Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, University of Bristol, 2023
In this dissertation, I examine music writing and chant transmission in medieval Iberia through
... more In this dissertation, I examine music writing and chant transmission in medieval Iberia through
the lens of one manuscript – London, British Library Add. MS 30845 (BL45). BL45 contains
chants, prayers and readings for the public services of the Old Hispanic rite from June to
November. Through close study of the codicology of the manuscript, its liturgical and musical
contents, and identification of the scribes who copied the manuscript I investigate the processes
of producing this manuscript. The origins of many Old Hispanic manuscripts cannot be
securely attributed. Through an interdisciplinary approach to the contents of BL45, I firmly
position BL45 as a product of the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla, allowing me to situate
BL45 within the broader liturgical, notational and melodic culture of the monastery across the
10th and 11th centuries. The findings of my research challenge the prevailing narrative of
homogenous house style in Iberian scriptoria, as well as the existing chronological and
geographical narratives regarding the development and transmission of Old Hispanic notation
and melodies. As I will show, it is necessary to engage with each of the main features of an
Old Hispanic manuscript to gain a fine-grained understanding of Old Hispanic cultural
practices from the perspective of the individuals who preserved them in writing. By situating
my findings within the broader context of the Old Hispanic materials, I aim to deepen the
understanding of this underexplored branch of medieval Christian devotion.
Nominated for the University of Bristol, Outstanding excellence in a doctoral dissertation in the Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences and Law award, and the IMS Outstanding Dissertation Award.
This article builds on a close palaeographical, liturgical and musicological reading of a single ... more This article builds on a close palaeographical, liturgical and musicological reading of a single Old Hispanic manuscript (Santo Domingo de Silos, Biblioteca del Monasterio MS 6) to draw conclusions about scriptorium size, working practices and scribal mobility in early medieval Iberia. We identify eight music scribes who worked in four distinct layers of scribal engagement with the manuscript. These scribes used three different notational styles, and draw on elements of both the León and Rioja melodic dialects. In this manuscript, León notation is used to notate Rioja dialect; Rioja notation can be used to notate León dialect. The notational styles and melodic dialects tell us that different groups of scribes had distinct cultural identities and were likely working across two or three institutions, and at different times. Some scribes specialised in particular solo genres, as we explore, suggesting strongly that some music scribes were also trained as solo singers.
Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle, 2024
Providing source material for liturgical practice on a significant proportion of feast days in ea... more Providing source material for liturgical practice on a significant proportion of feast days in each sanctorale cycle, the Commune sanctorum liturgies had crucial daily importance for medieval Christians. Despite their frequent use, or perhaps because of this prosaic nature, the Commune sanctorum has rarely been considered as a liturgical phenomenon in its own right. Focusing on the Old Hispanic liturgy, this article explores the creation and presentation of the Commune sanctorum. We address systematically a question left unexamined in previous scholarship: where did the Commune sanctorum come from? We first survey the Old Hispanic material shared with other rites. Turning then to the Old Hispanic rite's unique material, we examine materials found only in the Commons and those shared elsewhere in the rite. We set out a methodology for determining the direction of origin for such shared chants, demonstrating the importance of proper saints' liturgies in the creation of the Commune sanctorum as well as the creative interest in producing new Commons materials. In addition to the origin of the Commune sanctorum, this article engages with manuscript presentation, asking how Commons materials were organized and how such presentations guided liturgical practitioners. A deeper understanding of the Commune sanctorum opens a window onto one of the foundational devotional experiences of Western Christendom.
This program was designed for editing and analysing unpitched musical notation. As a visitor, you... more This program was designed for editing and analysing unpitched musical notation. As a visitor, you can only view chants whose transcriptions have been reviewed and finalised. You can also use the analytical functions of the software.
Software engineer: Paul Rouse
Co-authors contributed neume taxonomies, transcriptions, and ideas for analytical functions
Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, University of Bristol, 2023
In this dissertation, I examine music writing and chant transmission in medieval Iberia through
... more In this dissertation, I examine music writing and chant transmission in medieval Iberia through
the lens of one manuscript – London, British Library Add. MS 30845 (BL45). BL45 contains
chants, prayers and readings for the public services of the Old Hispanic rite from June to
November. Through close study of the codicology of the manuscript, its liturgical and musical
contents, and identification of the scribes who copied the manuscript I investigate the processes
of producing this manuscript. The origins of many Old Hispanic manuscripts cannot be
securely attributed. Through an interdisciplinary approach to the contents of BL45, I firmly
position BL45 as a product of the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla, allowing me to situate
BL45 within the broader liturgical, notational and melodic culture of the monastery across the
10th and 11th centuries. The findings of my research challenge the prevailing narrative of
homogenous house style in Iberian scriptoria, as well as the existing chronological and
geographical narratives regarding the development and transmission of Old Hispanic notation
and melodies. As I will show, it is necessary to engage with each of the main features of an
Old Hispanic manuscript to gain a fine-grained understanding of Old Hispanic cultural
practices from the perspective of the individuals who preserved them in writing. By situating
my findings within the broader context of the Old Hispanic materials, I aim to deepen the
understanding of this underexplored branch of medieval Christian devotion.
Nominated for the University of Bristol, Outstanding excellence in a doctoral dissertation in the Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences and Law award, and the IMS Outstanding Dissertation Award.
This article builds on a close palaeographical, liturgical and musicological reading of a single ... more This article builds on a close palaeographical, liturgical and musicological reading of a single Old Hispanic manuscript (Santo Domingo de Silos, Biblioteca del Monasterio MS 6) to draw conclusions about scriptorium size, working practices and scribal mobility in early medieval Iberia. We identify eight music scribes who worked in four distinct layers of scribal engagement with the manuscript. These scribes used three different notational styles, and draw on elements of both the León and Rioja melodic dialects. In this manuscript, León notation is used to notate Rioja dialect; Rioja notation can be used to notate León dialect. The notational styles and melodic dialects tell us that different groups of scribes had distinct cultural identities and were likely working across two or three institutions, and at different times. Some scribes specialised in particular solo genres, as we explore, suggesting strongly that some music scribes were also trained as solo singers.
Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle, 2024
Providing source material for liturgical practice on a significant proportion of feast days in ea... more Providing source material for liturgical practice on a significant proportion of feast days in each sanctorale cycle, the Commune sanctorum liturgies had crucial daily importance for medieval Christians. Despite their frequent use, or perhaps because of this prosaic nature, the Commune sanctorum has rarely been considered as a liturgical phenomenon in its own right. Focusing on the Old Hispanic liturgy, this article explores the creation and presentation of the Commune sanctorum. We address systematically a question left unexamined in previous scholarship: where did the Commune sanctorum come from? We first survey the Old Hispanic material shared with other rites. Turning then to the Old Hispanic rite's unique material, we examine materials found only in the Commons and those shared elsewhere in the rite. We set out a methodology for determining the direction of origin for such shared chants, demonstrating the importance of proper saints' liturgies in the creation of the Commune sanctorum as well as the creative interest in producing new Commons materials. In addition to the origin of the Commune sanctorum, this article engages with manuscript presentation, asking how Commons materials were organized and how such presentations guided liturgical practitioners. A deeper understanding of the Commune sanctorum opens a window onto one of the foundational devotional experiences of Western Christendom.
This program was designed for editing and analysing unpitched musical notation. As a visitor, you... more This program was designed for editing and analysing unpitched musical notation. As a visitor, you can only view chants whose transcriptions have been reviewed and finalised. You can also use the analytical functions of the software.
Software engineer: Paul Rouse
Co-authors contributed neume taxonomies, transcriptions, and ideas for analytical functions
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the lens of one manuscript – London, British Library Add. MS 30845 (BL45). BL45 contains
chants, prayers and readings for the public services of the Old Hispanic rite from June to
November. Through close study of the codicology of the manuscript, its liturgical and musical
contents, and identification of the scribes who copied the manuscript I investigate the processes
of producing this manuscript. The origins of many Old Hispanic manuscripts cannot be
securely attributed. Through an interdisciplinary approach to the contents of BL45, I firmly
position BL45 as a product of the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla, allowing me to situate
BL45 within the broader liturgical, notational and melodic culture of the monastery across the
10th and 11th centuries. The findings of my research challenge the prevailing narrative of
homogenous house style in Iberian scriptoria, as well as the existing chronological and
geographical narratives regarding the development and transmission of Old Hispanic notation
and melodies. As I will show, it is necessary to engage with each of the main features of an
Old Hispanic manuscript to gain a fine-grained understanding of Old Hispanic cultural
practices from the perspective of the individuals who preserved them in writing. By situating
my findings within the broader context of the Old Hispanic materials, I aim to deepen the
understanding of this underexplored branch of medieval Christian devotion.
Nominated for the University of Bristol, Outstanding excellence in a doctoral dissertation in the Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences and Law award, and the IMS Outstanding Dissertation Award.
Papers
Research outreach
Software engineer: Paul Rouse
Co-authors contributed neume taxonomies, transcriptions, and ideas for analytical functions
https://neumes.org.uk/view
the lens of one manuscript – London, British Library Add. MS 30845 (BL45). BL45 contains
chants, prayers and readings for the public services of the Old Hispanic rite from June to
November. Through close study of the codicology of the manuscript, its liturgical and musical
contents, and identification of the scribes who copied the manuscript I investigate the processes
of producing this manuscript. The origins of many Old Hispanic manuscripts cannot be
securely attributed. Through an interdisciplinary approach to the contents of BL45, I firmly
position BL45 as a product of the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla, allowing me to situate
BL45 within the broader liturgical, notational and melodic culture of the monastery across the
10th and 11th centuries. The findings of my research challenge the prevailing narrative of
homogenous house style in Iberian scriptoria, as well as the existing chronological and
geographical narratives regarding the development and transmission of Old Hispanic notation
and melodies. As I will show, it is necessary to engage with each of the main features of an
Old Hispanic manuscript to gain a fine-grained understanding of Old Hispanic cultural
practices from the perspective of the individuals who preserved them in writing. By situating
my findings within the broader context of the Old Hispanic materials, I aim to deepen the
understanding of this underexplored branch of medieval Christian devotion.
Nominated for the University of Bristol, Outstanding excellence in a doctoral dissertation in the Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences and Law award, and the IMS Outstanding Dissertation Award.
Software engineer: Paul Rouse
Co-authors contributed neume taxonomies, transcriptions, and ideas for analytical functions
https://neumes.org.uk/view