University of Southampton Research Repository Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis and, where applicable, any accompanying data are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis and the accompanying data cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content of the thesis and accompanying research data (where applicable) must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holder/s. When referring to this thesis and any accompanying data, full bibliographic details must be given, e.g. Thesis: Author (Year of Submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University Faculty or School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF HUMANITIES Music Volume 1 of 1 Genre, Taxonomy and Repertory in Insular Polyphony of the “Long Thirteenth Century” (c. 1150-c.1350) by Amy Williamson Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2016 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF HUMANITIES Music Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy GENRE, TAXONOMY AND REPERTORY IN INSULAR POLYPHONY OF THE “LONG THIRTEENTH CENTURY” (c. 1150-c.1350) Amy Williamson Modern scholarship has often viewed insular medieval music unfavourably in comparison to continental and, specifically, Notre Dame composition. This is, in part, due to the fragmentary remains of the insular repertory and the lack of theoretical literature relevant to insular composition, which clearly contrasted with French practices, at times. These differences have been perceived pejoratively in scholarly study, often through a lack of understanding of contemporary aims and perceptions. This thesis therefore attempts to pinpoint the unique features of the insular style and repertory, to quantify their frequency in the extant sources and compositions, and to provide an overview of the entire extant insular polyphonic repertory from the “long thirteenth century”. It has often been observed that part of the uniquely insular approach to composition is a more fluid approach to and cultivation of genre. Whereas French composition focussed on the development of several specific genres, each with their own set of standard rules for composition that were rigidly adhered to, for the most part, insular composers seem to have preferred to experiment, mixing features of French genres, and techniques to create pieces that do not appear to conform to any one continental generic style. Furthermore, while compositions in French manuscripts are organised according to their genre, and the number of voices included, insular manuscripts appear not to follow this organisational style in a significant number of extant sources. This study therefore aims to explore and discuss insular composition in terms of genre, and to investigate and quantify how often insular manuscript sources appear to have been organised in a manner reflective of a more experimental approach to genre. Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ i List of Tables .................................................................................................................. v List of Figures ............................................................................................................... vii List of Accompanying Materials ..................................................................................... ix DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP ..................................................................................... xi Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... xiii Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 The Remains of the Insular Repertory .................................................................... 1 1.2 The Historiography of Insular Polyphony ................................................................ 2 1.2.1 The Worcester Fragments ............................................................................ 3 1.2.2 ‘Sumer is icumen in’ ...................................................................................... 7 th 1.2.3 The 11 Fascicle of W1 .................................................................................. 9 1.2.4 Legend and Lacunae ................................................................................... 10 Chapter 1: The Extant Insular Repertory ............................................................. 17 1.1 The Study .............................................................................................................. 17 1.2 The Repertory ....................................................................................................... 26 1.3 The Catalogue ....................................................................................................... 31 Chapter 2: Insular Genre (I) ................................................................................. 33 2.1 Monotextual/Conductus-Motets .......................................................................... 33 2.1.1 Continental Monotextual Motets ............................................................... 34 2.1.2 Insular Monotextual Motets ....................................................................... 45 2.1.3 Monotextual Motets and Hybridisation ..................................................... 51 2.2 Insular Hybridisation and Problematic Taxonomy ................................................ 55 2.2.1 Examples of Manuscripts Containing Hybrid Compositions ....................... 56 Chapter 3: Insular Genre (II) ................................................................................ 65 3.1 The Insular Motet ................................................................................................. 65 3.2 Motets and Chant Settings ................................................................................... 76 i 3.3 The Troped Chant Repertory ................................................................................. 91 3.4 Tenor Presentation ............................................................................................... 99 3.5 Motet-like Troped Chant Settings/Troped Chant-like Motets ............................ 108 3.6 Motet-like Troped Chant Settings, Cantilenae and Chant Settings ..................... 113 Chapter 4: An English Style? .............................................................................. 119 4.1 Notational Features ............................................................................................ 121 4.1.1 Conjuncturae ............................................................................................. 121 4.1.2 Rhombs and Rhomboid Breves ................................................................. 128 4.2 Presentational Features in Insular Sources ......................................................... 139 4.2.1 Illumination and Initials ............................................................................. 140 4.2.2 Empty Stave Decoration ............................................................................ 143 4.2.3 Melisma Decoration and Stave Separation Lines ...................................... 145 4.2.4 Mis-en-page .............................................................................................. 148 4.3 Four-Part Composition ........................................................................................ 154 4.4 Rondellus and Voice Exchange ............................................................................ 155 4.5 Two-Part Composition ........................................................................................ 172 4.6 Pes Tenors ........................................................................................................... 174 Chapter 5: The Homogeneity of Insular Sources ................................................ 199 5.1 Single Folio Sources ............................................................................................. 200 5.2 Sources with Several Surviving Leaves, but no Consecutive Folios ..................... 202 5.3 Sources that Preserve Contiguous Leaves of the Original Manuscript ............... 204 5.4 The Organisation of Reconstruction I .................................................................. 213 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 227 Appendices ................................................................................................................. 237 Appendix A: Assonant Textual Incipits .................................................................... 237 Appendix B: The Structure of [F]ulget celestis curia/ O Petre flos apostolorum/ Roma gaudet de tali praesule ....................................................................................... 237 Appendix C: Pieces with Tenors Labelled “Pes” in their Manuscript Source(s) ........ 237 Appendix D: Pes Tenors in Reconstruction I of the Worcester Fragments ............. 237 Appendix E: The Homogeneity of Insular Sources ...................................................