The ballade (/bəˈlɑːd/; not to be confused with the ballad) is a form of medieval and Renaissance French poetry as well as the corresponding musical chanson form. It was one of the three formes fixes (the other two were the rondeau and the virelai) and one of the verse forms in France most commonly set to music between the late 13th and the 15th centuries.The ballade as a verse form typically consists of three eight-line stanzas, each with a consistent metre and a particular rhyme scheme.