'Joglars' and the professional status of the early troubadours

Troubadours have traditionally been classified as either aristocratic amateurs or professionals known as 'joglars.' However, evidence supporting the existence of professionals among the early generation of troubadours is questionable. For example, the information gleaned from later biographies or 'vidas' is often unreliable, and the term 'joglar' was a general term that did not necessarily refer to a professional performer. It seems likely that many troubadours held other positions at court, but were simply remembered for their talents as poets and performers. Information concerning the troubadour Cercamon is explored as a demonstrative example.
It has long been an accepted critical commonplace that there were two main types of troubadour: the talented, aristocratic amateurs for whom the art of trobar was a serious hobby, [...]