1240 – 1270 Franconian Motet

 

1235     Active reign of Louis IX, France

1236    Fall of Albi

1244     Turks recaptured Jerusalem

1270     Death of Louis IX

 

Monophony

Sequence

 
Dies irae, sequence for the requiem mass, by Thomas of Celano (d. 1256).




 

Trouvères

 
Thibaut IV, King of Navarre (1201-53), 68 pieces.


 

Minnesingers

 
Tannhäuser (c. 1205-70)


 

Cantigas

 
Spanish secular songs to the virgin were collected by Alfonso X, the Wise, King of Castile and Leon (1221-84) into a collection called Cantigas de Santa Maria.


 

Polyphony

Franconian Motet

 

Franconian motet	|-French ---- faster (semibreve)—Triplum
	|-French ---- modal—Motetus
	|-------------- slow—Tenor

 
Each of the three voices had its own rhythmic characteristics: the slower tenor was set out in short repeating patterns, the lyrical motetus was still in modal rhythm, and the faster predominating triplum used the semibreve. Phrases overlapped. Franco, the outstanding figure of the period, was in Paris 1240-60 and in Cologne 1260-80; it may have been two men. The characteristic cadence expanded stepwise to the octave.


 

Rota

 
The rota was an English canon with repeating tenor and frequent thirds: "Sumer is icumen in" (c. 1225-60).

Theory and Notation

 
Magister Lambert (c. 1240) described the transition from modal to Franconian notation.


 
The rules for Black Mensural Notation were first codified in Ars Cantus Mensurabilis (c. 1260) by Franco. He established rules for the division of the longa (modus) and for the division of the brevis (tempus) but not for the semibreve. He also codified rules for the ligatures which were still used in tenors.

Franconian:

Modern: