The Troubadours

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Composing songs of love and war in medieval Western and Southern Europe, troubadours spanned the social spectrum from kings and nobles to penniless minstrels. This book tells the story of the lives and art of these remarkable poet-musicians, famed for their brilliant, innovative use of words and music, and the emotional power of their compositions. The troubadours' songs explored new ideas of love the infamous 'Courtly Love' as well as medieval perceptions of gender, class, war, chivalry, religion and the crusades. Linda Paterson describes and analyses the troubadours' music and performance, as well as their legacy, balancing insightful quotations in English translation with the original texts to highlight the form and sounds of the poetry.

Reviews

"Built on a selection of pivotal authors encompassing the 'golden' twelfth century, this up-to-date synthesis by one of the most distinguished scholars of troubadour poetry skillfully combines social and historical, literary and musical aspects of a lyric production that shaped the notion of courtliness and the idea of love embedded in Western culture for many centuries to come."--Francesco Carapezza, University of Palermo
"Linda M. Paterson's fascinating, erudite book is an ideal guide to the troubadours, whose poetry is as influential as it is inventive. Setting the troubadours in their historical, linguistic and literary context, Paterson gives deft, vivid introductions to these extraordinarily talented men and women, and offers her reader a captivating view of their work - by turns enigmatic, lyrical and obscene."--Miranda Griffin, University of Cambridge
"Not only is this the best general introduction to the work of the troubadours in English, it also takes into account information sometimes neglected: where these poets were from, how they related to current issues, their music, their travels, their influence and their idea of what they thought they were doing. Add to that a judicious selection of texts, an up-to-date review of recent scholarship by one of the primary specialists of Occitan poetry, and you have nothing less than a tour de force. A unique historical, philological and literary survey, Paterson's book is a marvel and a gift for the ages."--Bill Burgwinkle, University of Cambridge

Author Bio

Linda M. Paterson is Professor Emerita at the University of Warwick and has published widely on the troubadours and the crusades. Her books include Singing the Crusades: French and Occitan Lyric Responses to the Crusading Movements, 11371336 (2018).