Songs of the Women Trouvères

This anthology brings together the works of women poet-composers, or trouveres, in northern France in the 12th and 13th centuries. It includes the Old French texts of 75 compositions, extant music for 18 monophonic songs and 19 polyphonic motets, and an introduction.

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This groundbreaking anthology brings together for the first time the works of women poet-composers, or trouvères, in northern France in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Refuting the long-held notion that there are no extant Old French lyrics by women from this period, the editors of the volume present songs attributed to eight named female trouvères along with a varied selection of anonymous compositions in the feminine voice that may have been composed by women. The book includes the Old French texts of seventy-five compositions, extant music for eighteen monophonic songs and nineteen polyphonic motets, English translations, and a substantial introduction.