In the last chapter, you got a general overview on the main questions of this course focussing on visual theory and the materiality of musical writing. In this chapter you will be introduced to a crucial shift in music history: the very beginning of notation in European medieval music history.

In the video Professor Matteo Nanni explains why medieval singers began to write down their melodies during the Carolingian period, also known as the Carolingian Renaissance, as in this period from about 780 to 900 a cultural revival took place that caused an increase of literature, writing, the arts, architecture, jurisprudence, liturgical reforms, and scriptural studies.

In the background you hear the voices of the Ensemble Gilles Binchois performing Benedicta et Venerabilis under the direction of Dominique Vellard.

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