Keep This Word! Traveling poets and musicians who thrived in southern Europe throughout the twelfth century. They composed songs about knighthood and love. Some were probably troubadours, but none has survived. They traveled from court to court, giving performances before royalty and nobility. The poems they sang are now preserved for us by medieval historians. They often have prophetic warnings in them, such as "Beware of strangers!" or "Do not trust anyone." The most famous traveler-poet was undoubtedly Girart de Roussillon. He is mentioned by some modern authors as an influence on Tolkien's idea of a "troubadour" (a wandering minstrel). However, there is no evidence that he ever met with J.R.R. Tolkien, so this connection remains purely hypothetical. In fact, there is no direct evidence that any of these men had any influence on Tolkien at all. But since Tolkien admired them so much, it is easy to see how they might have influenced him. Tolkien often used ancient languages as inspiration for his own inventions, such as Elvish. He also used them when writing poetry that wasn't in another language.