<P> The trobairitz were in most respects as varied a lot as their male counterparts, with the general exceptions of their poetic style and their provenance . They wrote predominantly cansos and tensos; only one sirventes by a named woman, Gormonda de Monpeslier, survives (though two anonymous ones are attributed to women). One salut d'amor, by a woman (Azalais d'Altier) to a woman (Clara d'Anduza) is also extant and one anonymous planh is usually assigned a female authorship . They wrote almost entirely within the trobar leu style; only two poems, one by Lombarda and another Alais, Yselda, and Carenza, are usually considered to belong to the more demanding trobar clus . None of the trobairitz were prolific, or if they were their work has not survived . Only two have left us more than one piece: the Comtessa de Dia, with four, and Castelloza, with three or four . One of the known trobairitz, Gaudairença, wrote a song entitled Coblas e dansas, which has not survived; no other piece of hers has either . </P> <P> The trobairitz came almost to a woman from Occitania . There are representatives from the Auvergne, Provence, Languedoc, the Dauphiné, Toulousain, and the Limousin . One trobairitz, Ysabella, may have been born in Périgord, Northern Italy, Greece, or Palestine . All the trobairitz whose families we know were high - born ladies; only one, Lombarda, was probably of the merchant class . All the trobairitz known by name lived around the same time: the late 12th and the early 13th century (c. 1170--c. 1260). The earliest was probably Tibors de Sarenom, who was active in the 1150s (the date of her known composition is uncertain). The latest was either Garsenda of Forcalquier, who died in 1242, though her period of poetic patronage and composition probably occurred a quarter century earlier, or Guilleuma de Rosers, who composed a tenso with Lanfranc Cigala, known between 1235 and 1257 . There exist brief prose biographies--vidas--for eight trobairitz: Almucs de Castelnau (actually a razo), Azalais de Porcairagues, the Comtessa de Dia, Castelloza, Iseut de Capio (also a razo), Lombarda, Maria de Ventadorn, and Tibors de Sarenom . </P> <P> Three main styles of Occitan lyric poetry have been identified: the trobar leu (light), trobar ric (rich), and trobar clus (closed, hermetic). The first was by far the most common: the wording is straightforward and relatively simple compared to the ric and literary devices are less common than in the clus . This style was the most accessible and it was immensely popular . The most famous poet of the trobar leu was Bernart de Ventadorn . The trobar clus regularly escapes modern scholarly interpretation . Words are commonly used metaphorically and symbolically and what a poem appears to be about on its surface is rarely what is intended by the poet or understood by audiences "in the know". The clus style was invented early by Marcabru but only favoured by a few masters thereafter . The trobar ric style is not as opaque as the clus, rather it employs a rich vocabulary, using many words, rare words, invented words, and unusual, colourful wordings . </P> <P> Modern scholars recognise several "schools" in the troubadour tradition . Among the earliest is a school of followers of Marcabru, sometimes called the "Marcabrunian school": Bernart Marti, Bernart de Venzac, Gavaudan, and Peire d'Alvernhe . These poets favoured the trobar clus or ric or a hybrid of the two . They were often moralising in tone and critical of contemporary courtly society . Another early school, whose style seems to have fallen out of favour, was the "Gascon school" of Cercamon, Peire de Valeira, and Guiraut de Calanso . Cercamon was said by his biographer to have composed in the "old style" (la uzansa antiga) and Guiraut's songs were d'aquella saison ("of that time"). This style of poetry seems to be attached to early troubadours from Gascony and was characterised by references to nature: leaves, flowers, birds, and their songs . This Gascon "literary fad" was unpopular in Provence in the early 13th century, harming the reputation of the poets associated with it . </P>

Where did troubadours get the poems they sang