During the early twelfth century, troubadour poetry emerged in Occitania (southern France), creating a new vernacular literary tradition centered on courtly love (fin'amor). Poets like William IX, Duke of Aquitaine, composed lyrics in Occitan that revolutionized European conceptions of love and desire.

Troubadour poetry established conventions of courtly love that permeated European literature for centuries, influencing Chaucer, Dante, and countless others. The troubadours' innovation of composing in vernacular rather than Latin democratized poetic expression and elevated secular themes to artistic legitimacy.