A Medieval Songbook

This collection examines a crucial medieval manuscript, A Medieval Songbook, revealing insights into thirteenth-century song-making and cultural interactions in France.

In A Medieval Songbook, readers are taken on a detailed exploration of an enigmatic manuscript that contains the lyrics to hundreds of songs, yet lacks any musical notation. This medieval songbook, known as trouvère manuscript C or the Bern Chansonnier (Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Cod. 389), is a significant artifact that sheds light on the musical life of thirteenth-century France. Likely copied in Metz, it offers a remarkable collection of over five hundred Old French songs, providing a unique glimpse into the cultures of song-making and copying during a time when linguistic and political boundaries were fluid between French and German-speaking regions.

The manuscript's margins are adorned with the names of trouvères, including several female poet-musicians, whose identities might have remained obscured without this vital evidence. Despite its importance, A Medieval Songbook has not received the scholarly attention it deserves, largely due to the absence of musical staves and the manuscript's geographical origins. This collection of essays serves as the first comprehensive analysis of C, approached from various academic disciplines such as philology, art history, literary studies, and musicology.

Contributors delve into the intricate process of creating this complex music manuscript, examining the roles of scribes and artists involved in its production. They also investigate how these scribes sourced and organized materials for copying. The unique Messine influence on the repertoire and authorship is further explored, revealing how this manuscript frames the tradition of Old French song from an intriguing perspective. Overall, the volume illustrates the dynamic interactions among poet-composers, readers, and scribes within the courtly song tradition of the time.