Music, Heraldry and Material Culture in the Late Middle Ages: Ars Nova Songs for Louis I of Anjou and Bertrand du Guesclin

Abstract

Hundreds of polyphonic chansons survive from the fourteenth century that we describe as “French” and “courtly” on account of the language and style of their lyrics and music. However, most of this repertory surviving in music manuscripts appears in sources that originated outside of France and that do not readily point to a specific court context, and, in general, such works betray little or nothing about their origins or function. Indeed, for all their abundance, we know surprisingly little about these songs, not least exactly when, where, and for whom they were composed, which occasions they served, who performed them, and how they were interpreted and valued by their original audiences. In this chapter, I examine a selection of Ars Nova chansons that offer some tangible clues that I believe can help fill in some of their elusive contexts. In particular, I suggest that relating these works to contemporary material artefacts and associated rituals invites us to site them in the milieu of the Valois princely courts, and sheds light on the circumstances that might have prompted their composition and on their political role in late medieval aristocratic society.