 1071 to 1127 – didn’t shy away from controversy and set the precedent for the troubadours’ reputation.

“He says he can’t wait to get his hands under his lady’s cloak,” Paterson says. “Here is a very self-confident, fun, very skilful entertainer who has ideas about the joy of love.”

William also penned a risqué tale about dressing as a pilgrim to seduce women – a venture he claims was successful. “He ends up by saying stuff that I can't repeat, but he says how many times he had sex with the women he found, and it was 184 times apparently. And then he was completely broken.”

Women’s voices: The trobairitz

Troubadour culture wasn’t exclusive to men. A small but important group of female poets, known as trobairitz, also took part in the tradition.

“There are something like 460 troubadours altogether,” Paterson explains. “And we know of approximately 20 named women troubadours.”

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Their surviving work is sparse. “Of the poems that have survived, we’ve got about 2,500 texts … Of those, 25 are attributable to women.”

But there may have been more. “There are quite a lot of anonymous poems,” Paterson notes, “and some of those could be by women – but we just don’t know.”

The trobairitz challenged expectations in a male-dominated society. Their songs show that medieval women were not only the subjects of love poetry – they were also its authors.

When did the troubadours end?

More than minstrels or womanisers (though sometimes that, too) troubadours were champions of culture. They gave voice to new ways of thinking about emotion, performance and social satire.

Troubadour poetry faded in prominence after the 14th century, overtaken by new poetic forms and shifting cultural tastes.

But its style helped to shape European lyric traditions and contributed to the ideals of romantic love in later centuries. Perhaps its most significant legacy? The image of the poetic outsider – the artist-lover, admired and misunderstood, and still seen in our culture today.

Linda Paterson was speaking to Emily Briffett on the HistoryExtra podcast. Listen to the full conversation.