What does troubadour mean?
Word: Troubadour
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Troubadour means someone who writes and performs songs or poems, like the travelling performers of medieval France.
Synonyms: minstrel
Word origin: Comes from French, from Provencal trobador, from trobar.
How do you spell troubadour?
Syllables: trou - ba - dour
Tricky part: The last syllable ends in our. Students who go by the sound alone write or there.
Watch out for: troubador, troubadoor
Memory tip: A troubadour was always on tour: keep the our of tour at the end.
Troubadour in a sentence
Example 1: The troubadour sang of spring and brave knights in the castle hall.
Example 2: We read about a troubadour who wandered the roads of Provence with his lute.
Example 3: The school play opens with a troubadour telling the story in song.
Fun Fact
The earliest troubadour whose songs survive is usually said to be William IX, Duke of Aquitaine, who lived around the year 1100.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
tr_ _badour
a) oo
b) ew
c) ou
d) ue
Show answer
c) ou. The first syllable uses the vowel pair of group and soup.
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option:
Troubadour goes back to the Provencal verb trobar. What did trobar mean?
a) to travel far
b) to play a drum
c) to sell cloth
d) to compose verses
Show answer
d) to compose verses. The word names a maker of verses first, and the wandering came with the work.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with their meanings:
1. troubadour 2. courtier 3. jester a. a person who attended a king or queen b. an entertainer who told jokes at court c. a maker of love songs in medieval Provence
a) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
b) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
c) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
d) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
Show answer
b) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b. All three lived around medieval courts, but only one made songs, one attended the ruler and one told jokes.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
dorbuoutar
a) a large room where a king received his guests
b) a trader who sold spices along the old roads
c) a servant who kept the keys of a castle
d) an entertainer of the Middle Ages known for original verse
Show answer
d) an entertainer of the Middle Ages known for original verse. The ten letters form a word for a wandering medieval song-maker.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A troubadour at a twelfth-century French court would earn his supper by ___.
a) singing songs of his own
b) cleaning the armour
c) shoeing the horses
d) copying old books
Show answer
a) singing songs of his own
2. Which modern performer comes closest to the idea of a troubadour?
a) a singer-songwriter on the road
b) a museum guide
c) a studio news reader
d) a television quiz host
Show answer
a) a singer-songwriter on the road
