22 - Music and musicians at the Burgundian court in the fifteenth century

Summary

The Valois dukes of Burgundy established a rich system of patronage that extended continuously from the end of the Middle Ages to the beginning of the modern era. Their wide-ranging cultural influence makes the primacy of the court's musical life of great interest to the history of music. Ruling over most of the territories where the Franco-Flemish singers and composers who dominated European art music from 1400 to 1550 were born and trained, the dukes of Burgundy supported the most distinguished musicians of their time. The organization of musicians employed at the Burgundian court remained remarkably consistent from the 1380s and the 1500s. Music historians must connect dense archival materials about performers with musical sources that reveal little about the creation or development of the repertories they transmit. Born out of the French crown at the end of the fourteenth century, the court of Burgundy and its historical continuity left a substantial mark on the following century.