Final answer:
Medieval troubadour songs had characteristics such as courtly love, vernacular languages, and use of unique instruments.
Step-by-step explanation:
The characteristics common to medieval troubadour songs include a focus on courtly love and chivalry, the use of vernacular languages instead of Latin, and the spreading of poems, stories, legends, and popular songs by troubadours or wandering minstrels. These songs were both sacred and secular in nature, with the development of polyphonic genres becoming prevalent during the high medieval era. Instruments used in medieval music were different from those commonly used today, such as the wooden flute, the recorder, and the gemshorn.