music of the middle ages

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…as they struggled to understand the world around them. Common types of secular music were the Rondeau, Virelai, the Frottola (many of which today we would simply lump under the heading "ballad"), and the motet. Coming from the French "mot" meaning 'word', the motet often had several lines of music and text, sung in different languages. Often the different melodies were on completely different subjects, occasionally pairing a sacred text with a very bawdy one!