Ts Canterbury Tales “Prioesses Tale" ines 4 Music in C ‘This litel child, his litel book lernin; AAs he sat in the scole at his pryme: He Alma redemptoris herde singe. As children learned hir antiphoner ‘And, as he droste, he drough him ner and ner, And herkened ay the wordes and the note, Til he the first vers coude all by rote. 15 Music in Courtly Life In the poems of the Provencal troubadouss, the German minnesingers, and the other medieval singers of courly love and the knight intertelationship of music withthe Iie of the times that para the honored place of music within the church. The knightly life was itself a kind of ritual, courly love a kind of religion. Like the music of the Church, the poetry and adition, we may observe a close inthe secular realm rmusi¢ of the noble troubadour were sober and reflective, and served to elevate and memorialize the permanent values of life, such as were worthy of commemoration in writing, These values included service to lord and lady, the idealization of love, and the fervor of the Crusades. We know a good deal about several ofthe troubadours, thanks to the way in which their poety and music were preserved. The songs of knighthood are found in rich manuscripts known as chansonniers. These were never used for performance; most performing musicians were sil illiterate at this stage re commemorational and honorific in purpose. In them, the Rather, chanson songs of the best ofthe troubadours were arrany ‘with introductory and connective prose that relat from these connecting passags have assembled the life of the troubadour Raimbaut de Vat span of years was short but nonetheless contained everythin; typical knightly poet's career, all colored by one central and high the life of the poet to his songs. Itis rsthatwe ras (1180-1207). His es that accompany his works inthe. hat chara Raimbaut was not of noble bial, but managed to advance himself by his at In him we hhave the rare phenomenon of one who began as a "musician, but was eventually able to call his master his brother in arms and to aspire to ised jongleur, or professional the love of the Marquis's sister. His extraordinary gifts of spontaneous invention, which no doubt had a great deal to do with his rise in the world, are armply demon. strated in the concluding anecdate, one of the most famous of all troubadour tales. Notice, too, how every change in the poets life is reflected, indeed sometimes even brought about, by his art, for a troubadour’s art mirrored his life. Like most of the ame to shield her identity, for, as troubadours who served a lady, Raimbaut invents 2 usual in such cases, she else's wife48 The Middle Ages Raimbaut was the son of a poor knight from the castle of Vaqueiras in Proensa, called. Peirols, who owned no land. And so Raimbaut became a jongleur and served many a year with William of Baux, Prince of Orange [Guillaume TV, 1182-1218], He knew Well the art of song and could make shapely stanzas and praise his master in verse. The Prince of Orange rewarded him with substantial favors and great honors and brought his poetry into high esteem among great personages, But chen Raimbaut left his service and went instead to Montferrat in Italy, to his lordship the Marquis Boniface, and remained there a long time. He became so adept at the arts of war that the Marquis made him his knight and brother in arms. And then did Raimbaut fill in love with Beatrice, the Marquis’s sister, who was married to Enrico, lord of Carreto. For her he made his finest songs. And in them he called her Bel-Cavalier, because of an incident which he observed through the crevice of the door to Beatrice’s chamber, when she thought herself alone. One day, when the Marquis, returned from the hunt, paid her his usual visit, he left his sword in her apartment, And the lady Beatrice pulled off the long robe she wore, and girding on the ‘sword like a knight, she drew it from the scabbard, tossed it in the air, caught it again ‘with skill and wheeled about to the right and to the left. And Raimbaut, observi through “he crevice in the door as has been said, ever after gave her the name Cavalier in his songs. Then one day, as he had a favorable access to Beatrice, he said to her, “Vouchsafe, iy lady, to give me your advice; I stand in great need of counsel. [love a gentle lady, fll of grace and merit. I converse with her continually, without daring ro let her know my affection; so much do I stand in awe of her virtue. For heaven's and for pity’s sake, tell me whether I ought to die for love, from the fear of making it known.” “Every loyal lover,” replied Beatrice, “who attaches himselfto lady of merit, whom he fears as well as respects, always explains his sentiments before he suffers himselfto dic sake. Ladvise you to declare your love, and to request your lady to retain you as vant and her fiend. Ifshe is wise, and courteous, she will neither take itamiss, nor think herself dishonored; for you ate so good, that there is no lady in the world, who ought not freely to receive you as her knight.” ‘And Raimbaut, on hearing this advice and the assurance that she gave him, told her indeed the lady whom he so adored. And the lady Beatrice said to him, new-found lover! Try more and more, by your speech and by your » make yourself worthy to serve me. I retain you for my knight.” And then straightaway did Raimbaut celebrate his felicity in a song. n dime of sadness for Raimbaut. The more did Beatrice favor her knight, the more desirous were the envious to ruin him in her esteem. “Who is this Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, then, though the Marquis has made him a knight, that he should presume to love so exalted a lady as yoursel?? Know, that this does honor neither to you nor to the Marquis.” And so much evil gossip was spread about that the lady Beatrice became enraged with Raimbaur. And when Raimbaut besought her for her love and begged her for mercy, she told him that he ought to carry his love to other ladies who were made for him, and that she would never have anything more to say to in, And such became Raimbaut’s sorrow as was related above. He ceased to sing of Jove or to laugh or enjoy any pleasurable thing. But the lovers were reconciled bya song. ‘At this time there came to the Marquis’s court two jongleurs from France, who knew how to play surpassingly well upon their fiddles. And one day they were fiddling,Music in Courty Life an estampie which gave great pleasure to the Mar o all the knigh ice of the Marquis. He and ss and la Only Raimbaut enjoyed it not, which did not escape the no “Whacails you, Sir Raimbaut, that you do not si sweet sound of the fiddl g but are so sad in the presence of and also so beautiful alady as my sist her knight, and who is the most estimable lady in the world?” But Raimbaut answ that he could do nought else. The Marquis knew well the reason and said to his ss ‘My lady Beatrice, for love of me and ofall the company, I would have you deign to Raimbaut, for love of you and for your grace, to cheer up and sing merrily as wa wont.” And lady Beatrice showed Raimbaut her mercy and forgiveness, and bade make her a new song. And st a baut fashioned this song cleverly « very strains of the fiddlers’ estampie Kalenda maya Ni fuclhs de faya Ni chanz Niflors de glaya Non es que'm pla Pros domna guay lady noble and gay Tro qu'un ysnel until I receive peedy messe from your fae Cors 4} who will tell me Plazer novelh the n 2 Qu’amors m which love brings me E jaya nd joys E’m traya and which draws me Na vos domna veraya. toward you, truc lad) E cha And may he De playa die of his wounds, °L gelos he jealous one Ans que’m n’estraya. before I take my leave Compiled fom the rasan Camille Chabanea, “ ange proven 1885), 85-88, collated with versions in 5. D ior of th Torsion and John Rutherford badours The TyrssLondor Tent and wan the song based on Archibald T. Divison an al Anolon of Mu, (Cambrids Univessy Press, 1946), Descriptions af scenes of music-making in medieval literature are scanty and usuelly Unreliable. The glimpse of the carole. or circle dance, in the Roman de la rose (c.1235), on the other hand, rings rue and is for that reason of great value. t confirm: the intimate bonds between song and dance in knightly times, and also gives an idea of the dance’s instrumental accompaniment. The use ofthe vielle, or fiddle, is con- firmed by Johannes de Grochea (see p. 55) some seventy years later, and the use of tambourines to accompany dancing is corroborated by many contemporary pictures. A retrouenge, the form of the dance described in the text, i a song with refrain, a popular genre (mare common ones being the rondeau and virlai) that was just 49 dies, said, ithe who has taken you for 0 bid him the50 The Middle Ages Clearly as described here, in impromptu performance by jongleurs, who had litle to ddo with the lofty types of music we have referred to above (p. 45) as res facta ‘Thousands of these songs came and went, leaving scarcely a trace in the written records by which we can know the past, save fo fleting “snapshots” like this one, ‘Now see the carol go! Each man and maid Most daintily steps out with many a tum And arabesque upon the tender grass. e flutists and the ministrel men, Performers on the fiddle! Now they si A recrouenge, a tune from old Lorraine; For it has better songs than other lands. A troop of skillful jongleurs ther Well played their parts, and girls with tambourines Danced jolity, and, finishing each tune, Threw high their instruments, and as these fell ‘Caught each on finger tip, and never failed. Two gracefitl demoiselles in sheerest clothes, ‘Their hair in coifferings alike arrayed, Most coyly tempted Mirth to join the dance. Unutterably quaint their motions were: Insinuating The other, til, almost together clasped, Each one her partnee’s darting lips just grazed So that it seemed their kisses were exchanged. 1 can’t describe for you each lithesome glide Their bodies made—but they knew how to dance! Forever would I gladly have remained So long as I could see these joyfil folk In caroling and dancing thus excel themselves. ‘each one approached Gailaume de Lomi, Roman de loro rans. Harey W. Robins (New York: Duston, 1962), 6). 16 The Emergence of Polyphony The early history of polyphony is very dificult to trace, and the question of what Constitutes its first appearance in the surviving documents has been much debated. The evidence suggests that early polyphony did not consist of “compositions” at all but was a way of amplifying monaphonic chants in performance, Ambiguous termi nology is also problem; we cannot say for sure what many crucial words in the texts below actually mean. Ourearliest example, from Bishop Aldhelm, could just as easily refer to antiphonal as to polyphonic singing, perhaps more so in view ofthe author's reference to “men of old” (compare Biblical descriptions of psalmody, p. 14). And