University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Star-struck, lovesick, poet-musicians: Troubadours and the cultural significance of music in Medieval society

McQueen, Kelli

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MCQUEEN-DISSERTATION-2024.pdf

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125554

Description

Title
Star-struck, lovesick, poet-musicians: Troubadours and the cultural significance of music in Medieval society
Author(s)
McQueen, Kelli
Issue Date
2024-07-09
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Stoppino, Eleonora
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Bashford, Christina
Committee Member(s)
  • Silvers, Michael
  • Ramírez, Carlos R
Department of Study
Music
Discipline
Musicology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • troubadours
  • medieval music
  • medieval lyric poetry
  • vielle
  • medieval fiddle
  • instruments
  • musical cosmology
  • medieval medicine
Abstract
This research investigates questions of how to understand troubadour song as music, in the absence of musical notation for most of the repertory, how troubadour song influenced social structures of music-making, and the extent to which troubadour song interacts with other aspects medieval culture. The first aspect of medieval culture that has bearing on the musical nature of troubadour song is the knowledge organizational scheme known as the seven liberal arts. The definitions of music and poetry found in treatises on the seven liberal arts show a myriad of ways that they overlap, making song a difficult genre to categorize neatly. Boethius’ influential tripartite categorization of music—musica mundana, musica humana, and musica instrumentalis—provides a useful framework for considering the role of troubadour song in other aspects of medieval culture. Musical cosmology or musica mundana, intersects with troubadour song along themes of astronomy and numerology in song structures. Musica humana draws connections between the music and the human body beneficial for the use of music in medical practice. Medical treatises and troubadour song both address symptoms and cures for lovesickness. Finally, musica instrumentalis concerns the practice of music; I survey the troubadour manuscripts for images of musical instruments and speculate about the use of instruments in accompanying troubadour song, shedding light on the changing social attitudes toward musicians in the context of feudal social networks.
Graduation Semester
2024-08
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125554
Copyright and License Information
copyright 2024 Kelli McQueen

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