trobairitz

plural trobairitzes

1. historicalA female composer of Old Occitan lyric poetry; a female troubadour.

   We know about twenty trobairitz by name, and their corpus includes some thirty-two songs.

   1995, William Kibler, Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, page 1756

   3 more examples

   This single melody, which is also the only one by a trobairitz to have been identified, is preserved in only one thirteenth-century manuscript, and it includes only the first cobla, or stanza .

   1987, Beverly Evans, “Countess of Dia (mid- to late-twelth century)”, in Historical Anthology of Music by Women, number 1, page 11

   Studies have tentatively identified some common themes in the trobairitz corpus as well as variety among women's voices.

   1991, J. Michele Edwards, Women in Music to ca. 1450

   While trobairitz often played lutes, they might also sing while playing a harp, an instrument that women were often encouraged to master.

   2015, Gary Westfahl, A Day in a Working Life: 300 Trades and Professions through History, volume 1, page 658