Tenso

Troubadours regularly mocked religious leaders, though smart singers knew not to call out anyone specifically.

One of the most exciting genres the Troubadours invented was the tenso, a debate that took the form of a song.

Tensos could be live debates between two performers who sang at each other as they verbally battled over topics like love, politics, and morality.

The first performer set the tone, and the second had to respond with the same meter and rhyme scheme as the singers used their wits and musical acumen to win over their listeners, who decided the victor upon the song's conclusion.

A subgenre of the tenso was the partimen, where one performer would choose a topic that had two positions, and the other chose which position they would defend.