Neighing horses, cackling hens, heavy-footed vessel and barrel traders... Everyday life of a late medieval town through the eyes and ears of musicians
2011
Abstract
The manuscript collection of polyphonic compositions, a so-called Codex Speciálník (Prague, ca.1485-1500), is presented in the study as a possible starting point for an investigation of the everyday life of a late medieval town. The centre of attention is primarily the alphabetically arranged index of the compositions, which was to facilitate orientation in the musical contents of the codex.
The majority of the compositions were copied into the manuscript without the name of the author, therefore the textual incipits were used in the index for the identification of the anonymous songs and motets.