The word '''Pastoral''' is derived from the [[Latin]] adjective ''pastoralis'' ("appertaining to shepherds") and can be discerned as a form of literature as far back as [[Hesiod]] in the 7th century B.C., In music, as in literature, it is seen as having to do with country life and rural themes. As a musical term (often seen in the[[France| French]] ''“Pastorelle”'' or French and [[Italy|Italian]] ''“Pastorale”''), it came into Western music through certain songs of the troubadours and trouvères in southern and northern France respectively in the 11th and 12th centuries. | The word '''Pastoral''' is derived from the [[Latin]] adjective ''pastoralis'' ("appertaining to shepherds") and can be discerned as a form of literature as far back as [[Hesiod]] in the 7th century B.C., In music, as in literature, it is seen as having to do with country life and rural themes. As a musical term (often seen in the[[France| French]] ''“Pastorelle”'' or French and [[Italy|Italian]] ''“Pastorale”''), it came into Western music through certain songs of the troubadours and trouvères in southern and northern France respectively in the 11th and 12th centuries. |