Medieval Lyric Poetry

Medieval lyric poetry is the sung secular poetry of European courts between the late 11th and the late 13th centuries, performed by troubadours in Occitan, trouvères in northern French, Minnesänger in German and joglares in Iberia. Its monophonic songs address courtly love (fin'amor), dawn partings, crusading, politics and debate, in strict stanzaic patterns such as the canso, alba, tenso and planh. Poets including *Bernart de Ventadorn*, *Jaufre Rudel*, *Walther von der Vogelweide* and *Oswald von Wolkenstein* composed words and melody together; modern revivals by *Sequentia*, the *Martin Best Medieval Ensemble* and the *Dufay Collective* reconstruct them from manuscript sources.