The poems and songs recorded here provide a vivid glimpse into the very special world of European secular song in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The Troubadours themselves, dedicated to the ideal of courtly love, were far removed from the wandering minstrels beloved of the nineteenth century imagination. Often they were men of the highest social position – princes and lords, even kings, however limited their domains, who ranked with the most cultivated and widely educated members of society. There were others, too, of lower social status – the sons of shopkeepers and tradesmen – and the rich mix of outlooks and backgrounds resulted in music and poetry of unique refinement and emotional vitality.