Music in the Middle Ages

A Reference Guide

Suzanne Lord

• Publisher: Greenwood
• Year: 2008
• Print ISBN: 9780313338847
• eBook ISBN: 9780313083686
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Médias et arts de la scène
• Subtopic: Musique

Music both influences and reflects the times in which it was created. In the Middle Ages, the previous Dark Ages, the Crusades, and the feudal system all impacted the types and forms of music in the period. Charlemagne standardized the church mass and promoted the Gregorian chant, to the point of threatening excommunication if any other were performed. Musical notation — the staff line — was developed during the period. The troubadours of France, Meistersingers of Germany, the Cantus Firmus of Italy, and the instruments that played the music are all included in this thorough guide to music of the middle ages. Topics include: the British Isles, Dance Music, Eastern Europe, France, Germanic Lands, Harps, Italy, the Low Countries, Spain, and more.

Table of contents

• CONTENTS
• PREFACE
• A WORD ABOUT COLLECTIONS
• CHAPTER 1 THE MIDDLE AGES: GENERAL BACKGROUND
• CHAPTER 2 THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES AND CHURCH MUSIC
• CHAPTER 3 THE MUSIC OF FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES
• CHAPTER 4 THE MUSIC OF THE ITALIAN STATES IN THE MIDDLE AGES
• CHAPTER 5 MUSIC OF THE GERMANIC LANDS
• CHAPTER 6 MUSIC OF THE BRITISH ISLES IN THE MIDDLE AGES
• CHAPTER 7 MUSIC OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA IN THE MIDDLE AGES
• CHAPTER 8 MUSIC OF BURGUNDY AND THE LOW COUNTRIES IN THE MIDDLE AGES
• CHAPTER 9 THE MUSIC OF OTHER EUROPEAN AREAS IN THE MIDDLE AGES
• CHAPTER 10 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE MIDDLE AGES
• CHAPTER 11 DANCE MUSIC OF THE MIDDLE AGES
• CHAPTER 12 THE END OF THE MIDDLE AGES
• FOR FURTHER READING
• PARTIAL DISCOGRAPHY OF MIDDLE AGES MUSIC
• GLOSSARY
• INDEX