740-304 Music of the Manuscript Tradition

Through studies of selected medieval manuscript sources, students will develop their own understanding of the nature, the role, and the functions of music in selected areas of European society in the 12th to 14th centuries. Students will engage in a directed exploration of the processes of gathering materials and manuscript compilation, the relevant notation and scribal practices, illumination and decoration. Students will also make critical studies of the repertoire contained in each manuscript and its sociocultural context, performance issues, relevant theoretical writings, and contemporary scholarship.

Students will develop an understanding of the nature, role, and functions of music in medieval European society and the processes of manuscript compilation, as well as critical skills to assist them evaluating music, musical sources and contemporary writings on music in their socio-cultural context.

Two project reports (60%); an essay of 2500-3000 words (40%).

• J McKinnon (ed.), Antiquity and the Middle Ages: From Ancient Greece to the 15th Century. Man and Music, 1, Macmillan, 1990.