 The trobairitz ( Occitan pronunciation : [ tɾuβajˈɾits ] ) were Occitan female troubadours of the 12th and 13th centuries , active from around 1170 to approximately 1260 . The word trobairitz was first used in the 13th @-@ century romance Flamenca . It comes from the Provençal word trobar , the literal meaning of which is " to find " , and the technical meaning of which is " to compose " . The word trobairitz is used very rarely in medieval Occitan , as it does not occur in lyrical poetry , grammatical treatises , or in the biographies of the trobairitz or troubadours . Trobairitz composed , wrote verses , and performed for the Occitan noble courts . They are exceptional in musical history as the first known female composers of Western secular music ; all earlier known female composers wrote sacred music . The trobairitz were part of courtly society , as opposed to their lower class counterparts the joglaressas . Although troubadours sometimes came from humble origins — Bernart de Ventadorn may have been the son of a castle 's baker — the trobairitz were nobly born . The most important trobairitz are Alamanda de Castelnau , Azalais de Porcairagues , Maria de Ventadorn , Tibors , Castelloza , Garsenda de Proença , Gormonda de Monpeslier , and the Comtessa de Diá . 
