tenson

A tenso is a style of troubadour song. It takes the form of a debate in which each voice defends a position; common topics relate to love or ethics. Usually, the tenso is written by two different poets, but several examples exist in which one of the parties is imaginary, including God (Peire de Vic), the poet's horse (Gui de Cavalhon) or his cloak (Bertran Carbonel). Closely related, and sometimes overlapping, genres include:

• the partimen, in which more than two voices discuss a subject
• the cobla exchange, a tenso of two stanzas only
• the contenson, where the matter is eventually judged by a third party.