The Marriage of Edward III and the Transmission of French Motets to England

Abstract

This article describes the hitherto unsuspected transmission to England of the two motets in Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS français 571 (also found in Chaillou de Pesstain's interpolated version of the Roman de Fauvel (MS français 146)) as a direct product of the period spent in France by Isabella, Queen of England, 1325-1326, and of the negotiations for the marriage of her son, the future Edward III of England. Isabella's expedition, both before and after the open break with her husband, Edward II, afforded numerous opportunities for the proximity of English and French musicians; new documentation presented here permits the charting in detail of English clerics' contacts with Gervais du Bus, one of the authors of the Roman de Fauvel, and with Philippe de Vitry. A new dating is advanced for MS français 571, compiled for the marriage of Prince Edward and Philippa of Hainault. Edward's proximity to the French royal line (and the residual English claim to the French throne) provided a rationale not only for the English diplomatic handling of the marriage, but also for the inclusion of the motet texts in MS français 571. The motets' topical texts, originally cast with other purposes in mind, are here subordinated to the broader political program of the Anglo-Hainault marriage. Thus, far from being monofunctional, fourteenth-century motets could be re-used in new contexts that made quite different uses of the messages promulgated in their texts: the adaptability of individual motets may, indeed, have been a fundamental cause in their transmission and even in their later survival.