The Neapolitan Presentation Manuscripts of Tinctoris's Music
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The Neapolitan Presentation Manuscripts of Tinctoris’s Music Theory: Valencia 835 and Bologna 2573 Christian Alan René Goursaud A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Birmingham City University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2015 The Faculty of Arts, Design and Media, Birmingham City University (Birmingham Conservatoire) Abstract Despite the scholarly attention that has rightly been paid to Universitat de València, Biblioteca Històrica, MS 835, and Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, MS 2573, as crucially important textual sources for Tinctoris’s music theory, insufficient regard has so far been given to these two Neapolitan presentation manuscripts as historical artefacts that encode information about the priorities and concerns of those who brought them into existence. This thesis presents the first complete physical descriptions of these manuscripts, and employs detailed palaeographical, iconographical, and historical analysis to establish the likely circumstances of, and reasons for, their production. In the course of proposing identifications of the scribes and artists involved, analysing in fine detail their sequences of preparation, considering the organisational structure articulated by the decorated initials, interpreting the iconography of the portrait miniature on the frontispiece of Valencia 835, and marshalling complex heraldic evidence, many other Neapolitan manuscripts are brought into discussion. By analysing and contextualising Valencia 835 and Bologna 2573, therefore, the thesis functions also as a significant contribution to anglophone scholarship on the wider output of the Neapolitan scriptorium in the late fifteenth century. A newly enriched account is proposed of Tinctoris’s arrival and period of employment in Naples, and of his and the wider court’s involvement in the preparation of music theory manuscripts as instruments of political expression. This thesis, therefore, offers a re- appraisal of the genesis and later history of these two high-value music theory manuscripts. By presenting detailed codicological analysis and using it to construct and reshape historical narratives, it also provides a firm basis for future scholarly investigation into Tinctoris and music theory within the intellectual, cultural, and political climate of late fifteenth-century Italy. Contents i | Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... iii ii | Preface ......................................................................................................................... v Reading the Text and Using the DVD of Images .......................................................... v Currency and Measurements ........................................................................................ v Language and Translations .......................................................................................... vi Referencing................................................................................................................... vi Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. vii List of Tables ............................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1 | Introduction................................................................................................. 1 1.1 | Research Questions ............................................................................................. 12 1.2 | Research Context ................................................................................................. 15 1.3 | Methodology ....................................................................................................... 27 Chapter 2 | Description of Universitat de València, Biblioteca Històrica, MS 835 31 2.1 | Heading ............................................................................................................... 31 2.2 | Contents ............................................................................................................... 31 2.3 | Make-up of the Manuscript ................................................................................. 36 2.4 | Handwriting ......................................................................................................... 38 2.5 | Decoration ........................................................................................................... 39 2.6 | Synoptic Presentation of Physical Structure, Decoration, and Textual Content . 43 2.7 | Binding ................................................................................................................ 56 2.8 | Provenance .......................................................................................................... 60 Chapter 3 | Federico, Giovanni, and Alfonso of Aragon, and V ............................. 61 3.1 | Tinctoris’s Arrival at Naples, and Federico ........................................................ 61 3.2 | Commissioning of V ........................................................................................... 71 3.3 | Shape of the Escutcheon ...................................................................................... 84 3.4 | Gold bands ........................................................................................................... 89 3.5 | The Inscription ‘Cardenale’ ................................................................................. 90 3.6 | Other Potential Recipients ................................................................................... 91 3.7 | The Neapolitan Aquinas Complex .................................................................... 100 3.8 | Later History of V ............................................................................................. 104 i Chapter 4 | Description of Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, MS 2573 .............. 113 4.1 | Heading .............................................................................................................. 113 4.2 | Contents ............................................................................................................. 113 4.3 | Make-up of the Manuscript ................................................................................ 118 4.4 | Handwriting ....................................................................................................... 123 4.5 | Decoration .......................................................................................................... 123 4.6 | Synoptic Presentation of Physical Structure, Decoration, and Textual Content 127 4.7 | Binding ............................................................................................................... 147 4.8 | Provenance ......................................................................................................... 149 Chapter 5 | Production and Later History of BU ................................................... 150 5.1 | Script and Scribes .............................................................................................. 150 5.2 | Beatrice of Aragon ............................................................................................. 167 5.3 | Later History ...................................................................................................... 198 Chapter 6 | Decoration .............................................................................................. 207 6.1 | Portrait Miniature ............................................................................................... 208 6.2 | Hierarchy of Initials ........................................................................................... 219 6.3 | Miniaturists and Artists ...................................................................................... 224 Chapter 7 | Textual Relationships, Music Notation, the Corrector, and the Order of Scribal Composition .................................................................................. 234 7.1 | Textual Relationships ........................................................................................ 234 7.2 | Music Notation .................................................................................................. 242 7.3 | Text Corrector .................................................................................................... 246 7.4 | Orientation Marks and Guide Letters ................................................................ 248 7.5 | Stages of Composition ....................................................................................... 252 7.6 | Summary ............................................................................................................ 252 Chapter 8 | Conclusion .............................................................................................. 254 Sigla ........................................................................................................................... 260 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 270 ii i | Acknowledgements I should like initially to acknowledge the support I have received from the Arts & Humanities Research Council during the preparation of this thesis, as provided through a studentship by attachment to the research project ‘The Complete Theoretical Works of Johannes