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The bilingual motets of the old corpus of the Montpellier Codex.

Kimberly Adelle Harris
University of Louisville

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Recommended Citation
Harris, Kimberly Adelle, "The bilingual motets of the old corpus of the Montpellier Codex." (2003).
Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2882.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/2882

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 THE BILINGUAL MOTETS OF THE OLD CORPUS OF THE
MONTPELLIER CODEX

By

Kimberly Adelle Harris

B.A., Truman State University, 2001

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the

Graduate School of the University of Louisville in
Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Music in Music History

Department of Music History

School of Music
University of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky

May 2003

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My deepest appreciation goes to Dr. Julia Shinnick for her extraordinary guidance

on this project. This thesis could not have come to fruition without her knowledge,

suggestions, proofreading, advice, and inspiration. I also need to thank Dr. Rebecca

Baltzer. Her help, via Dr. Shinnick, was invaluable to this study. Since a large number

of Dr. Shinnick’s resources are in Texas, I would like to thank Dr. Shinnick’s husband,

Tom Shinnick, for his assistance.

I must also thank my committee, Dr. Jean Christensen and Dr. Anne Marie

de Zeeuw for their support and guidance on this project. I would also like to thank Dr.

Jack Ashworth for his inspired introduction to early music with Early Music Ensemble.

Thanks also need to be given to my friends. To Vino Mazzei, for encouraging me

to undertake a thesis in medieval music when I did not think I knew enough about

medieval music to do it. To Tim Lindsley, the brave man who went through this ordeal

the year before, for all his advice. To Andrey Astaiza for his help in counting intervals

and taping examples. And to all my friends who gave me support and understood why I

was a hermit all spring semester.

Lastly, I thank my family for supporting me from Missouri (financially and

emotionally) during this stressful time; without them I would not have had the faith in

myself to go to graduate school. Thanks especially to my brother, Michael, for noticing

the alternating pattern in the tenor rhythms while playing them on his bassoon, and my

mother, Pat, for her help in looking up Bible verses.

iii

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 ABSTRACT

The bilingual motets of the old corpus of the Montpellier Codex (Montpellier,

Faculte de Medecine, H 196) are collected in the third fascicle of this thirteenth-century

codex. These eleven motets provide a sample group for the study of interrelationships

among the contents of a manuscript. Elements of the music, text, and tenor sources work

together to unify each individual motet as well as the eleven motets in the fascicle.

While the motets of Mo have been studied in detail, this small collection has been

neglected, perhaps because of its simultaneous presentation of sacred and erotic love. It

is this trait, however, that makes this fascicle a striking example of the medieval penchant

for interrelationships in seemingly unrelated material. Singing simultaneous praises to

the Virgin in Latin and to Marion in French seems unusual today, but in the medieval

period this juxtaposition of sacred and erotic love was acceptable.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.............................................................................................iii
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................... iv
LIST OF TABLES......................................................................................................... vi
LIST OF EXAMPLES................................................................................................... vii
LIST OF MANUSCRIPTS AND THEIR SIGLA ........................................... viii

CHAPTER

1. INTRODUCTION..................................... ................................................ 1

2. TENORS AND THEIR SOURCES............................................................ 11

3. MUSICAL CHARACTERISTICS..............................................................26

4. TEXTUAL CHARACTERISTICS............................................................. 40

5. CONCLUSIONS: THE UNITY OF FASCICLE III...................................54

REFERENCES....................................................................................... 64

CURRICULUM VITAE................................................................................................68

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 LIST OF TABLES

PAGE
CHAPTER 1
Table 1.1. Fascicles and Their Contents in Mo...............................................................4

CHAPTER 2
Table 2.1. List of Motets in Mo, Fascicle III...................................................................11
Table 2.2. Chant Sources of the Motets in Fascicle III................................................... 21
Table 2.3. Rhythmic Modes of the Motets in Fascicle III............... .............................. 23

CHAPTER 3
Table 3.1. Range ofVoices..............................................................................................26
Table 3.2. Melodic Modes of Each Voice.......................................................................28
Table 3.3. Rhythmic Modes of Upper Voices (based on text declamation)................... 31
Table 3.4. Percentage of Melodic Intervals...................................... 32
Table 3.5. Percentage of Melodic Intervals in No. 44.................. 32
Table 3.6. Percentage of Harmonic Intervals (on Beginnings of Perfections).............33
Table 3.7. Percentage of Harmonic Intervals (on Beginningsof Perfections) in No. 44....
33
Table 3.8. Percentage of Intervals found at Cadences.....................................................37

CHAPTER 4
Table 4.1. Genres of Triplum Texts.................................................................................41
Table 4.2. Triplum Text Summaries................................................................................45
Table 4.3. References to Flowers in Motetus Texts ofFascicle III........................ 48
Table 4.4. Intercessory Pleas found in Fascicle III......................................................... 49

vi

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 LIST OF EXAMPLES

PAGE

CHAPTER 2
Example 2.1. No. 36, mm. 1-4, tenor part.... .........................................................12
Example 2.2. No. 37, mm. 1-3, tenor part.............................................................. 13
Example 2.3. No. 38, mm. 4-11, tenor p art.............................................. 14
Example 2.4. No. 40, mm. 1-6, tenor part..................................................... 15
Example 2.5. No. 45, entire tenor part.................................................. 19
Example 2.6. The Rhythmic Modes (shortest possible ordos)............................ 22
Example 2.7. Tenor rhythms of nos. 40 and 43.............................................................. 24
Example 2.8. Tenor rhythm of no. 45............................................................................. 24

CHAPTER 3
Example 3.1. No. 36, mm. 9-13, motetus part ..........................................................29
Example 3.2. No. 43, mm. 1-5, triplum and motetus parts............................................. 30
Example 3.3. No. 41, mm. 20-25, triplum and motetus parts........................ 30
Example 3.4. No. 36, mm. 1-4, triplum part...................... 30
Example 3.5. No. 43, mm. 21-26, tenor p a rt................................. 34
Example 3.6. No. 36, mm. 53-56, triplum and motetus parts......................................... 35
Example 3.7. No. 36, m. 70, triplum part........................................................................36
Example 3.8. No. 36, mm. 61-65, triplum and motetus parts......................................... 36
Example 3.9. No. 42, mm. 29-32, motetus part.............................................................. 37
Example 3.10. No. 45, mm. 1-4, all parts........................................................................38

vii

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 LIST OF MANUSCRIPTS AND THEIR SIGLA

ArsA Paris, Bibliotheque de l’Arsenal, 135

ArsC Paris, Bibliotheque de l’Arsenal, 8521
Ba Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek, Lit. 115 (olim Ed.IV, 6)
Bes Besanqon, Biblioteca Municipale, Ms 1,716
Boul Boulogne-sur-Mer, Biblioteca Municipale, 148 (olim 119)
Cl Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France, nouv. acq. F. fr. 13521 (La
Clayette)
F Firenze, Biblioteca Laurenziana, Plut. 29,1
Hu Burgos, Monasterio de Las Huelgas
LoB London, British Library, Egerton 274
LoC London, British Library, Add. 30091
Lyell Oxford, Bodleian Library, Lyell 72
Ma Madrid, Biblioteca Nationale, Ms 20486 (olim Hh 167)
Mo Montpellier, Faculte de Medecine, H 196
MuB Munchen, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 16443, Musik-Fragmente E III
230-231 (olim 84-85)
MuC Munchen, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 5539
N Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France, fr. 12615 (Chansonnier de
Noailles)
PsAr Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France, lat. 11266
StS Stary Sacz, Konv Swaty Kingy, D.2
Stv Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France, lat. 15139 (olim Saint Victor 813)
Tu Torino, Biblioteca Reale, Mss vari 42
V Roma, Biblioteca Vaticana, Reg. 1490
W1 Wolfenbuttel, Herzog August Bibliothek, 628 (olim Helmst. 677)
W2 Wolfenbtittel, Herzog August Bibliothek, 1099 (olim Helmst. 1206)

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 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

The motet, originating in the early thirteenth century, is one of the principal forms

of polyphonic music in the medieval period. The genre originated in the clausulae of the

Notre Dame school’s Magnus Liber Organi through the process of adding words

(different from those in the tenor) to the dupla of two-voice clausulae. Originally, the

added words were Latin, like the tenor, and glossed the chant they were built upon. By

the end of the thirteenth century the practice had evolved to include Latin texts not

related to the tenor and French courtly love texts far removed from the ecclesiastical

origin of the genre.

Composers also enjoyed adding additional lines above the tenor and duplum, now

called the motetus because it contained its own text.1 These additional lines, called the

triplum and the quadruplum, also carried their own independent texts. Usually, but not

always, they were in the same language as the motetus. The interplay o f these different

texts, simultaneously presented, is the defining feature of the motet genre. The multiple

texts were not randomly thrown together; medieval poet-composers carefully composed

and/or selected texts that had an association with the existing motetus text, whether or not

that association was readily apparent. This reflected the medieval fascination with word

games and riddles.

1 The word motetus comes from the French word mot, which means “word.” It is from this term
that we get the name for the genre.

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 According to Christopher Page’s article, “The Performance of Ars Antiqua

Motets,” pieces in this genre were probably composed for and by the learned class,

primarily monks, scholars and other literate citizens, such as lawyers and physicians, who

would have enjoyed the task of identifying multiple texts at the same time.2 Page bases

his assertion on the sophistication of the motet genre; it was a challenge for the audience

and performers to identify the liturgical source of the tenor and to find links between the

upper lines. In French texts, refrains from troubadour and trouvere songs were frequently

quoted; this was probably another source of amusement for the audience.

Three hundred and twenty-four motets are preserved in the Montpellier Codex

(Montpellier, Faculte de Medecine, H 196), making it the largest source of motets of the

thirteenth century. This diminutive codex, hereafter referred to by its siglum, Mo,

consists of eight fascicles and measures 192x136 mm3 (“not much larger than a

postcard,” according to Catherine Parsoneault).4 The first six fascicles make up the “old

corpus,”5 which is generally accepted as dating from the 1270s, according to Ernest

Sanders,6 or the 1280s, in Gilbert Reaney’s opinion.7 The seventh fascicle (along with

additions to the third and fifth fascicles) was added at the end of the thirteenth century.

In the early fourteenth century, the eighth fascicle and the appendix to the seventh

2 Christopher Page, “The Performance o f Ars Antiqua Motets,” Early Music 16, no. 2 (May 1988):
147-8.
3 Gilbert Reaney, ed. Manuscripts o f Polyphonic Music: 11th-Early 14th Century, Vol. B IV , part
1, Repertoire International de Sources Musicales (Munich-Duisburg: G. Henle, 1964), 272.
4 Catherine Jean Parsoneault, “The Montpellier Codex: Royal Influence and Musical Taste in Late
Thirteenth-Century Paris” (Ph.D diss., The University o f Texas at Austin, 2001), 1.
3 Sources differ on the description o f the old corpus. According to Ernest H. Sanders and Peter M.
Lefferts, “Sources, MS,” in The New G rove Dictionary o f Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie and John
Tyrrell (New York: Grove Dictionaries, 2001), 23: 876, the old corpus consists o f Fascicles II-VI. Reaney
considers the old corpus Fascicles I-VI. Sanders and Lefferts believe that the first fascicle was added at the
end o f the thirteenth century at the same time as Fascicle VII.
6 Sanders and Lefferts, 876.
7 Reaney, 272.

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 fascicle were added.8 Reaney advances the possibility that the eighth fascicle was once

an independent manuscript, added to the codex at a later date.9 Within this codex we find

over three hundred examples of thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century polyphony

including 319 distinct two-, three-, and four-voice motets.10

Fascicle I contains an assortment of polyphonic works including a conductus, two

hocket-motets, one hocket, and six three-part organa. Hans Tischler, in his edition of

Mo, believes that these works were composed circa 1200.11 The rest of the fascicles are

dedicated to specific genres of motets. Fascicle II is comprised of triple motets (sixteen

French and one Latin).12 There are eleven bilingual double motets in Fascicle III (each

with a Latin motetus and a French triplum). Twenty-two Latin double motets are

preserved in Fascicle IV. Fascicle V presents one hundred French double motets, and

Fascicle VI contains seventy-five French (single) motets. Fascicles VII and VIII preserve

thirty-nine and forty-two double motets, respectively; these are a mixture of French and

Latin motets as seen in Table 1.1.13

8 Sanders and Lefferts, 876.

9 Reaney, 272.
10 Five o f the motets in Mo are duplications, so there is a total o f 324 motets, but there are only
319 different ones.
11 Hans Tischler, ed., The Montpellier Codex, vol. I, Critical Commentary and Fascicles 1 and 2
(Madison: A-R Editions, 1985), xxix.
12 The classification o f motets is based upon how many differently texted voices exist above the
tenor. A single motet has one, a double motet, two, and a triple motet, three voices above the tenor.
Confusion sometimes arises from the feet that a triple motet has a total o f four voices. The language in the
classification o f a motet refers to that o f the upper voice(s). A French motet has French texts in the motetus
and any other upper voices, but probably has a Latin tenor incipit (although there are motets built upon
French tenors).
13 Sanders and Lefferts, 876.

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 Table 1.1. Fascicles and their contents in Mo

Fasc. I Fasc. II Fasc. Ill Fasc. IV

Folios l-22v 22v-62v 62v-86v 87-110v
Contents 1 conductus setting, 16 French 11 bilingual 22 Latin
2 hocket-motets, 1 and 1 Latin motets double
hocket, 6 three-part triple motets motets
organa
Additions None None 2 French (single) None
motets, 2 Latin
(single) motets

Fasc. V Fasc. VI Fasc. VII Fasc. VHI

Folios lll-230v 231-269v 270-349v 350-397v
Contents 100 French double 75 French 39 double 42 double
motets, 1 single motets (26 motets (21
Proven9 al double, motets French, 7 Latin, French, 16
1 French- 6 bilingual) Latin, 5
Proven9 al, 1 bilingual)
bilingual
Additions 1 bilingual None 8 French None
double, 1 Latin
double, 1 Latin
single, 1
bilingual

Currently, there are two sets of transcriptions of Mo available. The seminal study

on Mo, Polyphonies du Xllle siecle by Yvonne Rokseth, includes a facsimile o f the

manuscript, two volumes of transcriptions, and a volume of critical commentary

completed between 1935 and 1939.14 More recently, Hans Tischler has produced his

own set of transcriptions, titled The Montpellier Codex.15 Published in 1978, his study

includes commentary, transcriptions, and English translations of the French and Latin

14 Yvonne Rokseth, ed., Polyphonies du X llle siecle; le manuscript H 196 de la Faculte de

medecine de Montpellier (Paris: Editions de l’Oiseau lyre, 1935).
15 Hans Tischler, ed., The Montpellier Codex (Madison: A-R Editions, 1985).

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 texts.16 In his introduction Tischler praises Rokseth’s work, but comments that since (at

the time ofhis study) four decades of research had passed, a new set of transcriptions was

due.

Two studies particularly important for the musical aspects of Mo are those of

Luther Dittmer and Finn Mathiassen. Dittmer contributed a groundbreaking study in

1955 titled “The Ligatures of the Montpellier Manuscript.”17 This work takes into

account the three different datings proposed for the different fascicles and additions. He

also treats both the notation cum littera (for the motetus, triplum, and quadruplum) and

sine littera (for the tenor).18 Mathiassen studied the old corpus of Mo. His study,

published in 1966 as The Style o f the Early Motet (c. 1200-1250),19 focuses on the music

and counterpoint of the motets, following an introductory discussion of the

contemporaneous theoretical treatises of the time and a general analysis o f the upper

voices.

A number of doctoral dissertations and post-graduate studies also treat Mo.

Generally, these fall into two catergories: studies on the codicology of the manuscript,

and studies on the text-music relationships. The authors of the two codicological studies

express opposing viewpoints. Mary Wolinski, in her dissertation “The Montpellier

Codex: Its Compilation, Notation, and Implications for the Chronology of the Thirteenth-

16 The translations from the Old French are by Susan Stakel; those from the Latin are by Joel
Relihan.
17 Luther Dittmer, “The Ligatures o f the Montpellier Manuscript,” Musica D isciplim 9 (1955):
35-55.
18 The term cum littera refers to music written with text, which was generally written with
simplices (or single notes); notation sine littera refers to untexted music which used more ligatures.
19 Finn Mathiassen, The Style o f the Early Motet: An Investigation o f the O ld Corpus o f the
Montpellier Manuscript (Copenhagen: Dan Fog Musikforlag, 1966).

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 Century Motet,”20 attempts to disprove the long-held belief that Mo was copied in three

separate stages. She claims that a team of scribes and artists working together copied the

entire codex at the same time. In contrast, Catherine Parsoneault, in “The Montpellier

Codex: Royal Influence and Musical Taste in Late Thirteenth-Century Paris,”21 re­

evaluates Wolinski’s work by using some new techniques. Parsoneault upholds the

original belief that the codex was copied at different times.

There have been three studies conducted on the text-music relationships in the

motets of Mo within the past twenty years. Beverly Jean Evans’ dissertation, “The Unity

of Text and Music in the Late Thirteenth-Century French Motet: A Study of Selected

Works from the Montpellier Manuscript, Fascicle VII,”22 closely examines both the texts

and the music in an attempt to prove that the texts were carefully constructed to fit the

music. A second doctoral study discussing motet texts centers on forty-five of the Latin

works in Mo. This comprehensive study by Susan Kidwell, titled “The Integration of

Music and Text in the Early Latin Motet,” examines a group of motets and their source

clausulae.23 Kidwell also discusses the texts separately, and then looks at the integration

of text and music from many angles (tenor, melody, harmony and phrases), providing a

good model for motet analysis. Robyn Smith, in her book French Double and Triple

Motets in the Montpellier Manuscript,24 focuses on a selection of works from Fascicles

20 Mary Wolinski, “The Montpellier Codex: Its Compilation, Notation, and Implications for the
Chronology o f the Thirteenth-Century Motet” (Ph.D. diss., Brandeis University, 1988).
21 Parsoneault, 1.
22 Beverly Jean Evans, “The Unity ofT ext and Music in the Late Thirteenth-Century French
Motet: A Study o f Selected Works from the Montpellier Manuscript, fascicle VII” (Ph.D. diss., University
o f Pennsylvania, 1983).
23 Susan Kidwell, “The Integration o f Music and Text in the Early Latin Motet” (Ph.D. diss., The
University o f Texas at Austin, 1993).
24 Robyn Smith, French Double and Triple Motets in the Montpellier Manuscript: Textual Edition,
Translation and Commentary (Ottawa: Institute o f Mediaeval Music, 1997).

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 II, V, and VII. Her goal is to give a new edition and translation of the French texts.

Smith also analyzes the texts for rhyme and syllable count, and studies how these relate

to the music’s rhythmic perfections.25

Sylvia Huot, in her book Allegorical Play in the Old French Motet: The Sacred

and the Profane in Thirteenth-Century Polyphony,26 establishes good guidelines for the

analysis of motet texts. While her study is limited to the French motet genre, there are

references to bilingual motets, including a few found in Fascicle III of Mo. Huot’s

observations and readings can be directly applied to the motets studied here.

One last study that merits mention investigates Fascicle III: “Notre Dame

Bilingual Motets: A Study in the History of Music c. 1215-1245” by Gordon A.

Anderson.27 He takes as his subject the entire bilingual motet repertoire represented in

the time period, twenty works in all. His study attempts to determine standards, or

typical features, of this genre. Anderson also arranges the pieces chronologically and

briefly analyzes the twenty extant bilingual motets of the thirteenth century, eleven of

which are found in the third fascicle of Mo.

There are thirty-four bilingual motets found in Mo, but only eleven are found in

the old corpus.28 These eleven motets, which include Latin motetti and French tripla,

comprise the original third fascicle and present one component of Mo that has not been

25 According to Andrew Hughes, “Franco o f Cologne,” in The New Grove Dictionary o f Music
and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (New York: Grove Dictionaries, 2001), 9: 199, in
medieval music, a perfection was “a unit o f three breves akin to the modem bar.” In modem transcriptions
in 3/8, 6/8 or 9/8 a perfection has the value o f a dotted quarter note. Medieval theorists called for a
consonance (i.e., a unison, perfect fourth, perfect fifth, or octave) on the first breve o f each perfection.
26 Sylvia Huot, Allegorical Play in the O ld French Motet: The Sacred and the Profane in
Thirteenth-Century Polyphony (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997).
27 Gordon A. Anderson, “Notre Dame Bilingual Motets: A Study in the History ofM usic c. 1215-
1245,” Miscellanea Musicologica 3 (1968): 50-145.
28 The remaining twenty-three bilingual motets are found in Fascicles VII and VIII and the
additions to Fascicles V and VII. The motets not part o f the old corpus will not be addressed in this study.

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 studied in depth. This fascicle, the smallest of the codex, represents a minor and short­

lived subgenre in the history of the motet. These motets are based on Latin tenors from

the chant repertoire; a few have clausulae sources. They present a Latin motetus and a

French triplum above the tenors. The tenors use repeated rhythms as expected, and are

the slowest-moving lines. Generally, the motetus moves more quickly than the tenor, and

the triplum even faster than the motetus in an attempt to fit in more words, but this does

not hold true for every bilingual motet.

Many of the motets from Fascicle III of Mo have identical concordances29 in

other sources, principally Bamberg (Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek, Lit. 115 olim Ed.IV, 6;

hereafter referred to by its siglum, Ba)30 and La Clayette (Paris, Bibliotheque nationale,

nouv. Acq. F. fr. 13521; hereafter referred to by its siglum, Cl).31 Several can also be

found as single motets in other sources where only two voices, the tenor and either the

motetus or the triplum, are present. A few also exist as triple motets with a new voice

added to the two texted voices found in Mo. None of the motets in this fascicle exist

without either an identical or a reduced concordance, leading us to conclude that these

were popular motets and carefully selected from the current repertoire for placement in

this fascicle.

29 The term concordance refers to another manuscript source o f motet with the same tenor. An
identical concordance is a piece containing all the same voices (music and text) in another manuscript; a
reduced concordance is a piece with the same tenor but lacking one or more o f the upper voices.
30 The Bamberg manuscript has been edited in Gordon A. Anderson, ed., Compositions o f the
Bamberg Manuscript, Lit. 115 (Rome, American Institute o f Musicology, 1977). See Pierre Aubry, ed.,
Cent motets due X llle siecle, publies d ’apres le manuscrit E d IV. 6 de Bamberg (New York: Broude
Brothers, 1964) for a facsimile edition o f Ba.
31 La Clayette has been edited in Ludwig Gennrich, ed., Faksimile-ausgabe der Hs La Clayette
(Darmstadt: n. p., 1958).

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 Perhaps the most striking feature of the bilingual motets is their simultaneously

presented French and Latin texts. The French texts deal almost exclusively with courtly

love, some referring to Robin and Marion, the conventional shepherd and shepherdess

characters of the Middle Ages. There is only one exception, the final motet in the

fascicle, no. 46,32 whose triplum comments on the hypocrisy rampant among the brothers

and minor clergy. The texts of the Latin motetti are all ecclesiastical, consisting mainly

of Marian epithets, although there are three non-Marian texts among them. One of these

stresses that no one, especially the brothers, should be trusted, another consists of epithets

to the cross, and the third is a paraphrase of a passage from the Gospel of John.33 The

most obvious reason for these motets to be grouped in the same fascicle is that they are

all recorded in the old corpus as bilingual motets. Looking deeper, one finds common

threads throughout the eleven pieces.

Musically, the motets recorded in Fascicle III represent the motet from its

beginnings to the mid- to late-thirteenth century. One is an adapted conductus-motet; two

have clausulae sources; some use triplets, most do not; some remain true to the rhythmic

modes; and some are so far removed from the modal system that it is hard to tell which

mode, if any, an individual line is using. Harmonically, these are typical medieval

polyphonic works, using perfect intervals (fourths, fifths, and octaves) at the beginning of

each perfection and at cadences. There are differences, however, in the amount of

dissonance that occurs in each motet. Some motets present a freer use of dissonance than

others.

32 Numbering used here will be that o f Ludwig, Tischler, and Rokseth.

33 See John 14:15-31.

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 This study finds and discusses the unifying features of the fascicle by addressing

these questions: What are the similarities and differences in these motets? What holds

them together as a unit? Why might these motets have been put in this specific order?

Chapter 2 discusses the origin of each motet, its tenor and liturgical source, and the

complexes34 of which each motet is a part as well as identifying the features which unify

the tenors. Chapter 3 studies the musical features of the motets. Chapter 4 addresses the

texts and the characteristics of the French and Latin voices. Finally, Chapter 5 discusses

the overriding features that unify the fascicle and relates the motets of Fascicle III to the

other contents of the codex.

34 A motet complex is a group o f motets based on the same tenor. Complexes often have
“subcomplexes” which include motets that share an upper voice (musically and textually) in addition to the
tenor.

10

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 CHAPTER 2: TENORS AND THEIR SOURCES

The tenors of the motets in Fascicle III, as listed by Hendrik van der Werf, come

from chants for the Mass, save for one that is taken from an office chant.35 There is one

motet whose tenor source has yet to be identified, no. 40, which has an incipit labeled

Domino in Mo. Table 2.1 lists the incipits and tenor source feast for each of the motets in

Fascicle III.

Table 2.1. List of Motets in Mo, Fascicle III

Motet Triplum Incipit Motetus Incipit Tenor Label Feast of Tenor

36 El mois d ’avril 0 quam sancta Et gaudebit Ascension
37 Mout mefu gries In omnifratre In seculum Easter Sunday
38 Doz rossignoles Virgo gloriosa Letabitur 5th Sunday of
Pentecost
39 Povre secors Gaude chorus Angelus Easter Monday
40 Par un matinee Mellis stilla Domino unknown
41 Au doz mois de mai Crux forma Sustinere Finding of the
Holy Cross
42 Quantflorist Non orphanum Et gaudebit Ascension
43 Quant voi I ’erbe Salve virgo Cfumque] Dedication of a
Church (Office)
44 Quant repaire Flos de spina Regnat Assumption
45 Quant voi revenir Virgo virginum Hec dies Easter Sunday
46 L ’estat du monde Beata viscera Beata viscera BVM

As seen in Table 2.1, the eleven motets in Fascicle III each present a liturgical tenor, a

Latin motetus, and a triplum in Old French.

35 Hendrik van der W erf Integrated Dictionary o f Organa, Clausulae, and M otets o f the
Thirteenth Century (Rochester, New York: by the author, 1989) is an index to all known thirteenth-century
motets.

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 Before one can study the unifying features of the tenors of the motets in Fascicle

III, the tenor sources need to be identified. Important information for understanding each

motet includes the feast and chant from which each tenor is taken, the text of this source

chant, the rhythmic mode imposed by the composer on the chant, and any clausula source

for the motet.

The first motet in Fascicle III, no. 36, El mois d ’avril/O quam sancta/Et gaudebit,

has the same tenor as no. 42. The two motets are, however, built on different clausulae

and have different texts in the upper voices, making each a part of a different

subcomplex. The shared tenor melody is taken from the Alleluia for the Mass for

Ascension Sunday. The text of this Alleluia is Non vos relinquam orphanos: vado et

venio ad vos, et gaudebit cor vestrum (I will not leave you as orphans, I will go and I

come to you and your heart will be joyous).36 As seen in Example 2.1, the motet

composer has applied a rhythm related to mode 5 to the tenor.

Example 2.1. No. 36, mm. 1-4, tenor part

1 ET GAUDEBIT

While related to mode 5, the rhythm of this tenor is varied slightly, perhaps in an attempt

to keep the line rhythmically interesting. This motet is part of a complex of nine different

motets: three single Latin, two double Latin, two bilingual (one with two texts, one with

three), one French single, and one French double motet.37 Based on an extant clausula

36 John 14:18.
37 O quam sancta/Et gaudebit (LoC f.3v, Hu f.94v); Memor tui/Et gaudebit (W2 f. 188v); Virgo
virgimim/Et gaudebit (W2 £187v); Velut stele/Ypocrite/Et gaudebit (F f.41 lv); Ypocrite/O quam sancta/Et
gaudebit (Ba f.47, Ma f.132); El mois d ’avril/O quam sancta/Et gaudebit (Mo f.63v); El mois d ’avril/O
quam sancta/O M aria mater/Et gaudebit (Cl f.380v); E l mois d ’avril/Al cor ai/Et gaudebit (W2 f. 195); Al
cor ai/Et gaudebit (StV f.289v).

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 generally accepted as composed by Perotin and found in the Florence manuscript,38 no.

36 is true to its clausula source, presenting only about a dozen slight rhythmic changes,

embellishments, and differing pitches in the motetus line.

Motet no. 37, Mout me fu gries/In omni fratre tuo/In seculum, is based on an

extremely popular tenor from the Gradual for the Mass for Easter Day (this chant also

serves as the tenor source for No. 45 in this fascicle). The text of the respond of this

gradual is a Psalm verse, Hec dies quam fecit Dominus exsultemus et laetemur in ea (This

is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it).39 The text of the verse is

Confitemini Domino, quoniam bonus quoniam in seculum misericordia ejus (Confess to

the Lord since he is righteous and without end, He will have mercy upon them). The

motet composer has imposed a second mode rhythm on the pitches and used the cursus40

a total of five times. The second mode rhythm is seen in Example 2.2.

Example 2.2. No. 37, mm. 1-3, tenor part

M . 67 . ( ------------------ ] (bi

l | t i! r f 1 l jT" f'-i ■ ■ l> -■>- - l | r y ^ = ii

8 IN SECULUM

Each time the cursus is repeated, the same ordering of pitches is used, but the rhythm is

varied. These different rhythms occur in an ABBAC pattern in the five repetitions o f the

cursus. This motet is not part of a large complex, nor does it have a clausula source;

however, it does exist as a single Latin motet. The bilingual version is found in two other

manuscripts, Cl and Ba; the single Latin version is found in five manuscripts.41

38 Rebecca Baltzer, “The Polyphonic Progeny o f an Et gaudebit: Assessing Family Relations in

the Thirteenth-Century Motet,” in Hearing the Motet: Essays on the M otet o f the M iddle Ages and
Renaissance, ed. Dolores Pesce (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 20.
39 Ps. 118:24.
40 A cursus is an set o f pitches taken, in order, from a source chant and used in the tenor voice.
41 In omnifratre/In seculum (LoB f.54v, LoC f.4v, Boul f.92, Hu £96, Bes #13b); Mout me fu
gries/ln omnifratre/In seculum (Mo f.66v, Cl £376, Ba £27).

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 The third motet in the fascicle, no. 38, Doz rossignoles jolis/Virgo

gloriosa/Letabitur, is based on the verse of the Alleluia from the Mass for the Fifth

Sunday of Pentecost. The text of the Alleluia is Alleluia: Domine, in virtute tua

laetabitur rex et super salutare tuum exsultabit vehementer (Alleluia: The Lord is a

virtuous and glad king and grants salvation upon those who exalt him vigorously). The

tenor rhythm is the same as that used in no. 36 (Example 2.3).

Example 2.3. No. 38, mm. 4-11, tenor part

It is related to mode 5 but uses extensio, an augmentation of the rhythmic values in the

mode. The cursus is used twice. In the second cursus the pitches are repeated, but the

rhythm is changed in a few places. This motet has identical concordances in two other

manuscripts, and both upper parts are also found as single motets with this tenor. The

motetus is also found with an additional Latin text, forming a double Latin motet.42

Another motet with a tenor taken from an Alleluia verse, no. 39, Povre

secors/Gaude chorus/Angelas is based on the Alleluia verse from the Mass for Easter

Monday. The text of this verse is a passage from the Gospel of Matthew: Angelus

Domini descendit de caelo et accedens revolvit lapidem et sedebet super eum (An Angel

of the Lord came down from the sky in light, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it)43

42 Dorn rossignoles/Letabitur (V f. 115); Virgo gloriosa/Letabitur (ArsA f.3 16v); Douz

rossignoles/Virgo gloriosa/Letabitur (Mo f.68v, Cl f.375v, Tu f.32); Virgo M aria mater/Virgo
gloriosa/Letabitur (Ba f.58v).
43 Matt. 28:2.

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 Unlike nos. 36 through 38 which only use the pitches from a word or two from their

chant source, this motet takes the pitches from eight words as the melody source for its

tenor: Angelus Domini descendit de caelo et accedens revolvit. The composer has used a

mode 2 rhythm on the tenor pitches of this motet (as in Example 2.2). The cursus is

repeated two times in its entirety, and after these two statements, an extra six perfections

(which are not related to the cursus or the chant source) are added to finish the piece.

This motet is part of a rather large motet complex. An identical concordance to this piece

is found in Ba. It also exists as a French double motet in Fascicle V of Mo with two

different French texts (and a different triplum melody). In all, this tenor provides the

foundation for two single Latin motets,44 one single French motet, two double French

motets, and the present bilingual motet, a total of six motets.45 From the number of

extant motets on this tenor, it can be assumed that this tenor was rather popular.

Motet no. 40, Par un matinee/Mellis stilla/Domino is the one motet in the fascicle

for which the tenor source has not been identified. In van der W erf s directory it is listed

with the “Motets with Latin Tenors of Unknown Origin” under the tenor designation,

“Domino II.” As seen in Example 2.4, the rhythmic mode of this tenor is not clear (two

repetitions of the rhythmic pattern are shown).

Example 2.4. No. 40, mm. 1-6, tenor part

.T « fain 1 ~>

7 ^
EX5MTNO

t
ft .............. .......1— — = ------- -----
P ...1 « . .......... et " *
% -J.— -------
* ■
0

44 One is incomplete, found only in theoretical treatises as a fragment.

45 Gaude chorus devota/Angelus (inc. only in treatises); Gaude chorus omnium/Angelus (Ma £134,
Hu £87); Aucuns m 'ontpar/Angelus (W2 £252v, N £ 181v); Aucrns m ’o n tp a r/J ’ai si bien/Angelus (Mo

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 This rhythm does not follow any single established rhythmic modes, but instead

combines elements of modes 1 and 5. The cursus consists of four repetitions of this

rhythmic pattern, and there are two presentations of the cursus in the motet. This motet is

part of a modest-sized complex,46 comprised of four motets with differing texts built on

this tenor. The original motet appears to have been a popular single Latin motet with the

Mellis stilla text for the motetus line. It is preserved in at least eight manuscripts. The

bilingual version found in Mo is also found in Cl. In addition to the bilingual version,

there are two double Latin versions and a double French motet found in Mo47 on this

tenor, but the motetus lines of these pieces do not carry the same music. It is interesting

to note that this motet contains the tenor farthest removed from the system of rhythmic

modes, and it is the only motet whose tenor source remains a mystery.

Motet no. 41, Au doz mois de mai/Crux formapenitentie/Sustinere is found at the

mid-point of the fascicle, the sixth of the eleven motets.48 This motet borrows its tenor

from the Alleluia for the Mass for the Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross, celebrated

on May 3. The text of the verse of this Alleluia is a series of epithets to the Cross: D uke

lignum, dulces clavos, dulcia ferens pondera quae sola fuisti digna sustinere regem

caelorum et Dominum (Sweet wood, sweet nails, sweet iron which alone was worthy to

sustain the King and Lord of heaven). The tenor of no. 41 uses rhythmic mode 5 and

includes three statements of the cursus; the third varies the rhythm slightly. The complex

f,174v); Aucims m 'ontpar/Povre secors/Angelus (Cl f.390); Povre secors/Gande chorus omnium/Angelus
(Mo f.71v, Ba f.l9v).
46 Mellis stilla/Domino (ArsA f.290v, Gautier D -l f.3, Ca f,129v, ArsC f.180, MuC f.73, Lyell
f.173, Boul f.lv , Bes #2); Par une matinee/Mellis stilla/Domino (Mo f.72v, Cl f.374v); O M aria mater
pia/M ellis stilla/Domino (PsAr f.40v); Virginis preconia/M ellis stilla/Domino (Ba f.36).
47 Mo f.209v (Fascicle V).
48 The significance o f this placement will be discussed in Chapter 4.

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 of occurrences for no. 41 consists of the bilingual version, two double Latin motets, and a

single Latin motet.49

The next motet, no. 42, Quantflorist la violete/Non orphanum/Et gaudebit, uses

the same tenor as no. 36. The clausula source for no. 42, like that of no. 36, is found in

the Florence manuscript. This motet, like no. 36, is extraordinarily true to its clausula

source with only a few minor changes to the clausula’s duplum. Motet no. 42 is also

found in the manuscript Ba and preserved as a single Latin motet with only the Non

orphanum text in no less than five manuscripts. There is also a double French version of

this motet preserved in Mo,50 making a total of three different motets in the complex.51

The ninth motet in the fascicle, no. 43, Quant voi Verbe/Salve virgo/Cumque, is

the only motet in the fascicle with a tenor based on an office chant. The Cumque melody

is from a Responsory verse for the third noctum of Matins for the Feast of the Dedication

of a Church. The text is Terribilis est locus iste non est hie aliud nisi domus Dei et porta

coeli. Vere etenim Dominus est in loco isto, et ego nesciebam. Cumque evigilasset Jacob

de somno ait (Awesome is this place, in no other place but this is God’s home and the

gate to heaven. Truth is here because the Lord is in this place, and I am ignorant. He

says always be watchful of Jacob sleeping). Like no. 39, motet no. 43 contains the

pitches from more than a few words of its source, borrowing the melody from the entire

Responsory verse. The tenor rhythm in this motet is ambiguous and closely related to

49 Cruci domini sit/Sustinere (LoC f.7); Cruci domini sit/Crux forma/Sustinere (Ba £11); Arbor
nobilis/Crux forma/Sustinere (MuB £V); Au douz mai/Crux forma/Sustinere (Mo f.74v, Cl f.375, Bes
#13a).
50 Mo f,183v (Fascicle V).
51 Non orphanum/Et gaudebit (F f.405, W2 f.l74v, Hu £92, StS #21, Bes #20); Quant florist/Non
orphanum/Et gaudebit (Mo £75v, Ba £42v); Quantflorist/E l mois de mai/Et gaudebit (Mo £ 183v).

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 that of no. 40. There is only one cursus of the tenor. There is a small complex of two

bilingual motets and one French double motet built upon this tenor.

The tenor of the ninth motet, no. 44, Quant repaire la verdor/Flos de

spina/Regnat, is one of two Marian tenors found in this fascicle. The text of this chant,

Hodie Maria virgo caelos ascendit gaudete quia cum Christo regnat in aeternum (Today

the Virgin Mary ascends rejoicing because Christ reigns eternally), is from the Alleluia

verse for the Feast of the Assumption. The motet composer has set the tenor to a mode 5

rhythm, and there are two complete statements of the cursus. Two successive clausulae

from W1 serve as sources for the tenor and motetus lines.53 This motet is not found in

any other manuscript as a double motet, and the only other version of this motet is a

single Latin motet.54 It is interesting that only two Marian tenors are present in this

fascicle, since so many of the motetus texts contain epithets to the Virgin Mary.

The shortest motet of the fascicle is no. 45, Quant voi revenir/Virgo virginum/Hec

dies. With twenty-eight perfections, no. 45 is exactly one hundred perfections shorter

than the previous motet. The tenor of this motet is from the same chant as that of no. 37.

As seen in Example 2.5, the rhythmic mode used for this tenor is best described as mode

1 with the use of rests.

52 Douce dame p a r amour/Salve virgo/Cumque (Ba f.53, Da f.Ivb); Douce dame p a r amour/Quant
voi I ’erbe/Cumque (Mo f.!91v); Quant voi I ’erbe/Salve virgo/Cumque (Mo f.77v).
53 W1 f. 59 (51) #2 and #3; #2 serves as source for the first cursus o f the motetus, #3 for the
second cursus o f the motetus.
54 Flos de spina/Regnat (W2 f. 147 and f. 180).

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 Example 2.5. No. 45, entire tenor part

T ft M- '1 I ~n ^ ________ *. p_____ foL8lv_______________ L

* 1 <J' Y * 1 1J 3 ^ 4 ^ = =*=^
! * HE C DIES

r 1

This tenor rhythm is related to the tenor rhythm of no. 40, but uses quarter notes and

eighth-note rests where no. 40 uses dotted quarter notes. Even though this motet is quite

short, there are two complete statements of the cursus. The Hec dies tenor serves as the

basis for twelve motets, only one of which, however, is related to the present bilingual

motet. The tenor and motetus are found as a double Latin motet in Ba with a different

triplum text.55 This motet is also preserved in Cl as a bilingual motet.56

Motet no. 46, L ’estat du monde/Beata viscera/Beata viscera, the last bilingual

motet in the fascicle, is the second motet with a Marian tenor. This tenor is taken from

the communion antiphon for the Mass of the feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The

entire text, Beata viscera Maria Virginis quae portaverunt aeterni Patris Filium (Blessed

womb of the Virgin Mary which carried the eternal Father’s Son), serves as the source for

the tenor melody. The mode 5 tenor cursus is used only once. No. 46 is part of a small

complex, consisting of three motets: a single Latin motet and double Latin motet, in

addition to the bilingual version.57

55 O mitissima virgo/Virgo virginum/Hec dies (Ba f.60).

56 Cl f.388v.
57 L ’estat du monde/Beata viscera/Beata viscera (Mo f.81v); Beata viscera/Beata viscera (ArsA f.
316, ArsC f. 177); Partus fuit/Beata viscera/Beata viscera (Ba f.7v).

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 Like the other ten motets in the fascicle, no. 46 presents a tenor taken from the

liturgy of the church. This characteristic is the basic unifying factor of the tenors of

Fascicle III, which creates a religious foundation for the motets. The tenor rhythms are

integrated in their use of the rhythmic modes. These two elements provide the,

groundwork for the coherence of this fascicle. The tenors of Fascicle III work to unify

the group of motets in multiple ways.

As mentioned previously, all of the motets take their tenors from Mass or Office

chants; no motets in this fascicle use secular French tenors. Broadly speaking, the chant

sources for these tenors relate either to Christ or to the Virgin Mary. The tenors relating

to Christ mainly come from feasts of the Temporale that occur after the Crucifixion,

including Easter, Ascension, Finding of the Holy Cross, and Pentecost. Two tenors take

their sources from Marian feasts, one from the Assumption Alleluia and one from the

Communion antiphon, a chant common to all feasts of the Virgin. Only two chants do

not fit into this broad classification scheme: the tenor from the Office for the Dedication

of the Church, no. 43, and the yet-to-be-identified Domino, no. 40.

The tenor from the Feast for the Dedication of the Church, no. 43, is different in

many ways: 1) this tenor is the only chant taken from an office, 2) it is part of a feast that

is celebrated at a different time in every church (depending on the church’s day of

dedication), 3) its use of rhythmic mode is ambiguous, and 4) its source text is unusual in

the context of the tenors used in the other motets. Two characteristics of the C[umqueJ

tenor, however, support the logic of its use in the fascicle: 1) the date of the Feast of the

Dedication of the Church associated with this tenor is 24 February,58 placing it on the

58 The C[umque] chant is extant in three manuscripts, only one which is o f French provenance, the
St. Denis Antiphoner (Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France, lat. 17296). This source, which dates from

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 early end of the dates spanned by the feasts represented in this fascicle, and 2) the

distinctive tenor rhythm is closely related to that of no. 40. With some nudging, no. 43

fits into the season of the other tenors of the fascicle, starting on 24 February with the

Dedication of St. Denis and ending with the Assumption on 15 August, creating a

springtime and summertime foundation for the upper voices.

All the tenors found in Fascicle III are from responsorial or antiphonal chants, and

they favor the use of words and music from Alleluias. As seen in Table 2.2, of the eleven

motets, only four use other types of chants.59

Table 2.2. Chant Sources of the Motets in Fascicle III

Motet No. Chant source Feast

36 Alleluia Ascension
37 Gradual Easter Sunday
38 Alleluia 5th Sunday ofPentecost
39 Alleluia Easter Monday
40 Unknown Unknown
41 Alleluia Finding of the Holy Cross
42 Alleluia Sunday after Ascension
43 Office Responsory Dedication of a Church
44 Alleluia Assumption
45 Gradual Easter Sunday
46 Communion antiphon Feasts of the BVM

The office chant text used is a Responsory from the third noctum of Matins. The text and

music of this tenor are actually borrowed from the verse. The final motet, no. 46, is

drawn from a communion antiphon used on feasts of the Virgin Mary. The remaining two

motets not based on Alleluias borrow text and music from the same Gradual No. 37 uses

the mid-twelfth century, was copied for the Royal Abbey o f Saint-Denis, the most important cathedral in
France prior to the rise o f the cathedral ofNotre-Dame-de-Paris. Because this is the only extant source o f
the C[unique] chant from France and because o f St. Denis’ importance as a cathedral during the time these
motets were composed, the date for the Office o f the Dedication o f a Church at St. Denis, 24 February, will
be used for this study.
59 This does not include the unknown Domino tenor.

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 the pitches from one word of the verse and no. 42 presents the pitches from the incipit of

this Gradual for the Mass for Easter Sunday. The presentation of Alleluia verses seems

to be a trait common to the motet genre in general. A glance at van der W erf s list of

motets shows that a large number of motets and motet complexes are built on tenors

borrowed from Alleluias.

The tenor rhythms, perhaps more than their textual features, unify the motets in

this fascicle. The rhythms presented in the tenors show the break from the strict modal

rhythms that occurred during the thirteenth century. Example 2.6 presents the six

rhythmic modes.

Example 2.6. The Rhythmic Modes (shortest possible ordos)

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 One can see that the rhythm of the tenors of Fascicle III do not always correlate with the

rhythmic modes, but they do, however, originate in this tradition. Six of the eleven

motets have rhythms based on mode 5: nos. 36, 38, 41, 42, 44, and 46. In this group two

tenors, nos. 41 and 46, adhere fairly strictly to mode 5, while the remaining four use an

extensio version. As can be seen in Table 2.3, these motets based on mode 5 seem to

occur in an alternating pattern with non-mode 5 tenors, with the exception of no. 41,

whose special placement in the fascicle will be discussed in depth later in Chapter 4.

Table 2.3. Rhythmic Modes of the Motets in Fascicle III

Motet No. Tenor Rhythmic Mode

36 Derivative of Mode 5
37 Mode 2
38 Derivative of Mode 5
39 Mode 2
40 Derivative of Mode 1
41 Mode 5
42 Derivative of Mode 5
43 Derivative of Mode 2
44 Derivative of Mode 5
45 Derivative of Mode 1
46 Mode 5

Interspersed with the mode 5 tenors are five motets with more rhythmically-involved

tenors loosely based on modes 1 and 2. Nos. 37 and 39 use a tenor rhythm based on

mode 2 (Example 2.2, above). The tenors of these two motets remain true to this modal

pattern for the majority of each piece. As seen in Example 2.7, nos. 40 and 43 are

inversely related in their tenor patterns.

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 Example 2.7. Tenor rhythms of nos. 40 and 43

No. 40

No. 43

F I -; - -
al - ——£!B — i— Jgh
T m f -

After an opening dotted quarter, eighth note, and quarter rest, the tenors of motets 40 and

43 use patterns of modes 1 and 2, respectively. No. 43 has another three perfections of

dotted quarter, dotted quarter, quarter, and eighth rest before starting the rhythmic pattern

over again. These patterns defy modal rhythm classifications. The rhythmic pattern of

no. 45 is unique in the fascicle, and can be seen in Example 2.8.

Example 2.8. Tenor rhythm of no. 45

j 'j 1j -

This rhythm is based in mode 1, and like that of no. 45 uses rests in place of eighth

notes.60

The two groups of tenors, those based on mode 5 and those based on modes 1 and

2, are carefully placed within the fascicle. The slower, mode 5 tenors alternate with the

non-mode 5 tenors with the exception of no. 41. This motet, however, is carefully placed

in the fascicle because of its motetus line Crux forma (Cross, form) forming the crux, or

middle, of the fascicle. The compiler continued the pattern after no. 42, following it to

60 This is also evident in the rhythms o f the upper voices, but these will be discussed in Chapter 4.

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 the end of the original fascicle. In other words, if nos. 40 and 41 were switched, the

pattern of mode 5 tenor, non-mode 5 tenor, would be perfect. This pattern might have

been planned purposely by the compiler to draw attention to what he wanted to be the

central, “crux” motet.

An understanding of the tenors of Fascicle III provides the foundation for a study

of the motets built upon them. Typical of motets in the thirteenth century, the tenors

illustrate the religious origin of the motet and the break from that origin by their use of a

small portion of an original plainchant. Fascicle III also shows the movement away from

the tradition of modal rhythms that occurred in the thirteenth century. The poet-

composer’s use of more creative rhythms exemplifies the progressive trend of motets of

the time. These tenors are unified by two factors. First, with the large repertoire of

plainchant sources, the similarity of the times of the feasts used in these ten identified

tenors cannot be coincidental. Secondly, the organization of the tenor rhythms in the

alternation of mode 5 with other modes also adds to the coherence of this fascicle.

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 CHAPTER 3: MUSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The musical characteristics of the motets of Fascicle III are not unique; rather,

they are typical of thirteenth-century motets as whole. In the search for unity among the

musical characteristics it is useful to analyze the ranges, melodic modes, rhythmic modes

of the upper voices, melodic intervals, harmonic intervals, and cadences of these eleven

motets.

In the original manuscript, movable C clefs are used to notate pitches, with

limited use of ledger lines. Both Tischler and Rokseth present their transcriptions in

octave G clef.61 The total range of all parts of the motets of Fascicle III extends from c to

c2, as seen in Table 3.1.62

Table 3.1. Range of Voices and Finals

Motet Tenor Motetus Triplum Total Interval Finals

No. Range Range Range Range (T, M, Tr)
36 c to b-flat fto g1 gto a1 c to a1 P8+M6 a ,a ,e
37 fto e1 g to c2 c1to c2 fto c2 P8+P5 f, c1, f
38 c to c1 f to g1 fto a1 c to a1 P8+M6 g> dJ, g1
39 c to c1 c to e1 ftof4 ctof4 P8+P4 c, g, c
40 c to g gto g1 fto g1 ctog1 P8+P5 d, d1, a
41 fto d1 e to g1 gto a e to a P8+P4 g, g, d1
42 c to b-flat fto a1 fto a1 cto a1 P8+M6 3? C 5C
43 c to d1 c to d1 gto f1 ctof P8+P4 d, a, d1
44 c to c1 c to d1 fto gr cto g1 P8+P5 g, g>g
45 fto c1 c1to c2 1? to c2 fto c2 P8+P5 a, a1, e1
46 c to c1 c to e1 c to e1 c to e1 P8+M3 d, a1, d1

61 Also known as vocal tenor clef.

62 In this study, “c 1” designates middle c. All pitch references are to sounding pitch.

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 The largest range covered by the three voices of any one motet is an octave plus a major

sixth; this is found in nos. 36, 38 and 42 and in all the cases the range involved is c to a1.

The smallest range is present in no. 46: an octave plus a major third, spanning c to e1.

Only two motets, nos. 37 and 45, use the high end of the total range of the fascicle,

extending to c2. It is interesting that these two motets are also based on the same chant,

although each uses a different segment of it. All but three of the motets use the low part

of the range; nos. 37, 41 and 45 descend only to f, a fourth above the low c.

The three parts cross often. In general, the upper two voices frequently lie in the

same tessitura while the tenor is usually somewhat lower. The tenor voice does not cross

the motetus nearly as much as the motetus and triplum cross. The range and tessitura of

these motets imply that three people with similar vocal ranges probably performed these

pieces.

Medieval composers and theorists did not typically think of polyphonic pieces in

terms of melodic mode. Individual lines, especially tenors taken from the plainchant

repertoire, were modal, but a polyphonic piece as a whole was not considered a modal

work. Johannes de Grocheio, in his treatise De musica of c.1300, says that “measured

music,” which includes motets, is not categorized by mode:

Certain people describe a tone by saying that it is a rule that judges every song by its end.
But these men seem to err in many ways, for when they speak o f “every song” they seem
to include popular and measured song. This kind o f song does not perhaps proceed
through the rules o f a tone, nor is it measured by them. Further, if it is measured by them,
they do not speak o f the method by which it is used nor do they make mention about it.63

63 Albert Seay, Johannes de Grocheio: Concerning Music (Colorado Springs: Colorado Music
Press, 1967), 31, quoted in Harold S. Powers and Frans Wiering, “Mode III, 1,” in The New Grove
Dictionary o f Music and Musicians, 2d ed., ed. Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (New York: Grove
Dictionaries, 2001): 16: 797. Grocheio considers organum, conductus, and motets examples o f measured
music, music that has to be precisely measured in order for the multiple lines to end together.

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 According to Grocheio, measured song does not use the rules of the melodic modes, and

therefore cannot be classified by them.

Grocheio’s opinion notwithstanding, for the sake of discussing the melodic

organization of these motets, it is helpful to distinguish a melodic mode for each line. In

Table 3.2, a letter “T” following the mode indicates a transposition.

Table 3.2. Melodic Modes of Each Voice

Motet Tenor Motetus Triplum

No. Mode Mode Mode
36 3T 4T 4T
37 5 6 6
38 8 7 7
39 5T 5T 6T
40 2 2 2
41 8 7 7
42 3T 4T 4T
43 1 1 2
44 8 8 7
45 4T 3T 3T
46 1 1 1

The process of distinguishing the melodic modes of these motets involved two steps:

first, an analysis of the tenors based on final, range, and pattern of whole and half steps,

and secondly, a similar analysis o f the upper voices.64 Six of the motets, nos. 36, 37, 38,

41, 42 and 45 use the tenor in the authentic range of the mode and the upper voices in the

plagal range. Three, nos. 39, 43 and 44, present the tenor and motetus in the authentic

range and the triplum in the plagal range. Two, nos. 40 and 46, offer similar ranges for

all three voices. In no. 40 the range of the tenor is only a fifth, c to g, while the ranges of

the motetus and triplum are almost identical. In no. 46, both upper voices have the same

64 If an upper line does not end on the final o f its mode, it closes on the fifth, creating the typical
perfect fifth sonority at the end o f the piece.

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 range (c to e1), the entire range of the piece, while the tenor covers one octave of the total

range (c to c1). The range of each line is often greater than an octave, but identifying a

mode for each voice and matching it with one of the same final as the tenor, offers an

efficient means of classifying these motets.

While the motets of Fascicle III present a variety of melodic modes among the

upper voices, there is not nearly as much variety among the rhythmic modes of these

voices. Identifying the rhythmic modes used in the upper voices is more difficult than

identifying their melodic modes.65 Generally, there is much fractio66 present in the upper

voices, which obscures the modal pattern. In order to facilitate the identification of the

rhythmic mode of a cum littera line with fractio, one can look at the pattern of text

declamation. While pitches often change without a change in the syllable, the pattern of

text declamation often remains the same throughout each voice, thus the duration of the

syllables presents a constant pattern. Multiple pitches on a single syllable are notated

with the use of ligatures in the manuscript, primarily the plica ( ^ ), podatus ( J ) ,

torculus ( A ) , and currentes (® ^ ). In Tischler’s transcriptions, ligatures are indicated

by bracketing quarter notes or by barring eighth and sixteenth notes.

In Example 3.1, syllables are articulated primarily on beats 1, 3,4, and 6 in a 6/8

meter despite the fractio present on beat 1 of measures 10 and 12.

Example 3.1. No. 36, mm. 9-13* motetus part

* di- gna, 4.ar- cha No- e, la- cob sea- la, vas- cu-hnn pu- do- ris,

63 Chapter 2 discusses the rhythmic modes o f the tenors.

66 Fractio is a breaking o f the values o f the rhythmic mode, such as subdividing a quarter note into
two eighth notes, an eighth note into two sixteenth notes, etc.

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 This is an example of text declamation in rhythmic mode 1 (e.g., ar-cha no-e, set to

Conversely, the text shown in Example 3.2 changes syllables on beats 1, 2,

4, and 5.

Example 3.2. No. 43, mm. 1-5, triplum and motetus parts

1 Quant voi l’er- be re- ver- dir L et le tans se­ der

f o l. 78_______________ IB ,

t Sal- ve, vir- go vir- gi- mim, 2.D e-i ple-na gra-ti- a 3. ve- rum lu- men

Text declamation in mode 2 is apparent in this example. Despite the rapid subdivision of

the perfection, the articulation of syllables remains constant in a mode 2 pattern. In

Example 3.3, syllables are articulated primarily on beats 1, 4, and 5.

Example 3.3. No. 41, mm. 20-25, triplum and motetus parts

M l.

voz at; grant do- me de-

ci -

This represents text declamation in mode 3. Example 3.4 presents text declamation

which changes syllable on every beat.

Example 3.4. No. 36, mm. 1-4, triplum part

.f Tn r t n p a t f i & f r g a
" L B mois d’a-vril, qu”i-ver vait d e -p a r-ta n t, Z q u ecil oi-seil re-com - roen-cent feur chart,

This is an illustration of text declamation in mode 6, which is found only in quickly-

moving triplum lines.

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 Based on the rhythm of their text declamation, the rhythmic modes presented in

the upper voices are primarily 1, 2 or 6 (Table 3.3).

Table 3.3. Rhythmic Modes ofUpper Voices (based on text declamation)

Motet Motetus Triplum Comment

No. Mode Mode
36 1 6 M has some extensio
37 2 6 M has 6 in m. 24-38
38 1 6
39 2 6 Tr slows down at end for refrain
40 1 6
41 3 3 Some fractio in both voices
42 1 1
43 2 2
44 1 1 Tr has 6 in m. 41-46 and 61-62
45 1 1
46 3 3/5 M unclear, uses both

The order of motets in the fascicle creates a pattern of sorts with regard to the rhythmic

modes in the upper voices. The first half of the fascicle presents motets in which the text

declamation of the triplum is moving more quickly than the motetus (mode 6 in the

triplum, mode 1 or 2 in the motetus). The second half of the fascicle presents motets that

state their upper voice texts at the same rate (both voices in mode 1,2, or 3). The middle

motet, no. 41, and the final motet, no. 46, are the only ones that use mode 3. This is

especially appropriate for the central, “crux” motet, since the number “3” was considered

the perfect number and represented the Trinity, the persons of which intersected at the

crucifixion.

While the rhythmic modes of Fascicle III are rather obscure, the intervals present

in the fascicle are typical of thirteenth-century motets. Melodic, or linear, intervals used

in Fascicle III are those expected in vocal music and comprise mainly steps and small

leaps. As seen in Table 3.4, stepwise motion, by half or whole step, accounts for 77% of

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 the triplum intervals, 80% of the motetus intervals, and 73% of the tenor intervals found

in Fascicle III.

Table 3.4. Percentage of Melodic Intervals

m2 & M2 m3 & M3 Total

Triplum 77% 18% 95%
Motetus 80% 15% 95%
Tenor 73% 22% 95%

Thirds, minor or major, account for 18% of triplum intervals, 15% of motetus intervals,

and 22% of tenor intervals. The remaining 5% of intervals represent motion greater than

a major third, including perfect fourths and fifths.

As with any averages, there are some motets that stray from the norm. As seen in

Table 3.5, in no. 44,26% of the triplum’s melodic intervals are thirds, well above the

average o f 18%. Thirty percent of the melodic intervals in the motetus line of no. 44 are

thirds, twice the average of 15%.

Table 3.5. Percentage of Melodic Intervals in No. 44

m2 & M2 m3 & M3 Total

Triplum 67% 26% 93%
Motetus 65% 30% 95%
Tenor 80% 9% 89%

This triplum also contains one of only two leaps by major sixth found in all of the tripla

of the fascicle.

Examining the harmonic intervals used in the motets, one finds similar results.

As expected, perfect intervals —unisons, octaves, fourths and fifths —account for the

vast majority of sonorities at the beginnings of perfections. These are the consonant

intervals preferred from the advent of polyphony. Included in Table 3.6 are the

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 percentages for Fascicle III as well as Finn Mathiassen’s calculations for the entire old

corpus. 67

Table 3.6. Percentage of Harmonic Intervals (on Beginnings of Perfections)

PI &P8 P4 P5 Total
Tenor and both 36% 6% 46% 88%
upper voices
(Mathiassen’s (35%) (6%) (40%) (81%)
Figures)
Triplum and 32% 29% 22% 83%
Motetus

Vertical sonorities produced by the tenor sounding with either upper line on a perfection

usually produces a perfect interval. Thirty-six percent of these intervals are unisons or

octaves, 6% are fourths, and 46% are fifths, percentages in keeping with those found by

Mathiassen within the entire old corpus of Mo. Intervals present between the two upper

voices, the motetus and the triplum, are slightly different: 32% are unisons or octaves,

29% are fourths, and 22% are fifths. This increase in fourths is a result of the usual

arrangement of voices in the early motet: a fifth between the tenor and the motetus and a

fourth between the motetus and the triplum, standard 8-5-4 voicing. There are exceptions

to these averages; again, no. 44 is unusual (Table 3.7).

Table 3.7. Percentage of Harmonic Intervals (on Beginnings of Perfections) in No. 44

P1& P8 P4 P5 Total
Tenor and both 27% 11% 36% 74%
upper voices
Motetus and 38% 8% 38% 84%
Triplum

Many of the percentages in no. 44 differ from the averages. In this motet, only 74% of

the intervals between the tenor and each of the upper voices are perfect intervals, as

67 Finn Mathiassen, The Style o f the Early M otet (Copenhagen: Dan Fog Musikforiag, 1966), 135.

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 opposed to the 88% in the fascicle as a whole. This is because no. 44 presents more

thirds and sixths on the beginning of perfections and consequently sounds more “triadic”

to our modem ears.

Intervals present at cadences in these motets also need to be studied. At final

cadences, there is always a fundamental tone in the tenor, and in ten of the eleven motets

a fifth is present in one of the upper voices. No. 42, contains a doubled fifth, while in no.

44, all three voices end on the same pitch.

Movement to the final cadences in these motets is by step, either an ascending or

descending minor or major second. This is true for all lines of all eleven motets in

Fascicle III, with only one exception. In no. 43 the tenor descends a perfect fifth to its

cadence pitch (Example 3.5).

Example 3.5. No. 43, mm. 21-26, tenor part

" p * '~ I' — ...................... ... . ................................................................................................................................................................................................

Triplum and motetus lines, newly composed to create these motets, approach their

cadential pitches by step, suggesting that this was the cadential motion preferred by the
£0
composer. Tenors, however, were taken from the plainchant repertoire, and the poet-

composers could not change the sequence of pitches already present within the chant

segments. While to our modem ears medieval cadences may sound abrupt and crude due

to the presence of parallel perfect intervals, they were the norm for the medieval

aesthetic.

68 The motetus lines o f the three motets (nos. 36, 42, and 44) created from clausula sources are
exceptions.

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 Internal, linear cadences in each voice also need to be identified in a survey of the

musical characteristics of these motets. Typically, individual upper voices cadence

frequently, at the end of most lines of text. Each line of text usually comprises a

grammatical unit or phrase and is set off by punctuation in the transcription of the text.69

Most cadences are easily heard as such because each is followed by a rest. There are two

basic types of cadences found in thirteenth-century motets: unflourished and flourished.70

Unflourished cadences achieve the cadence pitch at the beginning of a perfection as

indicated in Example 3.6 by the letter “U.”

Example 3.6. No. 36, mm. 53-56, triplum and motetus parts

_U____________ IB r M M t , ^
m m
3. chief bloat, hii- sant.34.me- nu re- cer- ce­ 14 35. bo- die ver- m el- le, dens pe-tis drus se-
ll
S -

vir- gi- nem ex- po- stu- la, ®.ut ■sit pro te se- du-

Unflourished cadences represent the majority of cadences found in Fascicle III. Out of

all the cadences in the motetus and triplum lines, 87% are unflourished. Flourished

cadences are cadences in which the actual cadence pitch is not achieved on a strong beat.

Occasionally the final syllable occurs at the beginning of a perfection, but this is followed

by stepwise melodic movement, usually down, to the cadence pitch (Example 3.7).

69 Punctuation is not found in the manuscript.

70 These terms are mine. In older studies these are often referred to as masculine and feminine
cadences.

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 Example 3.7. No. 36, mm. 70, triplum part

As expected, the remaining 13% of cadences in the motetti and tripla of Fascicle III are

flourished cadences.

Not all cadences are easily heard as unflourished or flourished. Some

unflourished cadences often look like flourished cadences due to the fact that they

contain a few transitional pitches that lead into the next phrase, thus creating an elision

between the two phrases. Upon closer inspection one finds that the cadence pitch is

achieved on the perfection and what follows is actually a transition into the next phrase.

A transitional cadence in both voices can be seen in Example 3.8, indicated by the letter
f c t 'y * 55

Example 3.8. No. 36, mm. 61-65, triplum and motetus parts
T

•m 39. ne poet bou-che ra- cod-ter 40. ne cuer pen- ser. 4i.S,a-mor li pri; ALsos- pi-rant res- poo-di:

na spes de- urn. 210 ge- ni- trix, gau- de m

In measure 63 of both lines, the final syllable of the line is articulated on beat 1. The

music continues, however, and leads into the next phrase.

The intervals used at linear cadences are concurrent with the intervals found in the

individual vocal lines (Table 3.8).

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 Table 3.8. Percentage of Intervals found at Cadences

Tripla Motetti Total

Minor 2nd 21.0% 14.5% 17.8%
Major 2nd 42.1% 57.3% 49.6%
Minor 3rd 13.1% 13.3% 13.2%
Major 3rd 6.7% 7.1% 6.9%
Perfect 4th 2.0% 0.8% 1.4%
Perfect 5th 1.2% 0.8% 1.0%
Major 6th 0.0% 0.4% 0.2%
Same Note 13.9% 5.8% 9.9%

Typical intervallic motion at a cadence is by whole step, more commonly ascending but

often descending. Thirds, major and minor, are also found at linear cadences in most

motets of Fascicle III. In all but one motet, no. 36, one leap of a perfect fourth or fifth is

found at a linear cadence in either the triplum or motetus. The motetus line of no. 42, in

addition to one ascending perfect fourth, also contains one leap o f a sixth at a cadence

point shown in Example 3.9.

Example 3.9. No. 42, mm. 29-32, motetus part

H§— - 3F----------1------------- if— ---------- -----------

^ ----------
% ---- ---------- £ ----------- —
) --- L-ju---------

-urn. 17.Cum i- e- ro, ve- m- am

This leap at a cadence is unprecedented in the fascicle and must have been a challenge for

the vocalist.

Looking for internal vertical cadences is almost futile. One voice of a motet

rarely comes to a resting point simultaneously with another voice. When two voices do

come to a cadence point together, it is usually the tenor voice with one of the upper

voices due to the fact that the tenor cadences every measure or two depending on its

rhythmic pattern. Cadences between the two upper voices do not occur often in these

motets, and simultaneous cadences in all three voices of a motet are rare, with the

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 exceptions of final cadences and occasional internal cadences conveying some structural

importance. One such internal cadence occurs between the two repetitions of the cursus

in no. 36. This is due to the asynchronic nature of the text; the lines do not have regular

numbers of syllables nor do the phrases have regular numbers of perfections. Between

the two texted lines of a motet there is no correlation of number of syllables per line or

perfections per phrase. This is a compositional feature of the motet genre which sets it

apart from the conductus and conductus-motet.

One motet in Fascicle III, no. 45, breaks these norms. This short motet, only

lasting 28 perfections, contains eight cadences, in all of which the three voices line up

(Example 3.10).

Example 3.10. No. 45, mm. 1-4, all parts

SbLSlv

l. Quant voi re- ve- nir Xd’es- t£ ia sai- son, re- ten- tir

1. Vir- go vir- gi- num, 2. hi- men hi- m i- num, 3. re- stau- ra- trix
foUI .------------ *-,1.31 V_____________________

H EC DIES

In this motet either the texts were written at the same time, or the text that was added

later was carefully constructed to fit with the existing text. This motet, with its eight

simultaneous cadences in all three voices, provides evidence that the poet-composer was

thinking vertically while writing a new text and line.

In general, the musical characteristics of Fascicle III are not extraordinary in

comparison with other thirteenth-century motets. The harmonic and linear intervals used

in the melodic lines and at cadences are typical of polyphony of the late thirteenth

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 century. The use of rhythmic modes is apparent in the text declamation of the upper

voices, although it is obscured by the use of fractio. The use of conventional musical

elements and the apparent thought that went into these pieces shows that the poet-

composer was a skilled musician, knowledgeable in the compositional practices of his

time. The musical characteristics may be typical of the thirteenth century, but they

nonetheless contribute to the unity o f the eleven motets of Fascicle III.

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 CHAPTER 4: TEXTUAL CHARACTERISTICS

The texts of the motets of Fascicle III epitomize two rich genres of medieval

literature. In the motetus texts, one finds prime examples of sacred, although not

liturgical, literature; simultaneously, in the triplum texts, examples of courtly love texts,

closely related to those of the trouveres, occur. A close examination of these texts’

general characteristics yields a number of examples of textual links within several

individual motets.71 Such textual links help to unify the fascicle.

The Latin and French texts found in Fascicle III are fairly representative of

similar texts throughout the codex. In discussing the French texts of the manuscript in

Tischler’s edition of the codex, Susan Stakel notes, “Many of the Montpellier pieces are

trite and drab by any literary standards.”72 The vast majority of the French texts in the

codex are in the style of the troubadour canso, and many also represent the pastourelle

genre. These texts almost exclusively deal with a knight desiring the affection of a

shepherdess, and his attempts to act upon his feelings. Interspersed with these

pastourelle and canso texts, a few different types appear. According to Stakel, these

include primarily “portrayals of the poet sitting around the fire with friends, drinking

good red wine, and eating roasted capon.”73 Equally present among the non-canso and

non-pastourelle French texts are sirventes, courtly poems criticizing the loss of morality

71 Links between the texts o f different motets are addressed in Chapter 5.

72 Susan Stakel, “The French Texts,” in The Montpellier Codex, ed. Hans Tischler, vol. 4, xvi.
Madison: A-R Editions, 1985.
73 Ibid., xix.

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 in the world. The one sirventes found in Fascicle III is the only text among the tripla of

the bilingual motets that does not relate to the subject of love.

There are three types of courtly texts present in the tripla of the motets of Fascicle

III: canso, pastourelle, and sirventes.

Table 4.1. Genres o f Triplum Texts

Motet Triplum Text

36 Pastourelle
37 Canso
38 Canso
39 Canso
40 Pastourelle
41 Pastourelle
42 Canso
43 Canso
44 Pastourelle
45 Canso
46 Sirventes

These texts were probably composed in or around Paris in the thirteenth century, the time

the trouveres were flourishing in northern France. While the texts are not actual trouvere

songs (the text of a motet is not nearly as long as that of trouvere song, nor do motet texts

contain the regular rhyme scheme and line length found in the courtly tradition), they

frequently borrow popular refrains from trouvere songs.

The texts of six tripla found in Fascicle III are representative of the canso genre.

In these love poems the narrator praises the lady’s beauty, but laments the fact that the

object of his desire will not fulfill his wishes. One text, no. 42, is unique because here the

poet is actually happy. He has won his lady, she is beautiful, and he will always be true

to her. No. 43 might also fall in this category since its text praises love, but this short text

never reveals whether the poet has found the love he desired. The other French tripla in

the canso style portray the poet in a state of despair because the lady he wants will not

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 return his affection. Two include the fact that the lady has left him, and the other two

merely mention a desire for a specific lady.

Four of the French tripla in Fascicle III are representative of the pastourelle genre

of trouvere song. Typically, a pastourelle is a lyric song which features a man or knight

who rides into an orchard or some other nature setting and comes across a beautiful girl

collecting flowers or tending sheep. Often she is singing. Usually the man makes an

effort to win the girl’s affection, and she either accepts or rejects him. In some cases

when he is rejected, the man will take what he wants from her anyway. Two of the four

pastourelle texts in Fascicle III epitomize the genre. Nos. 36 and 44 both feature the

conventional pastourelle opening of a man or knight riding into a flowering orchard in

the springtime, coming across a beautiful maiden, and offering his love to her. In both

texts the girl rejects him because she already has a lover from whom, she says, she will

never part. Nos. 40 and 41 also employ the conventional pastourelle opening; however,

their stories do not exactly follow the prototype. In both of these texts the man initially

finds Marion crying because Robin is gone, but the two texts also end differently from

the typical pastourelle. No. 40 tells of Marion lamenting, while the narrator, apparently,

watches, but does not intervene; then Robin arrives, and he and Marion leave together.

Marion also laments in no. 41, but in this text Robin has actually left her. The narrator

intervenes in this text and tries to comfort her. The text ends there; it is not clear whether

or not the narrator attempts to win Marion’s affection.

There is one text among the eleven tripla in Fascicle III which does not relate to

love but is nonetheless a part of the courtly tradition. The triplum text of no. 46, the last

motet in the fascicle, is a typical sirventes text that laments the loss of morality among

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 the Jacobins and brothers of the minor orders. Here the poet mentions that people who

have an outwardly religious appearance are actually full of envy, pride, and hypocrisy.

This text stands alone at the end of the courtly love texts and creates quite a “stinger.”74

A different reading of the triplum text of no. 46 is possible if one considers that the

courtly narrator, rejected by the woman in no. 44, has directed his anger toward the

clergy. If read this context, the poet in this text laments that all women are foil of

hypocrisy and deceit and only want a man who can elevate their social status. This

would be an appropriate ending to a collection of texts in which the narrator has lost his

lady.

Common images are found among the triplum texts of these motets. Most are

typical of courtly love genres, but they still work to unify the texts of the fascicle as a

whole. These images —including birds, flowers, references to the time of year, and the

description of the girl —work to link the triplum texts of the pieces found in Fascicle III.

Birds are mentioned in seven of the eleven triplum texts. Among the birds

mentioned in these seven tripla are the nightingale (named in nos. 36, 38, and 43), the

lark (nos. 36 and 44), the thrush, starling, and calandra (all three in no. 36), and parrots

(no. 42). Nos. 40 and 45 simply mention birds in general. Typically, birds are used to set

up the story, creating a pastourelle scene for the poem. In one motet, no. 38, the narrator

addresses the nightingale throughout the text and pleads for the bird to listen to his tale of

woe. This text is unique among the tripla in the fascicle as the only one addressed to

someone or something.

74 “Stinger” is a term associated with film and other media music. The purpose o f a stinger is to
punctuate an emotion and sometimes to startle an audience.

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 Flower imagery is prevalent in the triplum texts as well. Two types of flower

imagery occur in the triplum texts. First, flower imagery is used when the narrator is

describing the scene. Typically, the narrator refers to a wood (nos. 36,40, 45), orchard

(nos. 36,41,44), or meadow (no. 40) where flowers are blooming. The other type of

reference to flowers occurs when the narrator describes his love. Frequently the narrator

describes her as having lily-white skin and rose-red lips (nos. 36, 37, 38,42).

The conventional description of the girl’s beauty is found in many of the tripla o f

Fascicle III. The most inclusive description is found in no. 38.

C h i e f a b lo n d e t, c o m o r s e [ s ] t r e lu is a n t, t r e s b ie n , p le is a n t, f r o n t b ie n c o m p a s s e , p l a i n e t b ie n
s e a n t, e u z v a ir s e t r ia n s , s im p le s , b ie n a s s is , a m o r o u s a clevis, f a i t p o r c u e r d ’a m a n t e m b le r . N e z a
lo n g u e t, d ro it, t r e s b ie n f e i t , c e m ’e s t v is ; s o r c i s a tr a itis , m e n to n a v o u tis , b o c h e v e r m e lle te e t
d o u z ris, d e n z d r u s e t p e tis , b la n s e t c o m p a s s e m e n t m is. C o m m e r o s e p a r d e s u s lis e s t s a f a c e e t
s o n c le r v is ; c o r s a tr e s b ie n f a i t e t p a r d e v is , c u e r s a m o r o u s , g a i s , j o l i s e t g e n t is. D ie u s , s a tr e s
g r a n t b ia u te , s a g r a n t b o n te s i m ’a c o n q u is .

She has blond hair which gleams like gold— so fair, so pleasing— a clear, broad, well-shaped
brow, laughing gray-blue eyes— candid, nicely spaced, perfectly sensuous, made to steal the heart
o f a lover. Her nose in my opinion is noble and straight; finely drawn eyebrows, a rounded chin,
scarlet lips, and a sweet laugh, tiny, straight, white, even teeth. Her face and clear complexion are
like a rose set against lily-white; she has a perfectly shaped body and a heart which is loving, gay,
joyful and genteel. God, her very great beauty and her great goodness have conquered me.75

The only characteristic left out of this description is a mention of the lady’s breasts, but

the triplum of no. 42 comments on mameletes a si duretes poignans et petitetes (her

small, firm, pointing breasts). Similar characteristics, with surprisingly little change, are

found in a number of texts as the man is describes his lover, or the lady he wants for his

lover. Some motet texts are too short, however, to include a lengthy description of her

beauty. The concept of a conventional beauty was just as typical in the thirteenth century

as it is now in the twenty-first.

75 Stakel, 14.

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 Another theme found in the triplum texts of Fascicle III is a reference to the time

of year. Some texts explicitly state that it is the month of April (nos. 36 and 40) or May

(no. 41). Others are less direct and allude to a season like summertime (no. 45). Three

texts make no direct reference to a time of year but imply one in their opening. For

instance, in nos. 42, 43, and 44 the narrator says that flowers are blooming, grass is

turning green, and there are early buds, respectively. Descriptions such as these would

lead the audience to believe that it is springtime. Only the texts of nos. 38, 39, 45, and 46

have no direct references or allusions to a time of year.

When read in sequence, without the motetus texts, the triplum texts form a

complete narrative. Generally speaking, they swing between positive and negative

emotional experiences for the narrator and Marion.

Table 4.2. Triplum Text Summaries

Motet Group Summary of Triplum Text

36 1 Narrator propositions lady; she already has a lover
37 1 Lady left narrator; he laments and promises to always
be true to her
38 1 Narrator upset because he is in love with a lady who
does not return his affections
39 1 Narrator upset because lady left him
40 2 Marion sad, narrator tries to comfort her, Robin arrives
41 2 Marion sad, narrator tries to comfort her
42 3 Narrator is happy because he has his perfect love
43 3 Narrator is happy because he wants to serve his perfect
love
44 4 Narrator propositions lady; she has a lover already
45 4 Narrator is sad; wants Marion
46 5 Brothers are hypocrites, the state of the world gets
worse everyday

The texts can be grouped by the emotions they express. Nos. 36-39 comprise the first

group and feature the narrator unhappy due to unrequited love. Nos. 40 and 41, the

second group, shift the focus to Marion; she is upset because Robin has been away for

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 some time. In no. 40, Robin arrives and the story ends happily, whereas in no. 41 Robin

does not return, and the narrator tries to comfort Marion. In the third group, nos. 42 and

43, the narrator rejoices because he has found and wants to serve his perfect love. The

fourth group, nos. 44 and 45, features unrequited love again. In no. 44 the narrator once

again offers his love to the lady, but she refuses him. The story ends with an expression

of negative feelings. The narrator laments the loss of Marion in no. 45, and, finally, the

angry narrator comments in no. 46, the “stinger,” that the state of the world gets worse

everyday and no one can be trusted.

In light of these summaries, a storyline does emerge. The narrator is looking for

love in the first group and the beginning of the second group. Assuming he won the lady

in no. 42, in the third group he is rejoicing about his new love. In no. 44 his love leaves

him, and he laments this loss in no. 45. In no. 46 the narrator comments mainly on the

clergy and I ’estat du monde (the state of the world). If we read “between the lines” of

this text it is not difficult to infer that the narrator has difficulty expressing anger toward

his beloved and is substituting the brothers for her; thus, this displacement of his anger

from women to the clergy is an appropriate ending to the story. While one has to infer a

few key events (the winning and losing of the girl) the outline of a story is clearly present

in the placement of triplum texts in the fascicle.

The motetus texts of Fascicle III, like those of the tripla, are characteristic of the

Latin texts collected in the codex. According to Joel Relihan, the majority of Latin texts

collected in the Montpellier Codex are “hymns to Mary.”76 Relihan also notes that while

almost all of the Latin texts are sacred, there are a few non-sacred texts found in the

76 Joel C. Relihan, “The Latin Texts,” in The Montpellier Codex, vol. 4, ed. Hans Tischler
(Madison: A-R Editions, 1985), xx.

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 book, including a text about adultery, a set of complaints against hypocritical clergy, and

a text lamenting the “sad state of Love in the modem world.”77 In Fascicle III there are

three non-Marian motetus texts, a complaint against hypocritical brothers, a set of

epithets to the Cross, and a paraphrase of a Bible passage.

Marian epithets are common in thirteenth-century Latin texts, reflecting the

veneration of the Virgin Mary. To the minds of the Middle Ages, the mystery of the

virgin birth raised Mary to a level above all other mortal women. According to Penny

Schine Gold, in her book The Lady and the Virgin, many saw Mary as a conduit to God,

praying to her to plead with her Son for them, while others set Mary as the example for

women, emulating her in an effort to get into Heaven.78 The motetus texts found in

Fascicle III are characteristic of these Marian themes. In general, they consist solely of

long lists of praises, or epithets, to the Virgin, some more poetic than others.

Within the eight motetus texts consisting of epithets to Mary, a myriad of images

are connected to her. In addition to the expected praise of Mary's virginity and her Son

who came to save sinners, common images pay tribute to Mary in these texts. These

include references to light, Biblical figures, flowers, and petitions for Mary's intercession.

Four motetus texts use phrases containing the words lux (light) or fulget (shines)

or irradia (shine) to describe the Virgin: nos. 36, 38, 43, and 45. Two, nos. 43 and 45,

use the phrase lumen luminum (light of lights) to describe Mary. In no. 36, the poet says

that Mary fulget (shines) and in no. 38 Mary is described as the lux fidelium (light of the

faithful). Biblical figures are used in three motetus texts, no. 36, 39, and 40. In no. 36

77 Ibid.
78 •
Penny Schine Gold, The Lady and the Virgin, (Chicago: The University o f Chicago Press,
1985), 68.

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 Mary is likened to Noah's ark and Jacob's ladder. No. 39 recounts the story of Simeon

holding the baby Jesus and thanking God. Like no. 36, no. 40 refers to Mary as the rod

of Jesse.

The motetus texts frequently use flower imagery to describe the Virgin, similar to

the use of flower imagery to elevate the poet-composer’s lady in the triplum texts.

References to flowers are found in five of the eight Marian texts, nos. 38, 39,40,43, and

44, as seen in Table 4.3.

Table 4.3. References to Flowers in Motetti ofFascicle III

Motet No. Flower Reference

38 "rose without thorn"
39 "The fragrant rose, the lily of the valleys"
40 "princess of roses"
43 "O flower of the valleys, 0 lily"
44 "The flower is plucked from the thorn,
the flower without the thorn withers, but
does not die. In love, the flower
embraces the flower of life; in this solace
it so refreshes itself in its own strength
that it does not suffer."

These references are all describing Mary; therefore, they are like the second group of

flower references found in the tripla, those describing the narrator's love. As with all the

epithets in this fascicle, the use of flower imagery to describe the Virgin Mary is another

way for the medieval poet to elevate his subject above the typical woman. No. 44, an

Assumption text, is slightly different. Here, Mary is the flower plucked from the thorn of

the earthly realm and assumed into Heaven. The tenor of this motet is taken from the

Mass for the Feast of the Assumption, a direct relationship conceived by the poet-

composer.

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 Petitions for Mary’s intercession form a final common theme found in motetus

texts. In the Middle Ages Mary was seen as a mediator between the people and God, so

pleas for Mary’s intercession on behalf of the people were common. Six of the eight

Marian texts have some form of intercessory pleas in them; these include nos. 36, 38,40,

43,44, and 45 and are listed in Table 4.4.

Table 4.4. Intercessory Pleas found in Fascicle III

Motet No. Intercessory Plea

36 "that she plead constantly with her Son to be kind"
38 "the salvation for the sinner"
40 "through you the dross of decay be cleansed away"
43 "pardon of sinners"
44 "the star of the sea impregnates the ear of her pious Son with her prayers"
45 "through you may pardon be granted"

Some of these are direct pleas to Mary, as in nos. 36, 40,44, and 45. In the remaining

two, nos. 38 and 43, her status as intercessor is alluded to within the context of epithets.79

Returning to the three non-Marian motetus texts, we find no. 37 to be a complaint

against the brothers. The poet censures their hypocrisy with the words Vestiti sunt enim

dupplicibus, pace foris et intusfraudibus (For they are clothed duplicitously, in peace

without and in deceit within). To protect oneself against them, the poet advises tibi

Ioseph habeas (take Joseph as an example). The poet concludes by warning that Nullum

esse gravius periculum quam infalsis fratribus per seculum (There is no graver danger in

this world than in false brothers). This text stands out among the other motetus texts in

this fascicle in multiple ways: 1) it is the only text that is not related to the liturgy of the

79 There are many other types o f epithets to Mary present in the motetus texts o f Fascicle III;
however, a comprehensive list is not possible within this general survey.

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 church, and 2) it is the only text warning against something. According to Relihan, this

type of text is rare among all the Latin texts of the Codex. 80

The rem a in in g two motetus texts are heavily based on the liturgy. No. 41 presents

a text of epithets to the Cross. Resembling the Marian epithets found throughout the

fascicle, this text praises the Cross as the Lux plemrie nubem luens tristicie (Light that

totally dispels the cloud of sadness) and concludes by stating Crucem oportet si vis

[lucisj vere gaudia sustinere (You must bear the Cross, if you desire the joys of the true

light). According to Relihan, this text is unique among the Latin texts of the codex.81

Motet no. 42 presents another non-Marian text. This motetus’ text paraphrases

John 14:15-31, a message from Jesus that those that follow him will not be abandoned.

The beginning of the passage is a reassurance of joy and reward: Conferam me secutis

post lacrimas gaudium, premium post laboris tedium (I shall grant those that follow me

joy after their tears, reward after the drudgery of their toil). The second part of the text

presents instructions to the disciples: Inclitus Paraclitus divinitus tuum cor docebit. Et

radicitus tuus spiritus Domino sic herebit, tutus ut introitus tutus sit et exitus (The

glorious Paraclete will instruct your hearts from on high. And your spirit will cling so

completely to the Lord that your coming in and your going out will be secure). Relihan

states that this unique motetus is "remarkable for both its form and the beauty of its
O '}

text." The three non-Marian motetti play an important role among the Latin texts; they

bring variety to the fascicle.

80 Relihan, xx, states that, "the Latin texts [o f Mo] are mostly prayers” and includes the “complaint
against the hypocritical clergy” in the motetus o f no. 57 (Fascicle IV) among his list o f exceptions. The
motetus text o f no. 57 contains searing criticism against the clergy, written by Guillaume d’Auvergne.
Possibly, Relihan did not count the Latin text o f no. 37 as a “complaint against the hypocritical clergy”
because the text only says “brothers” and not “clergy.”
81 Relihan, xx.
82 Ibid.

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 On the surface, these motets seem bifurcated, with tripla based in the court and

motteti based in the church. The texts of each motet, however, are carefully selected

and/or composed to fit with each other. In general, the nine motets that present both a

courtly love text and a liturgically based text (nos. 36 and 38-45) are linked in their

expression of different types of love, sacred and erotic. The texts of nos. 37 and 46 are

linked in more subtle ways and will be discussed below.

Two techniques frequently used to link texts occur in no. 36. One is the

presentation of similar words in both the motetus and triplum. Since the two texts are in

different languages, this link depends on the listener’s knowledge of both languages.83

Despite the different languages, both texts use words meaningyoy and rejoice. In the

triplum, the poet-composer uses the Old French words resbaudis (joy), renvoise

(rejoices), and jolis (gay). The motetus line presents four forms of the word gaudere,

translated as joy or rejoice. This language also relates to the tenor part, whose tag, et

gaudbit, translates as “and will rejoice.” The second means of tying the texts together in

this motet is the use of similar phrases. In no. 36, in the last line of the triplum the lady

says, Aimi, ja ne m ’en partirai, car loial ai I ’ami (Alas, I have a loyal sweetheart and

never will I part from him). In the motetus line, the poet, while praising Mary, says que

tuos numquam mori deseris (you who never abandon your people to die). The vow of

devotion apparent in these two texts unifies the two upper voices of the motet. Even

though the two texts express the promise of loyalty to two different types of love, each

expresses a similar sentiment; the maiden in the triplum is promising never to abandon

83 This is another reason that it is assumed that these pieces were for the educated community.

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 her lover, and in the motetus the narrator is praising Mary's devotion never to leave her

people to die. And both of these promises are reasons to rejoice.

Another way in which the poet-composer unifies the texts of different voices is by

using opposite or contrasting sentiments. This is most apparent in the two motets that use

atypical texts: no. 37 which contains the complaint against hypocritical clergy in the

motetus, and no. 46 which features the one sirventes triplum text, the lament about the

state of the world. In no. 37, the narrator of the triplum text grieves because his lady left

him, while the poet of the motetus complains concerning hypocritical clergy. These two

texts can be viewed as expressions of two differing views on love, one bitter, and one

bittersweet. The poet in the triplum has lost his love, but still cares for her deeply,

whereas the poet in the motetus is a scorned and bitter parishoner, upset with the clergy.

A similar reading is possible in no. 46; however, the voices are reversed. In the triplum,

the poet is the bitter party, angry with people for being hypocritical and full of jealousy

and pride. The motetus text praises the womb of Mary for giving birth to the One who

mundi nephas abstersit impium (washed away the foul evil of the world). This text refers

to both the cause and the solution to the triplum's text.

It is notable that each set of upper-voice texts contains one text lamenting the state

of the world: the motetus of no. 37 and the triplum of no. 46. These two texts create a

different link between the two voices, one that also holds together the beginning and end

of the eleven motets, creating an ironic frame for the fascicle. Since both texts mention

that people, especially clergy, are hypocritical and full of envy, this frame alters the

audience’s understanding of all intervening texts. This frame sets up an understanding of

the hypocritical clergy as “bad” and allows romantic love to be seen as “good.”

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 Another aspect of the motetus texts that must be taken into account is their

relation to their tenor texts. Six of the eleven motets use the tenor identifying word or

words in the motetus text. The motets that use this technique of unifying the tenor and

motetus are nos. 36, 37, 41, 42, 44, and 46. In nos. 37, 41,42, and 44 the word from the

tenor tag occurs as the last word of the motetus text. In no. 36, the tenor tag is et

gaudebit. Gaudebo is the antepenultimate word in the motetus text, and other forms of

gaudebit are used previously in the text for a total of four times. No. 46 incorporates its

entire tenor source text in the motetus.

Tenor source text: B e a t a v is c e r a M a r i e v ir g in i s q u e p o r t a v e r u n t e t e r n i p a t r i s f il i u m .

Blessed is the womb o f Mary the Virgin which bore the Son o f the
Eternal Father.

Motetus text: B e a t a v is c e r a M a r i e v ir g in is ta m s a lu tife r a t a n tiq u e n o m in is , q u e

p o r t a v e r u n t p r o p r iu m e te r n i p a t r i s f il i u m , q u i s u m e n d o c a m i s e x i t iu m
m u n d i n e p h a s a b s t e r s i t im p iu m , n o b is p [ a ] r a n d o p r e m iu m , i te r a d
g a u d iu m .
Blessed is the womb o f Mary the Virgin, so salvific and o f so great a
name, which bore the very Son o f the Eternal Father: in submitting to
the exile o f the flesh, He washed away the foul evil o f the world, by
giving us reward, a path to joy.

True to the genesis of the motet genre, the motetus text takes the tenor source text and

expounds upon it by adding epithets.

The use of different languages in the texts of Fascicle III adds depth to the

polytextual motet genre and creates a fascinating tapestry of words. The medieval

audience had to sort out two texts, in different languages, dealing with different types of

love, sacred and erotic; this was the challenge in the genre.

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 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS: THE UNITY OF FASCICLE III

The unity of Fascicle III is based upon the weaving together of seemingly

disparate elements: the liturgically based tenors and their structural pattern of alternating

rhythmic modes, and the contrasting motetus and triplum texts. The ways in which the

different voices work together, with the different languages contrasting elements from

sacred and secular genres, is quite ingenious, suggesting that the medieval poet-composer

experimented at length with the texts of these motets, carefully combining languages and

seemingly unrelated imagery. Links between voices, primarily textual links and those

relating to the rhythmic modes, contribute to the unity of the fascicle, specifically links

between the tenor and motetus texts, the tenor and triplum texts, and finally between the

motetus and triplum texts. These links vary from similar references to common textual

themes.

The tenor and motetus lines often include related texts meant to appear together,

as suggested by the fact that ten of the eleven bilingual motets preserved in Fascicle III

are preserved as single or double Latin motets. Some of these relationships are direct, as

in nos. 41,44, and 46. No. 41 presents a text of epithets to the Cross, and its tenor,

Sustinere (Sustains), is from a chant from the Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross. No.

44 is based on an Assumption tenor, while its motetus text, Flos de spina, relates the

Assumption of Mary to the flower plucked from the thorn. The final motet, no. 46, uses

the entire tenor text in its motetus. No. 43 is the only motet not preserved as a single

Latin motet.

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 In less direct relationships, six o f the motets employ the tenor tag in the motetus

text. This link occurs in nos. 36, 37, 41, 42, 44 and 46. Usually, the tag word appears

once in the motetus text, typically, near the end of the text. In the cases of nos. 36, 37,

41, 42, and 44, the tenor tag is found in the last line, usually as the last word of the text.

As mentioned in Chapter 4, no. 36 uses its tenor tag a total of four times, three times in

the last line.

In general, liturgical connotations unify the tenor and motetus voices: the tenors

are from the plainchant repertoire and the motetus texts feature veneration of the Virgin

Mary, the Cross as in no. 41, presentation of Biblical texts as in no. 42, or critical

commentary on hypocritical brothers as in no. 37. These two lines of the bilingual motets

serve as a reminder of the origins of the genre; the motet began as a liturgical genre

where a new text was added to existing clausula, and the newly added text usually

commented upon the tenor source on which it was built.

Relationships between tripla and tenors are more difficult to find. The most direct

correspondence is the time of year depicted in the triplum texts and the time of the

liturgical year the tenor sources were sung. In the eight triplum texts that either mention

or imply a time of year —nos. 36, 37,40,41,42,43, 44, and 45 - the references are all to

spring or summer. The tenor sources, as mentioned in Chapter 2, all fall between 24

February and 15 August, a span which encompasses spring and summer. While these

seasons are typically celebrated in courtly love texts, the fact that all the tenor sources fall

within this period shows some degree of planning on the part of the compiler.

In one motet, no. 46 (the “stinger” in which the triplum’s narrator rails against the

brothers), a striking relationship between the triplum and tenor becomes clear upon close

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 inspection. The poet-composer has set his critical, sirventes triplum text above a tenor

taken from a communion antiphon, sung in the Mass at the point of the sharing of the

elements of communion among the faithful. The irony of this combination intensifies the

triplum’s complaint against hypocritical clergy. Furthermore, the text of the tenor source,

Beata viscera Mariae Virginis quae portaverunt aetemi Patris Filium (Blessed womb of

the virgin, which carried the Son of the eternal Father), stresses the generosity of the

Father’s gift to the world as well as Mary’s self-giving role in the incarnation. The

motetus text also figures into this relationship by presenting the entire text of the tenor

source and elaborating upon it, further highlighting the irony of the triplum’s

denouncement of the clergy.

Another interesting relationship can be found in the crux motet, no. 41. This

motet’s tenor is Sustinere (Sustain), and in the triplum Marion is sad because Robin is

gone. The narrator attempts to console her. If this text is read on another level,

substituting Biblical characters for the earthly ones, this text relates to the essence of the

tenor’s source feast. In this alternate reading, if Marion stands for Mary and Robin

symbolizes Christ, Mary is grieving the loss of Christ on the Cross. It is difficult to

ascertain who the narrator represents in his attempt to console Mary. The narrator might

represent the Cross, relating to the tenor tag Sustinere. A second possibility is that the

narrator stands for John if one thinks of Jesus’s statement that Mary was now John’s

mother and he should take care of her.84 No matter who took on the role of the narrator,

the fact that this triplum text was paired with this tenor and motetus, shows a great deal of

84 John 19:27.

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 planning. This triplum text, not a typical courtly love text, was carefully chosen or

written to fit with this tenor and motetus.

A final motet significant for the relationship between its tenor and triplum is no.

37, the motet whose motetus presents commentary against the brothers. This motet’s

tenor is taken from the Gradual for Easter Week. The tenor tag, In seculum, means

“without end” in the chant. The triplum text expresses negative emotions about love; the

narrator is upset because his lady has left him. Despite her leaving, he vows to be true to

her always. Relationships between this triplum and tenor appear on two levels. First, the

narrator is upset, saying, Mout me fu gries li departir de m ’amiete, la bele au cors gent

(The departure of my little sweetheart, the fair beauty, was so painful for me!) This

relates to the time of year in the tenor source chant, Easter, a time when the church is

lamenting the loss of Christ on the Cross and his subsequent resurrection.85 Both lines

are lamenting the loss of someone. Secondly, the tenor tag, “without end,” is echoed in

the narrator’s promise to his departed lover:

C a r j e v o z e m p r i, f a i t e s d e m o i v o s tr e l o ia l a m i: P o r v o u s m o u r r a i, s e n ’a v e z p i t i e d e
m [ o ] I ! O s te s m o i d e l a p r i s o n , d o n ’t g a r r is o n a v o ir n e p o r r a i, s e d e v o u s a u c u n s e c o r s
n ’a i. J e v o u s s e r v i r a i t o t le s j o u r s q u e j e v iv r a i e t j a n u l j o r n e m ’e n d e p a r tir a i.

I beseech you, make me your loyal sweetheart: I will die on account o f you if you have
not pity on me! Take me out o f the prison from which I can never be released without
help from you. I will serve you as long as I shall live and never leave o ff serving you.

The narrator promises to serve his lover always, even though she has left him. When

read in the context of the church, this is a promise from the people to Christ to always

follow him, even though He has left the earthly realm. When read with the motetus text,

the commentary on the hypocritical brothers, this motet takes on another dimension. The

85 Even though Easter is a joyful time in the church, the Pascal season is still one o f loss, the loss
o f the earthly Christ figure.

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 tenor and triplum espouse the goodness of the church and love, whereas the motetus

contradicts the other two texts, interjecting the fact that people cannot be trusted into the

more idealistic tenor and triplum texts. While relationships between the triplum and

tenor are not readily apparent in this motet, with a little deductive reading the logic

behind the poet-composer’s placement of texts in no. 37 becomes clear.

Relationships between the triplum and motetus texts are also less than obvious. In

most cases, the elevation of the poet-composer’s “lady” is the unifying theme. Most texts

include lists of epithets praising Marion’s beauty or the Virgin’s grace. Although

different in their language and the focus of their adoration, these texts are founded on the

same underlying sentiment: love. For instance, the triplum and motetus of no. 43 both

praise love. The triplum states that the narrator wants to serve the perfect love that he

desires, while the motetus praises Mary. Both texts praise the object of the narrator’s

love, whether an earthly or a heavenly figure, with similar imagery. The narrator in the

triplum praises his lady’s vis cler (bright face) and cuer sans fauser (true heart).

Likewise, the narrator in the motetus says that Mary is the verum lumen luminum (true

light of lights) and plena gratia (fall of grace). These similar statements, in different

languages, create links between these seemingly disparate texts. Both voices also use

flower imagery, but it is used differently in the two texts. The triplum uses references to

flowers to set up the pastourelle scene, Quant voi Verbe reverdir et le tans seri et cler et

le rosier espanir et le rossignol chanter (When I see the grass turn green again, the

weather clear and calm, the rose bushes blooming and the nightingale singing). In the

motetus text, flower imagery is used to elevate Mary, Flos convallium, lilium, vera

semper gaudia in eternal Gloria (O flower of the valleys, O lily, true joys forever in

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 eternal glory). Despite the fact that this imagery is used for different purposes found in

the two texts, it holds them together. One can find similar interrelationships in all of the

motets in Fascicle III. These markedly different texts, in different languages, are not as

bifurcated as they seem upon first glance.

Another link between the upper voice texts is the fact that each contains one text

criticizing the state of the world: the motetus of no. 37 and the triplum of no. 46. The

motetus of no. 37, which says that no one should be trusted and most people are

hypocrites, is directly echoed in the triplum of no. 46, which states that the state of the

world gets worse every day and that people are full of pride and envy. These two texts

create a different link between the motteti and tripla of the fascicle, that is, one of critical

feelings. It is also notable that these two motets hold together the beginning and end of

the fascicle; no. 37 is second and no. 46 is the end of the original fascicle. This creates an

ironic frame for the fascicle. Since both texts mention that people, especially clergy, are

hypocritical and full of envy, this frame alters the audience’s understanding o f all

intervening texts.

A common theme of abandonment unites the triplum and motetus texts of

Fascicle III. In the tripla of nos. 39,40,41, and 45, two of the earthly characters —the

narrator and Marion —are portrayed, in some sense, as abandoned. In nos. 39 and 45, the

narrator expresses sorrow at having been “abandoned” by his lady, and in nos. 40 and 41

Marion is sad because of Robin’s departure. In the motetus texts the idea of

abandonment is also present, especially in nos. 42 and 44. The motetus of no. 42

paraphrases Christ’s promise to his disciples that He will never abandon them, while the

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 motetus of no. 44 contains the extended flower metaphor symbolizing Mary’s

Assumption to Heaven.

Some motetus texts are strategically placed with relation to triplum texts,

especially those of nos. 44 and 45. In the motetus of no. 44 Mary is assumed to heaven

and in the triplum of no. 45, the following motet, the narrator laments Marion’s

departure. If we once again substitute Biblical characters for the earthly ones, in this case

Mary for Marion and the people of the world for Robin, the people can be seen as

lamenting the loss of Mary after her assumption. After this set of motets, the “stinger”

text of no. 46 is presented; L ’estat du monde et la vie va empirant chascun jour car plein

d ’orgueil et d ’envie sunt cil qui samblent meillor (Life and the state of the world get

worse everyday, for those who seem the best are actually full of pride and envy). This

can be seen as the later result of the loss of Jesus and Mary. Interplay between triplum

and motetus texts creates even more links among the motets of the fascicle and within

individual motets.

Finally, many aspects of this fascicle suggest that this is not a random grouping of

motets, but a well-thought out placement of a careful selection of pieces, showing the

poet-composer’s skill at compilatio, the ordering individual items in a manuscript. Two

aspects of these motets in particular, including the pattern of rhythmic modes and the

storyline in the triplum, were not lost on the compiler.

The alternating pattern of rhythmic modes in the tenor voices seems to be one

foundational ordering of the fascicle.86 The alternation of a mode 5 tenor with a differing

one, is clearly not coincidental. No. 41 is a unique motet, located precisely in the middle

86 See Chapter 2.

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 of the fascicle, as the sixth of the eleven motets. This motet’s Latin text begins with the

words Crux forma penitentie (Cross, shape of penance) and continues with a list of

epithets to the Cross, praising its worth. The tenor source for this motet, the Alleluia for

the Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross, is directly related to the motetus text. The

most interesting feature of no. 45 is its placement at the mid-point of the fascicle, which,

according to its text, coincides with the compiler’s abandonment of the tenor rhythmic

pattern for this one motet.

A secondary grouping of rhythmic modes can be seen in the triplum and motetus

lines, based on their text declamation.87 The first half of the fascicle includes motets with

a mode 6 triplum and alternating modes 1 and 2 in the motetus. At the midpoint, no. 41,

text declamation in both voices is based in mode 3 (the perfect number in medieval

times). Beginning with no. 41, the upper voices present the same basic text declamation,

either mode 1, 2, or 3 in each motet. The final motet, no. 46, again presents text

declamation based in mode 3 for both voices. The placement of the mode 3 motets as the

middle and final motets in the fascicle also implies a deliberate action on the part of the

compiler.

In this study, a number of unifying characteristics of the motets of Fascicle III

have been identifiedl. Musical characteristics which unify the motets include primarily

the ordering of rhythmic modes in all three voices. Textual characteristics also work to

unify the motets. These characteristics include the use of similar imagery in the tripla

and motetti, the time of year referenced in the tenors and tripla, the use of courtly genres,

and the storyline in the tripla. The motetti and tripla are unified in their overriding

87 See Chapter 3, especially Table 3.3.

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 adoration and elevation of a lady, whether it be an earthly figure (Marion) or the Virgin.

Placement of specific motets holds the small group together, especially the location of the

two critical texts at the beginning and end of the fascicle, the motetus of the second

motet, no. 37, and the triplum of the final motet, no. 46. The placement of no. 41 is also

notable; the motet praises the Cross in its motetus, the central voice of the central motet.

This motetus is found in the exact middle of the fascicle. All these features of the eleven

motets in Fascicle III work together to hold the group together. Even though there is no

way of knowing exactly what the poet-composer and/or the compiler was thinking when

grouping these motets together, it is clear that he did not just randomly select motets and

put them together in this fascicle haphazardly. These motets are too carefully placed for

their placement to be coincidental.

Fascicle III, the smallest fascicle of the Montpellier Codex, can function as a

guide to the rest of the codex. In a larger study, one could look at the compilatio of the

entire manuscript, following lines of inquiry presented here. Are all the fascicles

organized by tenor rhythmic mode? Is there some pattern to the rhythmic modes present

in the upper voices? Do the additions to the fascicles relate to the original contents of the

fascicle, or were they placed there simply because there were extra folios? As mentioned

in Chapter 1, many studies have already been conducted on the textual characteristics of

the motets in the codex, but not as many have studied the musical characteristics. A

myriad of aspects of Mo have not been studied in depth.

Fascicle III of the Montpellier Codex is a fascinating study in the juxtaposition of

sacred and secular texts and in medieval compilatio. Elements of both text and music

work to unify this smallest fascicle of Mo. Although the music of Fascicle III presents

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 typical elements of the genre as a whole, the patterned use of alternating rhythmic modes

shows that the compiler was aware of the musical aspects of the pieces as well as the

textual aspects. The similarities between the elevation of subjects of the different

languages, the well-placed texts that bring variety to the fascicle, the grouping of motets

by rhythmic modes, and the interplay between sacred and erotic love create a unique

collection of motets within the old corpus of the Montpellier Codex.

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 REFERENCES

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 CURRICULUM VITAE

NAME: Kimberly Adelle Harris

ADDRESS: 1225 S. First St. Apt. 3

Louisville, KY 40203

DOB: Town and Country, Missouri -1 1 November 1978

EDUCATION: B.A. Music (General Concentration with Cello Emphasis)

Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri
1997-2001

M.M. Music History

University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky
2001-2003

HONORS: Pi Kappa Lambda (April 2000)

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