Still another glimpse of gay society is afforded by the songs
of the troubadours. These professional poets flourished in the south of France,
but many of them traveled from court to court in other countries. Their verses,
composed in the Provençal language, were always sung to the
accompaniment of some musical instrument, generally the lute. Romantic love and
deeds of chivalry were the two themes which most inspired the troubadours.
They, too, took up the use of rhyme, using it so skillfully as to become the
teachers of Europe in lyric poetry.
THE FRENCH EPIC
If southern France was the native home of the lyric,
northern France gave birth to epic or narrative verse. Here arose many poems,
describing the exploits of mythical heroes or historic kings. For a long time
the poems remained unwritten and were recited by minstrels, who did not
hesitate to modify and enlarge them at will. It was not until late in the
eleventh century that any epics were written down. They enjoyed high esteem in
aristocratic circles and penetrated all countries where feudalism prevailed.
