Medieval manuscript with the text of a letter and a Latin lyric — Bibliothèque nationale of Luxembourg, MS 27, fols. 23v-24r

Today’s tune, Laudes canamus virginis, is somewhat unusual since it has no surviving notation and, instead of being copied in a music book or collection of poetry, it was written by a 12th-century cleric as a gift, included in a letter he sent to his sister Aelis. A canon in Châlons-sur-Marne, Gui de Basoches (Guido de Basochis) is known for several pieces of writing, including his liber epistolarum, a book of letters reflecting correspondance between him and friends, colleagues, and family. Interestingly, almost all of his prose letters conclude with verses, including rhymed, rhythmical, strophic poetry (sometimes with refrains!) that bears a striking resemblance to the poetry of contemporary Latin song.

Laudes canamus virginis in particular is an interesting poem in the Liber epistolarum since Gui frames its performance in specifically musical ways. He writes in the closing of his letter, “of this glorious mother of God and virgin, since I know you pursue with celebrating praise and are a most devout worshipper, I send you her praises composed rhythmically to be said as a suppliant before her reverend image in prayer or sung with sweet melody.” The poem Laudes canamus virginis then follows directly, as you can see in the image to the left from the sole surviving source for Gui’s letters (Bibliothèque nationale of Luxembourg, MS 27, fols. 23v-24r). (You can see an edition and translation of the song here.)

What is so fascinating about this “song” is both that it belongs to an epistolary interaction and also that Gui assumes that Aelis could readily realize the poem musically (if she so chooses—the choice to speak or sing the poem is another interesting aspect). The survival of Laudes canamus virginis asks us to think about the different ways Latin song circulated in medieval Europe, the flexible nature of “song” as both spoken and sung, and the role of personal relationships in the creation of Latin song (not to mention the role of women in performing Latin song!).

I will be talking about this example and other links between Latin songs, letters, and refrains in a talk this week (Jan 27, 2022, 8:30am EST) as part of the conference “Circulations et échanges des technicités et des savoirs musicaux et littéraires au Moyen Age et à la Renaissance” (programme here), to be streamed live on YouTube at this link.

(Although my focus is on Latin examples, the vernacular realm has much to offer on the topic of letters and lyrics! Machaut’s Voir dit is just one wonderful example, one which garnishes several provides beautiful depictions of the sending and delivery of letters in Machaut MS A, F-Pn fr. 1584, seen below.)

Medieval manuscript with image of a woman receiving a letter from a man. — *Le Livre dou Voir Dit* in Machaut MS A (F-Pn fr. 1584), fol. CCXXIr

Medieval manuscript image of a man and woman exchanging a letter — *Le Livre dou Voir Dit* in Machaut MS A (F-Pn fr. 1584), fol. CCXXXIIIr

Selected Bibliography

Basochis, Guido de. Liber epistularum Guidonis de Basochis. Edited by Herbert Adolfsson. Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis: Studia Latina Stockholmiensia Vol. 18, Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1969.

Boulton, Maureen Barry McCann. The Song in the Story: Lyric Insertions in French Narrative Fiction, 1200-1400. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993.

Camargo, Martin. "The Verse Love Epistle: An Unrecognized Genre." Genre 13 (1980): 397-405.

Constable, Giles. Letters and Letter-Collections. Turnhout: Brepols, 1976.

Everist, Mark. Discovering Medieval Song: Latin Poetry and Music in the Conductus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Leech-Wilkinson, Daniel, and R. Barton Palmer, eds. Guillaume de Machaut: Le livre dou voir dit (The Book of the True Poem). New York: Garland, 1998.

Melli, Elio. "I ‘salut’ e l'epistolografia medievale." Convivium 4 (1962): 385-398.

Meyer, Paul. “Le Salut d’amour dans les littératures provençale et française.” Bibliothèque de l’Ecole des Chartes 28 (1867): 124 – 170

Munk Olsen, Birger. "L’édition d’un manuscript d’auteur: les letters de Gui de Bazoches." Revue des études latines 49 (1971): 66–77.

Szövérffy, Joseph. Secular Latin Lyrics and Minor Poetic Forms of the Middle Ages: A Historical Survey and Literary Repertory from the Tenth to the Late Fifteenth Century. 4 vols. Concord, N.H.: Classical Folia Editions, 1992-1995.

Turcan-Verkerk, Anne-Marie. "Le Formulaire de Tréguier revisité: les Carmina Trecorensia et l'Ars dictaminis." ALMA, Bulletin du Cange 52 (1994): 205-252.

Wahlgren-Smith, Lena. "Letter Collections in the Latin West." In A Companion to Byzantine Epistolography, edited by Alexander Riehle, 92-122. Leiden: Brill, 2020.

Wattenbach, Wilhelm. "Die Briefe des Canonicus Guido von Bazoches, Cantors zu Chälons im zwölften Jahrhundert." Sitzungsberichte der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 9 (1890): 161-179.

———. "Aus den Briefen des Guido von Bazoches." Neues Archiv der Gesellschaft für Ältere Deutsche Geschichtskunde 16 (1891): 67 -114.