Tracing the Careers of Late Medieval Composers. The Case of Philippe Basiron of Bourges

Tracing the Careers of Late Medieval Composers. The Case of Philippe Basiron of BourgesAuthor(s): Paula HigginsSource: Acta Musicologica, Vol. 62, Fasc. 1 (Jan. - Apr., 1990), pp. 1-28Published by: International Musicological SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/932825 .

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1

For Franqois Lesure'

Tracing the Careers of Late Medieval Composers The Case of Philippe Basiron of Bourges2

PAULA HIGGINS (DURHAM, N. C.)

Some thirty years ago Francois Lesure drew attention to a number of musicological subjects which might profitably be addressed from interdisciplinary perspectives, particularly those of the social sciences.3 High on Lesure's list of desiderata were studies of the musical maftrises of collegiate churches and cathedrals in which nearly every composer of western European art music for about 400 years had been trained. The archives of these musical ateliers, Lesure predicted, would eventually yield the answers to a host of sociological questions about the musical culture of the middle ages and Renaissance in particular: the origin and careers of composers, their literary and musical studies, the migration of singers from one institution to another, the central role of certain maftrises compared to the activities of others, the place of polyphony and of instruments in the divine services, the interaction of ecclesiastical and municipal authorities, the holdings of cathedral libraries, and so on.4 Recent studies by Craig Wright,5 Reinhard Strohm,6 and Kristine Forney,7 which have transformed and refined our knowledge of musical life in the churches and cathedrals of Cambrai, Paris, Bruges, and Antwerp, strongly corroborate Lesure's point.

While scholars have long recognized the role of the great ecclesiastical centers of the north in shaping the musical landscape of the late middle ages, the no less

1 This article is dedicated to Francois Lesure in honor of his retirement as conservateur en chef of the D4partement de la Musique of the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, and in gratitude for his many kindnesses in facilitating my work on the Chansonnier Nivelle de La Chaussee, which subsequently led to my archival work in Bourges. 2 Several earlier versions of this article were read with the title "Philippe Basiron, Philippon, Philippon de Bourges: An Enigma Resolved" at the Eleventh Annual Conference on Medieval and Renaissance Music, Pembroke College, Oxford University, 22 July 1983; the Colloquium on Secular Music of the European Renaissance, ca. 1500, Rutgers University, 15 April 1985; and the Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society, Cleveland, 8 November 1986.

Research for this study was funded in part by a fellowship from the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Musicology in 1981-82, and by a Faculty Summer Research Grant from the Duke University Research Council in 1987.

I wish to thank Jean-Yves Ribault, directeur of the Archives d4partementales du Cher (Bourges), Michael Long, Jeffrey Dean, and Frid4rique Pilleboue for their valuable comments and advice.

Sigla for archival references found in the footnotes and appendices are as follows: BADC = Bourges, Archives d4partementales du Cher; F-Pn = Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale; n.a.l. = nouvelles acquisitions latines; L = livres; S = sols; D = deniers; T = tournois. All dates are given in New Style. The fiscal year of the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges ran from 1 July-30 June. Resolution of abbreviations, as well as punctuation, capitalization, and diacritical marks used throughout this study have been added by the author. ' Pour une sociologie des faits musicaux, in: IMS, Report of the Eighth Congress, New York, 1961 (Kassel etc. 1961), p. 333-46. 4 LESURE, p. 337-38. ' C. WRIGHT, Dufay at Cambrai: Discoveries and Revisions, in: JAMS 28 (1975), p. 175-229; ID., Performance Practices at the Cathedral of Cambrai, 1475-1550, in: MQ 64 (1978), p. 295-328; ID., Antoine Brumel and Patronage at Notre-Dame of Paris, in: Music in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, ed. I. Fenlon (Cambridge 1981), p. 37-60. 6 R. STROHM, Music in Late Medieval Bruges (Oxford 1985). 7 K. FORNEY, Music, Ritual and Patronage at the Church of Our Lady, Antwerp, in: Early Music History 7 (1987), p. 1-51.



2 Paula Higgins: Tracing the Careers of Late Medieval Composers

impressive legacy of their counterparts in the heart of the French kingdom has gone almost entirely unnoticed. The present study, which sheds new light on a hitherto

unexplored French maftrise, is based on research undertaken in Bourges, a city which has yet to figure prominently on the map of musical geography." The records of the Sainte-Chapelle of the Bourges palace yielded new information about the careers of Philippe Basiron and more than a dozen other fifteenth-century composers.9 The archival riches of this particular establishment may well be typical of those awaiting uncovery in other lost centers of musical activity, particularly those within the geographical and political orbit of the French royal court in the Loire Valley.1o

Philippe Basiron is one of many minor composers of the fifteenth century whose

identity has eluded scholars to this day." His extant musical legacy of a L'Homme

armd Mass, a handful of other sacred works, and some half dozen French chansons, reveals him to have been a composer of considerable skill and subtlety, an assessment borne out by the high esteem with which his contemporaries regarded him. Poet-musician cloy d'Amerval, in his Livre de la ddablerie of 1508, included Basiron among some 17 grands musiciens of the fifteenth century.12 Pierre Moulu, writing in the first decades of the sixteenth century, paid tribute to Basiron and other

composers of the Ockeghem-Busnois generation in his motet Mater floreat florescat.13 Guillaume Cr6tin, in his Diploration on the death of Johannes Ockeghem (ca. 1497), named Barizon tres notable among the musicians who would

8 In the course of my extended study of the Chansonnier Nivelle de La Chauss4e, a new reading of a partially effaced

inscription "de palacio bit(uricensis)" ("from the palace of Bourges") hinted at some connection with the city of

Bourges, and specifically the Sainte-Chapelle of that city which once formed part of the Bourges palace. See P.

HIGGINS, ed., Chansonnier Nivelle de La Chaussee (Paris, Bibl. nat. Dipt. de la Musique Res. Vmc Ms 57 ca 1460) (Geneva 1984), p. ix-x. Francois Lesure mentioned several minor composers who were active at the Sainte-Chapelle of

Bourges in the mid-sixteenth century in his article on Some Minor French Composers of the Sixteenth Century, in:

Aspects of Medieval and Renaissance Music: A Birthday Offering to Gustave Reese, ed. Jan LaRue (New York 1966), p. 538-39, 543. For a study of the maftrise of the cathedral of Bourges from the sixteenth century to the Revolution see M.-R. RENON, La Maftrise de la Cathidrale de Saint-ftienne de Bourges du XVIe siecle a' la Rivolution (Saint-Amand 1982). 9 See P. HIGGINS, Music and Musicians at the Sainte-Chapelle of the Bourges Palace, 1405-1515, in: Atti del XIV

congresso della Societ&a Internazionale di Musicologia (Bologna 1987) 3 (Turin 1990), p. 689-701. 10 LESURE, Pour une sociologie, p. 338. Lesure (Some Minor French Composers, p. 538) cited Bordeaux, Avignon, Besanqon, and Caen among the unstudied centers where nearly complete series of documents have survived for the

fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. He later underscored "the vitality of French provincial choir-schools in the Renaissance

epoch," noting that Parisian music printers often sought new repertory in "Poitiers, Bourges, Reims, Amiens, Dijon,

Angers, Beauvais, Chartres, Nancy, and Troyes." For an assessment of archival possibilities in Loire Valley establishments see P. HIGGINS, Antoine Busnois and Musical Culture in Late Fifteenth-Century France and Burgundy (Diss. Princeton 1987), p. 297-308. M. BRENET's magisterial study of the Sainte-Chapelle of Paris, Les Musiciens de la

Sainte-Chapelle du Palais (Paris 1910), remains unsurpassed as a monograph treating an individual maftrise. 11 For the most recent summary of Basiron's life and works see M. PICKER, Basiron [Baziron] Philippe [?Philippon], in: New GroveD 2 (London 1980), p. 240. For a more detailed commentary on and a complete edition of individual pieces see

G. L. GORE, The Works of Philippe Basiron (Philippon?): Transcription and Commentary (Diss. West Virginia University 1978). 12 PICKER, Basiron. 13 E. E. LOWINSKY, ed., The Medici Codex of 1518 2 (Chicago 1968), p. 125-32.



Paula Higgins: Tracing the Careers of Late Medieval Composers 3

greet Ockeghem in the afterworld,14 incidentally furnishing the sole clue to Basiron's biography: that he had died before Ockeghem.

Dr. Charles Burney, who knew Basiron's Missa da Franza from the British Museum's copy of Petrucci's Misse Diversorum auctorum of 1509, formulated the first hypotheses about Basiron's identity. Describing the Mass as "dry, awkward, and devoid of invention and contrivance," he guessed from its "difficulty of notation, frequency of ligatures, and obscurity of obsolete prolations" that Basiron must have been a predecessor of Josquin.5s Burney's authority informed nearly all biographical sketches of Basiron for generations thereafter'6 and echoes of his specific criticisms of the Mass reverberated in Ambros's assessment of it more than a century later.17

In 1829 Kiesewetter christened Basiron a 'Netherlander,' curiously aligning him with composers of the Willaert generation,"' and ranked 'Philippon,' whom he evidently considered a different composer, with the 'Netherlanders' of Ockeghem's generation.'9 Ambros, on the other hand, described Basiron as a contemporary of Ockeghem, a 'renegade' (Itberlidufer) of the 'First Netherlandish School.'20 F~tiS, Vander Straeten, and Eitner followed Kiesewetter in labelling Basiron a Netherlan- der, but disagreed as to whether Philippe Basiron, Philippon, and Philippon de Bourges were one and the same composer.21 Newly uncovered sources had by then yielded additional works attributed to various Philippes and Philippons without surnames, including a 'Philippon de Bourges' whom Gaffurius praised for the correct proportional notation of sesquialtera.22 Eitner alone suggested that all three designations might refer to the same individual.23 Vander Straeten, attempting to identify Gaffurius's Philippon de Bourges, invested the issue with further nationalis- tic significance. Noting the orthographic similarity between the city names Bourges (France) and Bruges (Belgium), he insisted that 'Philippon de Bourges' must be

14 PICKER, Basiron.

Is CH. BURNEY, A General History of Music from the Earliest Ages to the Present Period 1 (London 1789; rpt. New York 1935), p. 709 and 769. Burney thought Basiron "peculiarly fond of unlimited Pauses, in the middle of his movements," noting that the composer had as many as eight successive pauses at the words et homo factus est, and accusing him of having "as little discretion as a cook, who, hearing that an ounce of some particular ingredient had rendered a new invented dish extremely palatable, should think it would be still more exquisite, if he doubled the quantity." 16 E.-L. GERBER quoted him in describing Basiron as one of the oldest contrapuntists, but erroneously transmitted the date of Petrucci's Venetian publication as 1513 (Neues historisch-biographisches Lexikon der Tonkiinstler [1812-1814], ed. O. Wessely, 1 [Graz 1966], p. 286). This in turn was unwittingly mistranslated back into English by J. SAINSBURY to read that Philippe Basiron was a "composer of church music at Venice in 1513" (A Dictionary of Musicians 1 [London 1825; rpt. New York 1966], p. 63).

17 A. W. AMBROS, Geschichte der Musik 3 (Leipzig 1881), p. 188-89, 189, note 2; 2, p. 463. 18 R. G. KIESEWETTER, Die Verdienste der Niederldnder um die Tonkunst, in: Verhandelingen over de Vraag: Welke Verdiensten hebben zich de Nederlanders vooral in de 14e, 15e en 16e Eeuw in het vak der Toonkunst verworven (Amsterdam 1829), p. 33-34. 19 KIESEWETTER, p. 19. 20 AMBROS, Geschichte der Musik 3, p. 189: "Bassiron scheint auch einer der 'Oberliufer' aus der ersten Schule zu sein, an die er noch vielfach erinnert."

21 F.-J. FtTIS, Bassiron (Philippe), in: FetisB 1 (Paris 18602), p. 267; R. EITNER, Basiron (Baziron, Basseron, Bassiron), Philippe, in: EitnerQ 1 (Leipzig 1900; rpt. Graz 1959), p. 363; E. VANDER STRAETEN, La Musique aux Pays-Bas 6 (Brussels 1882), p. 292. 22 C. A. MILLER, ed., Franchinus Gaffurius: Practica Music& = Musicological Studies and Documents 20 ([Rome] 1968), p. 180. 23 EITNER, Basiron.




Fetis's misreading of the name 'Philippot de Bruges,' a singer in the chapel of Philip the Fair from 1501-1506.24

Modern scholars, on the other hand, have generally argued for the identity of all three,25 while cautioning that more than one composer may be involved. Gustave

Reese, for example, drew attention to the conflicting attribution of Rosa playsant to

Philippon and the equally enigmatic figure 'Caron,' noting that Philippon could also refer to the musician Philippe Caron.26 More recently, Allan Atlas and Glenn Leon Gore reaffirmed the notion that all three names undoubtedly refer to the same

composer and Atlas further surmised that Philippe Basiron probably hailed from

Bourges.27 For once, the most obvious solution seems to be the correct one, because the surviving records of the Sainte-Chapelle of the ducal palace at Bourges document a substantial portion of Philippe Basiron's career, beginning as a choirboy in the late 1450s until his death shortly before June 1491, and confirm that Philippe Basiron, Philippon, and Philippon de Bourges were one and the same individual.

II

Whether or not he actually hailed from Bourges, Philippe Basiron spent much of his life there. Situated about 140 miles to the southeast of Paris in the exact geographic center of France, the city of Bourges was the historic capital of the province of Berry and one of the principal strongholds of the French crown during the fifteenth

century. The now extinct Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges formed part of the ducal palace of

Bourges, erected in the late fourteenth century for John I, duke of Berry (1340-1416).28 Designed for the duke's private devotions and destined to house his

crypt, the Sainte-Chapelle was constructed between 1392 and 1405. Its collegiate chapter consisted of 13 canons, headed by the Treasurer, 13 chaplains, 13 vicars, and

six choirboys. Following John I's death in 1416, the Bourges palace and the temporal

24 VANDER STRAETEN, La Musique aux Pays-Bas 7, p. 144. Philippot de Bruges can now be eliminated from

consideration, since he was still living in 1506. It will be shown below that Philippon de Bourges is in all likelihood

Philippe Basiron, who was dead by 1491. 25 MILLER, ed., Franchinus Gaffurius, p. 180, note 12; G. REESE, Music in the Renaissance (New York 1959), p. 117; A. ATLAS, The Cappella Giulia Chansonnier: Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, C. G. XIII.27 = Musicological Studies 27 (Brooklyn ca. 1975), 1, p. 218, note 3. 26 Music in the Renaissance, p. 117. 'Philipus Franc.' of the Strahov Codex has also been thought to refer to Basiron as

well. Since none of the pieces attributed to the Strahov Philippe bear conflicting attributions either to Basiron or

Philippon, I shall side-step the problem of his identity in the interest of providing some focus for this sufficiently complex issue. 27 ATLAS, The Cappella Giulia Chansonnier 1, p. 218, note. 3. 28 For this and the information in the following paragraph see: F. LEHOUX, Jean de France, duc de Berri: sa vie, son

action politique (1340-1416) 3 (Paris 1968), p. 14; A. GIRARDOT, La Sainte-Chapelle de Bourges: sa fondation, sa

destruction, in: Memoires de la Sociedt des Antiquaires de France 20 (1850), p. 187-219; P. GAUCHERY, Memoire

historique et descriptif du palais construit a Bourges par Jean de France, duc de Berry, in: Memoires de la Socidtd des

Antiquaires du Centre 21 (1895-96), p. 75-102; ID., Le Palais du duc Jean et la Sainte-Chapelle de Bourges: nouveaux

documents, ibid., 39 (1919-1920), p. 37-77; P.-J. TROMBETTA, Bourges: Le Palais ducal et la Sainte-Chapelle, in:

Archeologia 34 (September 1979), p. 16-25; and BRENET, Les Musiciens de la Sainte-Chapelle du Palais (see above,

note 10), p. 14.




jurisdiction over the Sainte-Chapelle, including nominations for its benefices, fell to the next duke of Berry, who was to become King Charles VII in 1422, pejoratively nicknamed the 'king of Bourges' in the last decades of the Hundred Years War.29 Thus, like the Sainte-Chapelle of Paris on which it was modelled, the Sainte- Chapelle of Bourges was a quintessentially royal institution with a history thickly intertwined with that of the French court. Many of the king's favorites appear among its ecclesiastical ranks, which in turn explains the frequent exchange of its musical personnel with that of the royal chapel. Resignations of benefices had to be made directly into the hands of the French king. Unlike most cathedrals and collegiate chapters, the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges enjoyed immunity from archiepiscopal jurisdiction and answered directly to the pope, as the phrase "ad romanam ecclesiam nullo medio pertinens" reaffirms throughout the documents.

The archival records of the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges have survived for much of the fifteenth century, but with several important lacunae. The accounts, itemizing the chapter's revenues and expenditures, are relatively well-preserved until 1473, but with gaps from July 1459-June 1462, from July 1463-June 1467, and from July 1471-June 1472. After 1473, the series breaks off and does not resume until 1555. A similar situation exists for the registers containing minutes of the chapter's deliberations, with the only gap in an otherwise complete series being yet another crucial one - from May 1475 to September 1487. Thus, documents are missing for precisely the years most likely to yield information about Basiron's maturity. Nevertheless, those that do survive are invaluable in permitting us to outline some of the principal events in Basiron's early life, thus affording us a rare glimpse at the formative stages of a fifteenth-century composer's musical career.

Philippe Basiron first appears in the records of the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges as a choirboy in October 1458. The account for 1458-59 shows a payment to "Messire Jehan Gaudier, alias Doucet, for the feeding and instruction of two choirboys, Philippon and Pierron, from the first 15 days of October 1458 to 31 March 1459." (Doc. 1.) Although the boys' surnames are lacking, subsequent references designat- ing both a 'Philippon Basiron' as well as a 'Pierron Basiron' as "choirboys of the Sainte-Chapelle" strongly suggest that this document concerns the Basirons, who were probably brothers, and that it roughly coincided with their entry into the Sainte-Chapelle. During the year 1458-59, a virulent plague had infested the city of Bourges to which many members of the chapter, and especially the choirboys, fell victim. One of these was "Philippon, the choirboy" who had been visited by a doctor and cured of an infection he had in his leg. (Doc. 2.) The sum of 27 sous and 6 deniers paid out for Philippon's medical care was nearly equivalent to that disbursed to a doctor who had visited three choirboys suffering from the epidemic, suggesting that this illness must have been a fairly serious one. In 1462-63, the sickly choirboy Philippon again required medical attention and this time was treated by Phillebert

29 Strictly speaking, the next duke of Berry was Charles VII's elder brother Jean (d. 1417), who held the duchy for less than a year. On the establishment of the 'kingdom of Bourges' see M. J. A. VALE, Charles VII (Berkeley 1974), p. 25-27.




Guerin, a doctor in the service of the bastard of Bourbon, for a debilitating illness

resulting from a thorn prick. (Doc. 3.) In the same year, the account discloses a payment "for the purchase of a

manicordium (that is, a clavichord), for Philippon Basiron, one of the choirboys of the Sainte-Chapelle," thus providing the first concrete evidence of his musical talents. (Doc. 4.) Acceptance as a choirboy in the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges was

contingent upon a boy's having a good voice and a demonstrable capacity for

learning music. The rigidity of these conditions is underscored in numerous references to choirboys accepted "on the condition that he will have a good voice," (Doc. 5.) and to others sent away for "having no voice at all," (Doc. 6.) or for their

'inexperience' or 'ignorance.' (Doc. 7.) Given the evidently high standards expected of the choirboys, the purchase of a keyboard instrument expressly for Basiron, who

by then was about 12 or 13 years of age, probably indicates that he had manifested

exceptional musical ability. In many late medieval churches the senior choirboy, as well as other boys who seemed particularly well-suited, were given the opportunity to learn to play the organ and other keyboard instruments. A manicordium was often purchased in preparation for learning to play the organ. That this was surely Basiron's case is confirmed by a later document, to be discussed shortly, which reveals that Basiron was in fact an organist.30 The presence of a promising young keyboard player may have inspired the chapter's decision to renew work on the reconstruction of the Sainte-Chapelle's organ, which had been interrupted by the death of its maker.31

That Basiron had already distinguished himself from the rest of the choirboys is confirmed by a document of May 1464. When a new master was appointed to take over the governance of the choirboys, the chapter simultaneously ordered that

"Philippe, another of the choirboys, instruct the other boys in singing and in the art of music." (Doc. 8.) Basiron evidently continued to function unofficially in this

capacity for at least two years, since a similar payment in April 1466 records his

sharing of the salary of the regular master. (Doc. 9.) This document unfortunately fails to give Basiron's title, but since assisting with the instruction of the younger

30 WRIGHT, Antoine Brumel, p. 46; F. HARRISON, Music in Medieval Britain (London 1958), p. 178-79. The

collegiate church of Notre-Dame-la-Grande in Poitiers paid 30 sous in 1454-55 to a choirboy named Daniel "pour avoir un manicordium" (Archives d4partementales de la Vienne G1238, fol. 123v) and in 1476 purchased a manicordium for the use of the choirboys (fol. 169). The chapter of Ste-Radegonde in Poitiers purchased a manicordium in 1462 for their

organist (Archives d4partementales de la Vienne G1528, fol. 57). In 1524, the canons of the church of St-Pierre-le- Puellier in the same city decided to purchase a manicorde from the cathedral's organist and to negotiate his fee to teach the choirboy Pierre Conac to play the organ (Archives d4partementales de la Vienne G1846). Keyboard studies were often timed to coincide with the transitional period during which a boy's voice had begun to break.

31 BADC 8G1510 (January 1465), fol. 29v. This document and others relating to the rebuilding of the Ste-Chapelle's

organ are published in full in R. GANDILHON, Documents pour servir a l'histoire des arts a' Bourges du XIVe au XVIe siecle 2: Fonds du chapitre de la Sainte-Chapelle, in: Rdunion des Socidtis des Beaux-Arts (1908), p. 70-71. The organ had long assumed considerable importance in the musical life of the Ste-Chapelle of Bourges, judging from the number

of distinguished organists present in the chapter's hierarchy in the first decades of its existence. The unusual interest in

organs and organists may well have been a reflection of the tastes of the institution's founder, Jean, duc de Berry

(HIGGINS, Music and Musicians at the Sainte-Chapelle), but the striking number of masters of the choirboys known also to have been organists, not only in Bourges but elsewhere, may suggest that keyboard skills were an indispensable requirement for the position.




boys was another privilege routinely accorded the senior choirboy in some churches, it is possible that Basiron had still not left the maftrise at this time.

Basiron had attained the rank of vicar by 1467, the year in which his name begins appearing under that rubric on the quarterly distribution lists as well as on the receipts for bread and wine. The special payment accorded him in that year for a chape, a long ceremonial robe, was probably made on the occasion of his promotion, a symbolic rite of passage from boyhood into the adult ranks of the Sainte-Chapelle. (Doc. 10.) Since Basiron had entered the maftrise in 1458, and may still have been a choirboy as late as 1466, we can roughly approximate his birth date to the year 1450.32

Before long Basiron acquired a new station in the life of the Sainte-Chapelle, that of master of the choirboys, a position to which he was elected at the chapter meeting of 4 February 1469. (Doc. 11.) Prior to his appointment, Basiron had been sent to Paris to receive the approval of the Treasurer of the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges, who, as one of the king's counsellors in the Parlement of Paris, was often resident there.33 (Doc. 12.)

In confiding the instruction and governance of the choirboys to Basiron, the canons were at last officially acknowledging his long-standing service as musical adjunct to the regular magister puerorum without fully benefitting from the office's title, salary, or other emoluments. That Basiron himself had grown impatient with the situation may well have precipitated the chapter's decision. Just two weeks before his election, Basiron had approached the canons to remind them that they had promised to appoint him master of the choirboys. Proceeding on the basis of that assurance, he claimed to have turned down the service of the cardinal of Angers, the archbishop of Bourges, and many other lords, all of whom had promised him many special favors. Basiron further stated that, unless he was provided with the position very soon, he would be unable to fulfill his financial obligations to his mother, siblings, and other relatives. The canons therefore concluded that the choirboys be turned over to Basiron and that the incumbent master would be notified to avail himself of another position within the month. (Doc. 13.)

While the canons may have been intending all along to make good on their alleged commitment to Basiron, it seems unlikely that ethical reasons alone prompted their almost instantaneous granting of his request. The two prelates whose service he had renounced were the highest-ranking ecclesiastics in the kingdom of France. The cardinal of Angers at the time was none other than Jean Balue, personal aum6nier

32 Boys generally entered the maftrise between the ages of six and nine (entrance at a slightly more advanced age was possible if a boy had previous experience as well as a good voice) and remained there for about 10 years or until their voices changed, whichever came first. Even if we were to assume that Basiron's voice had changed by 1465 and that he was as old as 20 at the time (which is most unlikely) this would push his birthdate back to 1445 at the earliest. Therefore, Basiron was almost certainly born about 1450, with perhaps a two-year margin of error on either side. 33 The Treasurer of the Ste-Chapelle of Bourges at the time was Maitre Jean Vigier, a counsellor of Louis XI in the Parlement of Paris. Appointed bishop of La Vaux in 1469, he was allowed to retain his title as Treasurer of the Ste- Chapelle of Bourges. F-Pn n.a.l. 1534, fols. 38ff.




and political adviser to Louis XI,34 and the archbishop of Bourges was Jean Caeur, the son of the great Bourges merchant-magnate Jacques Coeur, argentier to King Charles VII. Evidence of Basiron's contact with these powerful and influential men raises a host of questions about the musical patronage of prelates, a subject which remains virtually unexplored for the fifteenth century.35

Further evidence that political machinations might have influenced the chapter's decision comes from the incumbent master who had been deposed in favor of Basiron, Johannes Laloyer. On 14 January 1469, one week before Basiron had gone to the chapter, Laloyer had alerted the canons to a rumor he had heard that they were planning to get rid of him. He claimed that they had no good reason for

dismissing him, and that, in case they should proceed to do so, he was thereby formally protesting the matter in the chapter, and placing his opposition into the hands of the treasurer's vicar general, Martin Bonin, asking that it be admitted to

opposition. Bonin told Laloyer that he had no intention of taking action against him, unless he should perform worse than he had, because he knew of no reason to do so and therefore accepted his opposition. The canons therefore agreed that they would not remove Laloyer unless he should happen to do something that he shouldn't.

(Doc. 14.) Reversing its decision at the next week's meeting, the chapter concluded that the direction of the choirboys would be turned over to Basiron and that Laloyer would be given notice. The canons relieved Laloyer of his duties on 4 February 1469,

allegedly "for certain reasons that moved its [i. e. the chapter's] conscience to do so"

("certis de causis ad hoc animum suum moventibus"). (Doc. 11.) The minutes of the

meeting of 21 January 1469 at which Basiron was guaranteed the maftrise were

subsequently struck from the register and omitted from the formal copy of chapter acts for the same year, leaving little doubt as to what the chapter's intentions had been all along, assurances to Laloyer notwithstanding.36

34 Balue obtained the bishoprics of tvreux in 1465 and of Angers in 1467. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal on 27 November 1468. Louis XI invested him with considerable power, including the control of all benefices in the French

kingdom. One of the great political intriguers of all time, Balue had been a key player in Louis XI's negotiations with duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy at Peronne in 1468. Unfortunately these resulted in the king's imprisonment and

subsequent humiliation there, for which Balue was held ultimately responsible, whereupon his stock plummeted. Evidence of Basiron's connection with Balue is striking in light of E. BARRET's ingenious interpretation of the

iconographical evidence of the Dijon chansonnier (F-Dm 517) as alluding to Balue. See A Critical Edition of the Dijon Chansonnier I (Diss. George Peabody College for Teachers of Vanderbilt Univ. 1981), p. 30-35.

35 Jean Cceur held the archbishopric of Bourges, the largest and richest in the French kingdom, from 1446 until his death

in 1483. Other French bishops known to have had musical interests include Jean Jouffroy, bishop of Albi, and Pierre

d'Ailly, bishop of Cambrai, possible patrons of Ockeghem and Dufay respectively, and Jean de Montchenu, original owner of the Chansonnier Cordiforme (F-Pn Roths. 2973). Georges II d'Amboise, archbishop of Rouen (1510-1550),

represents one prelate whose patronage is extremely well-documented. The archives of the cathedral of Rouen preserve references to his examination of singers and his correspondence abroad to find the best masters and organists for the

cathedral. He seems also to have had a personal entourage of singers. See A. COLLETTE, Histoire de la Maitrise de

Rouen: Premiere Partie (Rouen 1892; rpt. Geneve [1972]), p. 36-39. Basiron's opportunity to enter the service of Balue,

Coeur, and "many other lords," probably dated from around 1467 when he officially exited the maftrise and would have

needed to decide whether to continue in the service of the Sainte-Chapelle or move on. The chapter undoubtedly tried to

entice him by promising him the direction of the maitrise. 36 The document is crossed out in the draft register of chapter minutes for 1468-1475 (F-Pn n.a.l. 1534) and was not re-

entered into the formal copy of the chapter acts for 1464-1469 (F-Pn n.a.l. 1533), as is every other document dating from

13 May 1468 through 17 June 1469. A note in the margin indicates that it was purposely omitted by decision of the

canons and treasurer, undoubtedly for politically sensitive reasons. I am indebted to Friderique Pilleboue, a student at

the tcole Nationale des Chartes in Paris, for drawing my attention to this entry.




Once installed, Basiron governed the Sainte-Chapelle's maftrise for at least four consecutive years until 1473 - no mean accomplishment, considering that in the three years from March 1464 until July 1467 alone the office had changed hands no fewer than five times.37 The lesser clergy, which included the young vicars and chaplains, as well as the choirboys, were often an unruly lot of barely post- pubescent adolescents. Basiron himself cannot have been much older than they. The canons periodically gathered them together to review the chapter's regulations and to remind them about the stiff penalties for infractions thereof. The recorded minutes of these general assemblies make it eminently clear that the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges was no citadel of pious virtue. The young clerks were repeatedly implored to regulate their singing, to stop fighting with each other, particularly during Mass, to refrain from wearing red hats and shoes into town, to keep their hair cut short, and above all, to get rid of the concubines and women of ill-repute inhabiting their rooms, under pain of losing their quarterly stipends.38 Judging from references to the occasional clerk who had defied regulations, even the severity of this penalty evidently failed to discourage temptation.39

While the documents are rife with allusions to Basiron's mundane responsibilities for the feeding, clothing, housing, and medical care of the boys, they furnish vexingly little information about the specific musical tasks he executed. Beyond the 1464 reference to his instructing the boys "in cantu sive arte musice," the documents on Basiron rarely allude directly to musical matters, as they do earlier in the century. For example, during the tenure of Jean C4saris as master of the choirboys in 1407-1408, a payment was recorded for "six tablets for the boys' counterpoint."40 (Doc. 15.) We can only take it on faith that Basiron carried on the Sainte-Chapelle's venerable tradition of instructing the boys not only in singing but in vocal as well as written counterpoint, as the evidence of polyphonic works by at least two of his young charges suggests. (See below, p. 15.) Basiron must also have instructed the choirboys in keyboard instruments as well. The account book for 1469-70 records a payment to a furrier who had delivered a new stole made of black lambs to "the master of the choirboys named Phelippon Basiron as his salary for having played the

37 Basiron's immediate predecessors were: Pierre Lambert (6 March 1464-May 1464), Antoine Pasteur (Pastoris) (May 1464-17 August 1465), Jean Vigier (17 August 1465-22 February 1466), Pierre Lambert (22 February 1466-11 July 1467), and Jehan Laloyer, dit Ambrois (or Ambois) (11 July 1467-4 February 1469). 38 BADC 8G1509, fol. 62 (13 October 1459); F-Pn n.a.l. 1534, fol. 50v (3 February 1469), fol. 126v (23 June 1473), and fol. 137r (4 February 1474). 39 Two clerks had been deprived of their stipends for having had concubines and for fighting with each other (BADC 8G1510, fol. 35r [16 July 1465]), and another was threatened with losing his unless he got rid of his concubine named Marguerite (fol. 38r [29 October 1465]). 40 This could be an exceptionally early documentary reference to the use of tabule compositoria, eraseable and reusable surfaces of slate or stone mentioned by the theorist Lampadius as having been used by Josquin, Isaac, and other learned composers, several examples of which have been uncovered in archeological excavations in Northern France and Belgium. The document specifically mentions six tablets, presumably one for each choirboy, for which the sum of five sous was paid. The use of the word 'tabletes' instead of 'cahiers' may suggest that the material was a hard and durable surface like slate, as opposed to a paper or parchment notebook. More importantly, the reference specifically describes the items as 'tablets for making/doing counterpoint,' precisely the use ascribed to them by Lampadius. For an excellent discussion of Cipriano de Rore's cartella and of the documentary and theoretical evidence concerning tabuli compositoriae in general see J. A. OWENS, The Milan Partbooks: Evidence of Cipriano de Rore's Compositional Process, in: JAMS 37 (1984), p. 279-283.




organ." (Doc. 16.) Basiron's name can thus be added to the distinguished list of

organists who had served the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges since its inception in 1405.41

The accounts and chapter acts surviving for the period of Basiron's tenure also fail to disclose any references to the performance of specific musical works, or to

manuscripts copied for or used by the maftrise, as they do in 1407-08. In that year, the chapter paid 45 sous for a "book of motets and Patrems that belonged to Foliot" that was "delivered to C4saris for the choirboys."42 (Doc. 17.) One manuscript possibly compiled in Bourges in the immediate vicinity of Basiron is the Laborde chansonnier (US-Wc 25), which contains four of his songs. Evidence of Basiron's activities in Bourges now corroborates art historical opinions assigning the decoration of parts of Laborde to Jean Colombe of Bourges and his atelier.43

Assuming the most recent datings of 1463-1467 for the first layer of the manuscript to be correct,44 Basiron's four songs contained therein must represent the work of a seasoned choirboy. Although this seems to challenge existing notions of the creative

accomplishments of medieval teenagers, it seems more likely that the musical

sophistication of adolescents educated for nearly a decade in a fifteenth-century

maftrise far surpassed that of their late twentieth-century counterparts. Basiron's routine appearance on the quarterly distribution lists, the payments of

his salary as maftre des enfants, the allocations for his bread and wine, the references to his feeding and instruction of specific choirboys, and his own documentable activities as a choirboy all attest to his virtually uninterrupted presence at the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges from 1458-1473. (See Appendix II.) A series of entries in the chapter acts for 1471 reveals that Basiron was once again involved in a controversy, this time over a canonry and prebend in the church of

Saint-Ofitrille-du-Chiteau, a chapter dependent upon the Sainte-Chapelle and whose benefices were named by its Treasurer. Basiron alleged that this canonry and

prebend had been conferred upon another member of the Sainte-Chapelle in

violation of its statutes, and asked that the nomination be revoked and given to him.

(Doc. 18.) King Louis XI, whose brevet on Basiron's behalf is recorded in the chapter acts of 14 June 1471, brought influential backing to Basiron's case. Citing papal bulls obtained for Basiron by Louis's brother, Charles of France,45 the king refers to

"our beloved Philippe Basiron" and explains that he is well-deserving of the said

41 For a discussion of the organists at the Sainte-Chapelle during the duke of Berry's lifetime see HIGGINS, Music and

Musicians at the Sainte-Chapelle. 42 Jean Foliot was a clerk and organist of the Ste-Chapelle from 1406 until 1408 when he left to go "devers le Pape"

(BADC 8G1634, fol. 45). The chapter's payment for Foliot's book occurs in the account book for 1407-08, the year of his

departure. This "book of motets and Patrems" provides invaluable testimony to the repertory Foliot and the other

organists of the chapter could have performed and that the choirboys might have used for study.

43 HIGGINS, Chansonnier Nivelle de La Chaussde, p. x and xviii, note 84. Although it contains no works attributed to

Basiron, the chansonnier Nivelle de La Chauss4e bears an inscription (see note 8) linking it directly to the Bourges

palace, of which the Ste-Chapelle was a part, thus suggesting some connection with the institution at some point during its early history. Ibid., p. ix-x.

44 For a recent study of the Laborde Chansonnier see M. GUTIERREZ-DENHOFF, Untersuchungen zu Gestalt,

Entstehung und Repertoire des Chansonniers Laborde, in: AfMw 41 (1984), p. 113-46.

4 As Duke of Berry, Charles of France had the right to nominate candidates for many of the Sainte-Chapelle's benefices. See H. STEIN, Charles de France, frere de Louis XI (Paris 1919), p. 41-42.




benefice because "he has continuously and devotedly served day and night in our chapel (i. e. the Sainte-Chapelle) since his childhood, and now conscientiously supervises the education of the choirboys."46 Several weeks later, when the canons had evidently failed to resolve the matter, the king ordered them to grant Basiron the benefice or risk a saisine du temporel, a confiscation of the chapter's material assets. (Doc. 19.) The canons' response is left blank in the register, which means that they did not wish to record their decision publicly. However, the penalty threatened by the king was extreme: it would have effectively imposed complete royal control over the Sainte-Chapelle's material and financial assets, and this may well have forced the chapter's hand.

More important than the actual outcome of the controversy is the information we can gather from it. While it was certainly not unusual for the king to intercede in disputes about benefices, the other letters of recommendation preserved in the

chapter acts almost invariably concern the king's favorites - members of the French

royal household chapel or high-level functionaries in the service of the royal family.47 Even if not actually employed in the king's household, Basiron must have been familiar to Louis XI, at least by reputation, especially in light of the exceptional measures the king was prepared to take to influence the chapter's decision. This evidence, as well as that concerning his earlier contact with cardinal Jean Balue and

archbishop Jean Coeur, surely suggests that however modest his posthumous reputation, Basiron must have been a coveted musician with no small amount of

political clout in his own day. A letter of supplication requesting that Basiron be granted the benefice at St-

Odltrille describes him as a "student in canon law."48 The burden of Basiron's responsibilities in the Sainte-Chapelle would have left him little time to venture very far from Bourges during these years, at least not on a regular basis. Thus it is not surprising to learn that Basiron was pursuing his studies at the newly established University of Bourges, founded in 1463 by Louis XI at the behest of his brother Charles of France, who was duke of Berry at the time. Basiron's position as master of the choirboys while a student at the University of Bourges parallels that of Tinctoris at Sainte-Croix of Orlians while enrolled at the University of Orlians.49

46 F-Pn n.a.1. 1534, fol. 78v (14 June 1471): "... prefato Phillippo vicario tamquam sufficienti ad hoc et benemerito ut pote qui ab ephebis et infancia sua usque ad provectam etatem continue horis diurnis et nocturnis in eadem cappella nostra deservivit et nunc ad puerorum chori educationem vigil intendit..." 47 Several brevets of Louis XI concerning various clercs, sommeliers, and chaplains of his domestic chapel for whom he recommended similar benefices or prebends are published throughout J. VAESEN and E. CHARAVAY, eds., Lettres de Louis XI, roi de France 1-11 (= 1461-1483) (Paris 1883-1909). See, for example, the nomination of his sommelier Jean Beaufilz to succeed Gilbert Mareil, a partisan of Charles of France, in the office of chantre of the Ste-Chapelle of Bourges in volume 4 (= 1469-1472), p. 301-02. As in the case of Beaufilz, the king's recommendation did not always guarantee his nominee the post. 4' Archivio Segreto del Vaticano, Reg. Suppl. 668, fol. 104v; summarized in French in N. GOTTERI, Le Clergi et la vie religieuse dans le diocese de Bourges au XVe siecle d'apres les suppliques en cour de Rome (1434-1484) 4 (These du troisieme cycle, Sorbonne 1974), no. 1121. The original document describes Basiron as "perpetuus vicarius dicte sacre capelle quatenus sibi qui puerorum chori eiusdem ecclesie ordinator et magister, et in universitate Bituricensis in facultate decretorum actu studens existit." 49 On Tinctoris's activity in Orleans see R. WOODLEY, Iohannes Tinctoris: A Review of the Documentary Biographical Evidence, in: JAMS 34 (1981), p. 225-29.




By 1474, a new magister, Frantois Maugis, had assumed control of the Sainte-

Chapelle's maftrise, whereupon Basiron seems to disappear from the records. Wherever else he may have been during the years 1474-87,50 Basiron was still affiliated with the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges in the late 1480s. By that time he had

acquired the vicariate of Notre-Dame in the church of Saint-Pierre-le-Guillard in

Bourges, under the temporal and ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Sainte-Chapelle. This position furnished Basiron with a house and garden on the still-extant rue des

Art'nes, about two blocks from the Sainte-Chapelle. (Doc. 20.) (See Figure 1.)

The final mention of Basiron in the Sainte-Chapelle's records establishes the date of his death within a margin of weeks. An entry in the chapter acts for 8 June 1491 refers to letters of Charles VIII dated 31 May 1491 in which he recommended

Johannes Barizon, chaplain of the Sainte-Chapelle, to the vicariate of Notre-Dame at Saint-Pierre-le-Guillard, last held by "deffunctus magister Philippus Barizon clericus dicte capelle." (Doc. 21.) Since recommendations for benefices were

generally made not long after they became vacant, and indeed, even more often in

expectam, we can conclude with a reasonable amount of certainty that Philippe Basiron died shortly before 31 May 1491. Basiron's designation as 'magister' in this document could signify that he had meanwhile acquired a degree in canon law. He seems not to have been ordained a priest, however, since his ecclesiastical title is

given simply as 'clericus.'

III

Although undoubtedly the most politically astute, Philippe Basiron was by no means the only composer of some importance to have worked at the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges. From the year of its dedication in 1405 until the death of its founder in

1416, no fewer than seven composers of the pre-Dufay generation had been

employed there.51 A number of lesser known fifteenth-century composers also figure in the records during the 1460s and 1470s. Listed among the chaplains for the year 1462-63 is another composer, who, like Basiron, has eluded identification until now: Guillaume Faugues. Faugues seems to have spent little more than three months as a

chaplain in the Sainte-Chapelle; but accounts for the three immediately preceding

years are missing, so it is possible that he was there even earlier.52 More significant is the fact that he must have spent much of this time as master of the choirboys. A

50 Maugis was appointed magister puerorum on 11 January 1474 (F-Pn n.a.l. 1534, fol. 135r). Unfortunately neither

accounts nor chapter acts have survived for the years 1476-1486. F. RAUGEL (Orleans, in: MGG 10, col. 402) mentions

a 'Philippe Bourges' as an organist in Orl6ans during the reign of Louis XI. I have thus far been unable to locate the

source of this information, but since Philippe Basiron was an organist, the likelihood seems strong that this refers to him.

Orlians is only about 70 miles from Bourges, on the direct road to Paris. I am grateful to Richard Wexler for drawing my attention to this reference. 5 Guillaume Lemachecrier ("Le Grant Guillaume"), Pierre Fontaine, Jean Cesaris, Johannes de Bosco, Nicholas Grenon,

Paullet, and Jean/Jacques Charite. See HIGGINS, Music and Musicians. 52 BADC 8G1649 (1462-63), fol. 113r, 114r. Faugues received 9 L. 6 S. 6 D. for the term of St-John the Baptist (June 24-29 September) and only 37 S. 4 D. for the term of St-Michel (30 September-31 December), which indicates that he

had not served every day in the chapel. His full name 'Guillaume Faugues' appears at the top of each of the two lists

under the rubric 'chaplains.'



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marginal note appended to the payment to Pierre Lambert, the master of the choirboys, indicates that Lambert had in fact received only three-fourths (90 livres) of the master's annual salary of 120 livres and that Faugues had received the

remaining fourth (30 livres). (Doc. 22.) In other cases where the annual income was shared, the remuneration corresponded to the number of months served. Thus it seems probable that Faugues served a three-month term as master of the choirboys, in which case he must have had a hand in Basiron's musical training. Coinciden-

tally, Faugues held the slot of choirmaster during the same year in which the manicordium was purchased for Basiron. Faugues's name does not appear in the extant accounts after 1462, although the minutes of the chapter's deliberations for 1471 reveal that the canons wished 'Faugues the priest' to be presented to their Treasurer as a replacement for a deceased chaplain. (Doc. 23.) Whether or not he

actually returned there, it is clear that Faugues was still in the chapter's mind, that

they knew where to find him, and that he was presumably within a reasonable distance to fill the position expeditiously.

A few remarks should be interjected at this point about the possibility of

Faugues's musical influence on Basiron. Faugues's L'Homme armd Mass is well- known as the earliest setting in which the structural cantus firmus is treated

canonically in the two middle voices throughout the entire cycle.53 Significantly, in three movements of Basiron's L'Homme armd Mass, the same two voices also

present the cantus firmus canonically.54 In fact, a striking feature of Basiron's secular music is the pairing of the two upper voices in extended passages of strict canonic imitation. This may be a rare example of a stylistic trait discernible in the work of two composers who seem to have been associated as teacher and pupil. The

probable mentor/student relationship of Faugues and Basiron takes on greater significance in light of the recent evidence presented by Richard Taruskin that both

composers' L'Homme arme Masses share melodic similarities with that of Busnois.55 Travelling singers constantly passed through the Sainte-Chapelle, as in 1472-73,

when festivities were held to honor "certain new singer-chaplains" who had recently come to Bourges. (Doc. 24.) Among them must have been the astonishingly peripatetic Jean Sohier, alias Fede, mentioned as a chaplain several times in the records for that year.56 Evidence of his service at the Sainte-Chapelle is noteworthy in connection with his three works transmitted uniquely in the chansonnier Nivelle de La Chaussee, a manuscript whose inscription ("de palacio bit(uricensis)") links it directly to the Bourges Palace at some point in its early history.57

53 E. H. SPARKS, Cantus Firmus in Mass and Motet, 1420-1520 (Berkeley 1963), p. 173 and 459, note 95.

54 Kyrie II, Credo (Et unam sanctam), and Sanctus (Osanna II). For a recent edition of Basiron's L'Homme armd Mass see GORE, The Works of Philippe Basiron 2, p. 86-132. 55 R. TARUSKIN, Antoine Busnoys and the L'Homme armd Tradition, in: JAMS 39 (1986), p. 262-64. 56 BADC 8G1654 (1472-73), fol. 96v; F-Pn n.a.l. 1534, fol. 105v (22 August 1472), and fol. 117v (13 February 1473). Fede had long been active in the Loire Valley, having served Charles d'Orlians at Blois in the early 1450s and Queen Marie of Anjou, whose favorite residences were Bourges and Tours, in 1462-63. See HIGGINS, Chansonnier Nivelle de La Chaussie, p. v-vi, and ID., Antoine Busnois, p. 260-62. 57 HIGGINS, Chansonnier Nivelle de La Chaussde, p. ix-x. Curiously, all of Fede's pieces preserved in Nivelle are

incomplete; two of them are partially erased and a third is missing its Tenor and Contratenor parts.




Somewhat more obscure are two other fifteenth-century composers who must have been educated as choirboys under Basiron's tutelage: Johannes Soupison, possibly the 'Sonspison' whose textless Ma doulce is found in the Casanatense chansonnier (I-Rc 2856),58 and Karolus de Launay, or Colinet de Lannoy, also represented in the same manuscript.59 Soupison, a choirboy in 1468, received 20 sous from the chapter for a black hooded cloak,60 and in 1470 he was sent away because of his inexperience. (Doc. 7.) While a choirboy in the early 1470s, de Launay was named to vicariates at the church of Notre-Dame of Montermoyen and the monastery of St-Ambroise respectively.61 In 1487 the chapter appointed him distributeur, the person responsible for the receipt and disbursement of its revenues.62 Six months later he was fired, stripped of his vicariate, and evidently headed for Italy where he turns up in the records of the Gonzaga court at Mantua and of San Giovanni in Florence in the late 1480s and early 1490s.63

The Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges regularly hosted distinguished visitors from throughout the realm, the most notable during Basiron's tenure being the "Treasurer of Saint-Martin of Tours," mentioned in the account book of 1462. (Doc. 25.) Johannes Ockeghem had held this dignity from 1459 until his death in 1497, so there can be no doubt that he is the person in question. The occasion is left unspecified, but whatever it was, it is unlikely that it marked Ockeghem's first contact with the Bourges palace. Charles VII, whom Ockeghem had served from 1451 to 1461, was frequently in residence there, or at his country chateau in Mehun-sur-Yevre, less than 10 miles from Bourges. Before that, Ockeghem had spent several years in the Bourbon chapel at Moulins, only 50 miles due south of Bourges. Nor was the 1462 visit likely to have been Ockeghem's last; as first chaplain of the royal chapel, he and the other chapel singers may well have been with the king when he resided in Bourges from 28 December 1466 until 20 February 1467.64 If so, it is difficult to imagine that the enfant prodige of the Sainte-Chapelle would have escaped Ockeghem's notice. Basiron's two settings of D'ung autre amer, each of which uses the superius of Ockeghem's chanson throughout, may bespeak some tacit admira- tion for or artistic debt to the older composer.

The proximity of Bourges to the city of Tours must have fostered musical exchanges on a par with those operative on the administrative and ecclesiastical levels owing to Louis XI's adoption of Tours as his unofficial capital throughout his 23-year reign. Numerous payments in the Sainte-Chapelle's accounts allude to messengers sent to Tours regarding official business with the king, and many

58 Fols. 11v-12r. 59 Cela sans plus, fols. 152v-153r. 60 F-Pn n.a.l. 1533, fol. 2v (21 May 1468). 61 F-Pn n.a.l. 1534, fols. 106v (5 September 1472) and 134v (8 January 1474). 62 BADC 8G1511 (3 October 1487), fol. 3v. 63 BADC 8G1511 (11 March, 18 March 1488), fols. 15r-16r. On Karolus de Launay in Italy see W. F. PRIZER, Courtly Pastimes: The Frottole of Marchetto Cara (Ann Arbor 1980), p. 6-7, 10, 12-13; and F. D'ACCONE, The Singers of San Giovanni in Florence during the 15th Century, in: JAMS 14 (1961), p. 344 and 350. 64 See the itineraire of Louis XI published in: VAESEN and CHARAVAY, Lettres 11, p. 60-62.




singers of the king's household chapel held benefices there.65 Tours was also a favorite city for recruiting choirboys and their masters. The previously discussed choirmaster, Jean Laloyer, dit Ambrois, came to Bourges in the 1460s from an identical position at the cathedral of Tours, where he must have known Antoine Busnois, who was active there by ca. 1460 at the latest.66

The likelihood of musical exchanges between the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges and churches in Tours has important implications for issues concerning the origins of the L'Homme armd tradition. The L'Homme arms tune seems to have held a special attraction for Basiron, who used it as the cantus firmus of his Mass and in the tenor of a four-voice bi-textual chanson, where it underpins Ockeghem's D'ung autre amer.67 Much has been written recently on the probable origins of the tradition at the court of Burgundy, its connection with the Order of the Golden Fleece, and the role of Antoine Busnois as its fountainhead, hypotheses which are undeniably tantalizing.68 Nevertheless it is curious and striking that so few Burgundian affiliates were among its earliest exponents. The only composer who can be

unequivocally associated with Burgundy around the time of the tradition's

presumed origins is Robert Morton.69 Arguments favoring Busnois's Mass as one of the earliest Masses in the tradition must implicitly acknowledge that it would have been composed nearly a decade before his formal attachment to the Burgundian court began,70 that is, while he was still in Tours. These factors seem paradoxically to contradict the hypothesis that the tradition originated in Burgundian court circles, and, moreover, suggest that it was thriving in the Loire Valley by the early 1460s.71 Such a possibility merits serious consideration not only because the Masses by Busnois and Ockeghem may well date from the years they were together in Tours, but also because those by Faugues and Basiron, as Taruskin has shown, exhibit

compelling intertextual relationships with that of Busnois. To the similarities

already mentioned by Taruskin I should like to add still another: the head-motive of Basiron's Mass is virtually identical to Busnois's.

No evidence of any kind links either Faugues or Basiron to the court of Burgundy;

65 Members of the French court chapel who also held benefices or prebends at the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges include

Jean Venot, Jean Vigier, Hugues Poulain, Jean Cousin, Michel Sauvage, Jean Beaufilz, Johannes Sohier alias Fede, and

Georges Robinet. 66 For evidence placing Busnois at St-Martin of Tours in 1465 see P. HIGGINS, In hydraulis Revisited: New Light on the Career of Antoine Busnois, in: JAMS 39 (1986), p. 70-76. The evidence of his presence at the cathedral of Tours ca.

1460 comes from an unpublished document discovered by Pamela Starr, cited in note 129 of the same article. 67 The piece is edited in Van Ockeghem tot Sweelinck, ed. A. Smijers (Amsterdam 1952), 1, p. 30-32. 68 See TARUSKIN, op. cit.; W. PRIZER, Music and Ceremonial in the Low Countries, in: Early Music History 5

(1985), p. 128-29; and communications by Barbara Haggh, David Fallows, Don Giller, and Richard Taruskin in: JAMS 40 (1987), p. 139-53. 69 In attempting to show that the L'Homme armd chanson is actually by Busnois, and not by Morton, Taruskin has

paradoxically eliminated the only composer affiliated with Burgundy around the time of the tradition's presumed

origins. 70 Evidence presented in HIGGINS, In hydraulis, p. 42-48, suggests that Busnois's formal attachment to the

Burgundian chapel did not go into effect until 1471, and that his earlier informal contacts with the court up until that

time could not have considerably antedated March 1467.

71 Building on an observation of B. Haggh (JAMS 40 [1987], p. 143), Taruskin has suggested that Busnois's Mass was

commissioned during the two weeks Charles the Bold spent in Tours in 1461 (ibid., p. 149). Reinhard Strohm has

dubbed this an 'emergency hypothesis' (ibid., p. 577).




the only documents known to date reveal their activities at the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges, whose strong ties to the French royal court have already been signalled. Although the correspondence of the anomalous number 31 in the Pythagorean floorplan of the Busnois Mass with the number of knights in the Order of the Golden Fleece is indeed striking,72 the possibility that the L'Homme armd tradition originated in French court circles in the Loire Valley ca. 1460 cannot be ruled out.73

IV

In light of his life-long affiliation with the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges, Philippe Basiron can in all likelihood be identified with Gaffurius's Philippon de Bourges. Moreover, several factors suggest that the Christian name 'Philippon' or 'Phelippon' might also refer to Philippe Basiron. First, of some three dozen references to his full name in the French documents, all but a handful read 'Phelippon' Basiron, or its abbreviation 'Ph(ilipp)on.' Second, at least one piece bears conflicting attributions to both Basiron and Philippon - the Missa da Franza.74 Third, the Ferrarese chansonnier Casanatense 2856, which opens with a work attributed to 'Phelippon, includes works by two other composers, who, like Basiron, had contact with the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges: Colinet de Lannoy and Jean Soupison. The 'Phelippon' of the Casanatense chansonnier is undoubtedly the one whose L'Homme armd Mass Duke Ercole I d'Este was so eager to obtain in 1484,75 and we know that Philippe Basiron wrote a L'Homme armd Mass. Finally, the spelling in the Casanatense MS - P-h-e-l-i-p-p-o-n - is the one most often found in the documents.

In addition to the circumstantial evidence, a striking bit of musical evidence further corroborates the notion that the Phelippon of I-Rc 2856 is in fact Philippe Basiron. Several writers have already argued convincingly for Basiron's authorship of Tant fort me tarde which opens the collection, noting its symbolic position in the manuscript and the textual allusions that could be construed as referring to the

72 The number 31 does correspond to the number of knights in the Order (although the original number was in fact 25), but it is vital to the argument to ascertain whether or not the number 31 was chosen by Busnois independent of any association with the Order, perhaps because of some deeper, well-known symbolism relevant to the mundus significans of the fifteenth century, but obscure to us today. In any case, it should be pointed out that the Burgundian court held no exclusive monopoly on the number 31. There are also 31 rules of courtly love spelled out in Andreas Capellanus's widely disseminated Art of Courtly Love, Book 3, Chapter 8, as well as 31 knightly vices or sins enumerated in Alvarez Pelayo's De planctu ecclesia, dating from the early fourteenth century (cf. PH. CONTAMINE, War in the Middle Ages [London 1984], p. 275-76), works likely to have been well-known to chivalric orders of the day. Moreover, several musical works predating the L'Homme armi tradition also incorporate the number 31 as an essential feature of their structure. And, for what it's worth, the Treasurer of the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges had 31 simple benefices at his collation. (GIRARDOT, La Sainte-Chapelle de Bourges, p. 217-18.) I am grateful to Michael Long for the Andreas Capellanus reference and for many long and fruitful discussions on the L'Homme armi topic. 73 For a lengthy discussion of the excessive influence of notions of 'Netherlandish' and 'Burgundian' on the historiography of fifteenth-century music, as well as an attempt to reconstruct the musical legacy of French royal court patronage, see HIGGINS, Antoine Busnois, Chapter 5: Music in the Loire Valley in the 1460s: Or, The Myth of the Burgundian-Netherlandish Schools, p. 213-308. 74 The Mass bears ascriptions to 'P. Basiron' in Petrucci's Missarum diversorum auctorum Liber primus (1509) and to 'Philippon' in Codex Specialnik, Hradec Kralov6 II.A.7. 75 See D. PLAMENAC, A Postscript to Vol. II of the Collected Works of Johannes Ockeghem, in: JAMS 3 (1950), p. 35. The Duke's letter, dated 24 March 1484, which was sent to his ambassador to the Florentine court, was first published in L. N. CITTADELLA's Notizie amministrative, storiche, artistiche relative a Ferrara 1 (Ferrara 1868), p. 716.




betrothal of Isabella d'Este and Francesco Gonzaga.76 The same piece also appears anonymously in the previously mentioned Laborde chansonnier which attributes three other pieces to 'P. Baziron.' The most distinctive feature of Tant fort, besides its hocket-like opening, outlining a triad on G, is its systematic use of canonic imitation between the two upper voices. (Music Example 1, p. 19.) Every phrase of this rondeau cinquain begins with several measures of strict canon at the octave. This

feature of Basiron's work, which links him with Faugues, appears to some degree in

all three chansons attributed to Basiron in the Laborde chansonnier; but the parallels between Tant fort and the chanson Je le sqay bien in particular are sufficiently

persuasive to warrant Tant fort's definitive attribution to Basiron. Measures 40-62

of Je le sqay bien include not only a passage of nearly strict canon at the octave

between the upper voices, but more importantly, also share the same delineation of a

triad, on F instead of G, with sustained note values alternating on and off the beats, instead of the rests in Tant fort. (Music Example 2, p. 20.) Moreover, the song texts

reveal intertextual similarities," being topically related, and sharing similar themes

and metaphorical language:

Tant fort me tarde ta venue Pour compter ma desconvenue Mon plus qu'ame que sur mon ame Je ne prens plaisir en nul ame Qui soit aujourd'ui soubz la nue.

De joye mon plaisir se desnue Si douleur t'est puis souvenue Mille fois le jour te reclame

Tant fort me tarde...

Or est ma sante certes nue Je ne sqay quel est devenue Desconfort m'assault que point m'ame Et me veult mectre soubz la lame Je suis mort s'il me continue.

Tant fort me tarde...

(Laborde chansonnier, fols. 34v-35r)

Je le sqay bien ce qui m'avint Dernier jour que vous vy madame J'ai tant de deul que par mon ame Je ne sqeuz que mon cueur devint.

De joye on puis ne me souvint Et n'ay pas tort par nostre dame

Je le sqay bien...

Oncques puis a moy ne revint Se ne l'avez dieu en ait l'ame Car il est mort soubz la lame Ii estoit bon des ans a vingt.

Je le sqay bien...

(Laborde chansonnier, fols. 16v-17r)

Although Tant fort is a rondeau cinquain and Je le s.ay bien a rondeau quatrain, both deal with the theme of anticipation and regret at the absence of a loved one, both use octosyllabic verse, and share the B rhyme -ame. The most striking intertextual connections between the two poems occur in the last two verses of each, with the phrases, "soubz la lame" and "je suis mort / il est mort." Similarly, the

passe simple forms of the two verbs savoir and devenir in line 4 of Je le sqay bien,

appear in line 10 of Tant fort in the present tense. Line 7 of Tant fort ("si douleur t'est

76 A. S. WOLFF, The Chansonnier Biblioteca Casanatense 2856 (Diss. No. Texas State Univ. 1971), 1, p. 102-03, note; L. LOCKWOOD, Music in Renaissance Ferrara (Cambridge 1984), p. 224-25; GORE, The Works of Philippe Basiron,

p. 108-09. 77 For a discussion of intertextuality in fifteenth-century poetry and music see HIGGINS, Antoine Busnois, p. 144-60.




Music Example 1

Tant fort me tarde, mm. 1-7, 11-19

Laborde Chansonnier, fols. 34v-35r (anon.) [Casanatense 2856, fols. 2v-3r: "Phelippon"]

5

Tant fort me tarde ta ve - nu -

15

e Pour comp - ter ma des - con-

Ve - lud




Music Example 2

Je le spay bien, mm. 40-62

Laborde Chansonnier, fols. 16v-17r: "P. Baziron"

40 45

Je ne sceuz que mon cueur

.or - L al l K

50 b so b

, .

de - vint, [ne sceuz- que mon cueur

55

de - vint, ne sceuz- que mon- cueur

de - -

vint.]




puis souvenue"), and line 5 of Je le spay bien ("de joye on puis ne me souvint") betray the same juxtaposition of identical verbs in different tenses, which is enhanced by the use of the antitheses 'joye' and 'douleur.'

V

Paradoxically, the resolution of the problem of three Philippons has created another: that of three Basirons, all working contemporaneously at the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges, and who were in all probability brothers. Pierre Basiron, though trained as a choirboy with Philippe, does not seem to have served as master of the choirboys and instead seems to fit the mold of the career ecclesiastic par excellence. In the same year that Philippe was appointed master of the choirboys (1469), Pierre was named prior of the convent of Notre-Dame de la Comtale in Bourges.78 He was sufficiently competent musically to be entrusted in 1498 with the correction of two new psalters before their illumination,79 and in 1517 he assumed the canonry previously held by the composer Antoine de Longueval. He died in 1529, outliving Philippon by 38 years.80 The first mention of Johannes Basiron's name appears towards the end of the register of chapter acts for 1475, where he is paid for substituting for the absent matricularius (sexton).81 A document of 1468 specifying that the master take into his charge the "brother of Philippe" and administer his necessities may well refer to Johannes Basiron, suggesting that he was Philippe's junior by about 10 years.82 (Doc. 26.) As we have seen, he was named to the vicariate left vacant by Philippe's death in 1491. (Doc. 21.) Temporarily deprived in 1495 of his distributions as chaplain after having been excommunicated for reasons unspecified, he was permitted to retrieve a portion of them on the condition that he give 100 sous to his mother,83 and died less than two weeks later.84

The case of Philippe Basiron, in providing a rare example of a late medieval composer's early years, could serve as a paradigm of the hypothetical career

78 F-Pn n.a.l. 1533, fol. 25v-26r (21 March 1469). He is described as "vicarium honestum juvenem Petrum Basiron clericum puerum chori," which suggests that he was still an adolescent at the time of the nomination. 79 BADC 8G1511, fol. 184r (21 August 1498). 80 BADC 8G1504, fol. 66r. Antoine de Longueval took possession of a canonicate previously held by Henry Bellestat on 5 March 1510. Pierre Basiron assumed Longueval's canonicate on 3 October 1517. For more on Antoine de Longueval see HIGGINS, Music and Musicians at the Sainte-Chapelle. 81 F-Pn n.a.l. 1534, fol. 151r (7 January 1475) and 158r (4 April 1475). 82 As far as I have been able to determine, there were no other Philippes active at this time in the Ste-Chapelle other than Basiron, thus enhancing the likelihood that "the brother of Philippe" refers to the brother of Philippe Basiron, who in turn must have been Johannes Basiron. There is no possibility that the document refers to Pierre Basiron since he had entered the maftrise with Philippe in 1458. 83 BADC 8G1511, fol. 121v (22 August 1495). Like his brother Philippe, Jean Basiron seems also to have been responsible for supporting his family. 84 A new chaplain for canon Estienne Fouchart was appointed on 5 September 1495 owing to "le trespas de feu Messire Jehan Basiron." (BADC 8G1511, fol. 122r.) A Johannes Basiron is mentioned in: S. VANNEO, Recanetum de musica aurea (1533) (Kassel 1969), fol. 93r, together with a later generation of composers including Willaert, Carpentras, Festa, and Lh6ritier. In earlier public presentations of this paper I had suggested that this referred to Johannes Basiron of the Ste-Chapelle of Bourges. Having since discovered that he died in 1495, this now seems somewhat unlikely. On the other hand, Johannes Basiron must have been close to ten years younger than Philippe and Pierre, although this would still not classify him among the musicians of the Willaert generation, who seem to have been born between 1470 and 1490.




trajectories of other composers for whom comparable documentary evidence is

lacking. Most were educated for a period of up to 10 years as choirboys in the

maFtrise of a collegiate church or cathedral in France and the Low Countries, studying Latin grammar and rhetoric, singing and plainchant, and improvised and written counterpoint. Those who demonstrated exceptional musical gifts had

probably been singled out as the most promising choirboy, or the spd as he was called at Notre-Dame of Paris, thus earning the special privileges of learning to play the organ and other keyboard instruments and of assisting the official magister with the training and instruction of the other boys. Soon thereafter, they themselves

sought positions as masters of the choirboys, in the same church, or, more often, in cities and towns where they could simultaneously pursue university studies. Some

subsequently chose to seek the patronage of a secular prince, and accumulated income from various ecclesiastical benefices at his or her discretion, while others

spent their careers as choirmasters in one or several ecclesiastical institutions.

Specific details vary of course from case to case, but the pattern outlined here was

probably typical of many composers. Whatever the individual variants on the

general theme, a striking number of fifteenth-century composers are known to have served as masters of the choirboys in the maftrises of France and the Low Countries: at Cambrai:s5 Nicholas Grenon, Jean Dussart, Guillaume Dufay; at Paris:s6 Antoine

Brumel; at Chartres:87 Gilles Mureau, Johannes Tinctoris; at Orleans:88 Tinctoris

(Ste-Croix), cloy d'Amerval (St-Aignan and Ste-Croix); at Bourges (the Ste-

Chapelle):s8 Jean Cesaris, Nicholas Grenon, Jean Cousin, Guillaume Faugues, Philippe Basiron; at Antwerp:90 Jean Pullois, Johannes Regis, Jacob Barbireau, Jacob Orbrecht; at Bruges (St-Donatien):91 Cornelius Heyns, Jean Boubert, Jacob Obrecht, and (St-Sauveur):92 Antoine Busnois.

The fact that so many late medieval composers seem to have been magistri puerorum raises a number of questions relevant to the social historical context of late medieval music: to what extent did the position contribute to the development of their compositional skills, increase their musical productivity, and inevitably influence creative decisions about the music they wrote, and how? Can specific musical works of individual composers be earmarked as having been composed during their tenure as maFtre des enfants, and does this in turn suggest a much

85 WRIGHT, Dufay at Cambrai, p. 195-97, 202, 206. Dufay actually held the office of master of the petits vicaires, the

individual responsible for the full singing forces of Cambrai cathedral, a task entrusted to the master of the choirboys in

smaller collegiate chapters. 86 WRIGHT, Antoine Brumel, p. 41-42. 87 On Mureau at Chartres see A. PIRRO, Gilles Mureau, chanoine de Chartres, in: Festschrift ffir Johannes Wolf zu

seinem sechzigsten Geburtstage, ed. W. Lott, H. Osthoff, and W. Wolffheim (Berlin 1929), p. 164. Although Tinctoris does not appear in the published records of the institution, he claims, in De usu et inventione musice, to have taught the

choirboys at Chartres at some earlier point in his career. See WOODLEY, Iohannes Tinctoris, p. 229-31. 88 On Tinctoris at Orl6ans see WOODLEY, Iohannes Tinctoris, p. 225-29. On cloy d'Amerval see M. BRENET, Un

poete-musicien franqais du XVe sidcle: ?loy d'Amerval, in: Revue d'histoire et de critique musicales 1 (1901), p. 46-53, as

well as the new documentation on d'Amerval discussed in HIGGINS, Antoine Busnois, p. 262-69. 89 HIGGINS, Music and Musicians at the Sainte-Chapelle. 90 On Barbireau and Obrecht see FORNEY, Music, Ritual, and Patronage, p. 33-44.

9' STROHM, Music in Late Medieval Bruges, p. 25 and 38-41. 92 STROHM, p. 55.




greater participation of choirboys in the performance of polyphonic music than has been hitherto imagined? If so, what are the implications of this for performance practices of late medieval repertories? All of these are questions that merit further exploration. Suffice it to say for now that, given the statistics, a number of the composers remaining to be identified in the sacred and secular musical sources of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries may well turn out to have been masters of the boys in as yet unexplored maftrises.

In conclusion, the records of the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges portray Philippe Basiron as the preeminent musical figure in an ecclesiastical establishment which, despite its previous obscurity, must now be counted among the most distinguished musical centers of the fifteenth century. Further study of ecclesiastical institutions, not only in France, but throughout western Europe, may eventually enable us to illuminate the careers of other 'very notable' composers, the centers of musical activity in which they flourished, and their roles in the operation of the intricate networks of late medieval musical culture.

Appendix I: Documents

1. [1458-59] A Messire Jehan Gaudier, alias Doucet, chappellin dicelle chapelle, pour le nourissement et instruction de Philippon et Pierron, enffans de cuer dicelle chappelle depuis les premiers XV jours d'octobre jusques au derrenier jour de mars ensuivant l'an de ce present compte. La somme de XVIII livres VI sols VIII deniers tournois comme appert par le mandement de mesdiz seigneurs. (BADC 8 G 1648, fol. 113v.)

2. [1458-59] Item baillk '

Poncelet, barbier, pour avoir visite et guary Philippon l'ung des enffans de cuer dicelle chapelle d'une maladie estant en sa jambe dudit Philippon, ung escu d'or, [qui vaut] pour ce icy XXVII S. VI D. T. (BADC 8 G 1648, fol. 122v.) 3. [1462-63] Item a este baillk par le commandement de messeigneurs

' Phillebert Guerin, barbier, la somme de V sols tournois pour ses peynes et sallaire d'avoir visite et appareill6 Philippon, I'ung des enffens de cueur de ladicte chapelle, d'une maladie surmenne audit Philippon a l'occasion d'une pointure d'espine. Pour ce, V S.T. (BADC 8 G 1649, fol. 145v.) 4. [1462-63] Item a este baillk par le commandement et ordonnance de mesdiz seigneurs XL sols tournois pour I'achapt d'ung manicordium pour Philippon Barizon, l'ung des enffens de cueur de ladicte chapelle. (BADC 8 G 1649, fol. 148r.)

5. [January 1461] Ipsa die memorati domini capitulantes dederunt pannus ecclesie nepoti domini Hugonis Polin et eum admiserunt in puerum jamdicte ecclesie casu quo dictus puer habeat bonam vocem tempore futuro et erit utilis pro dicta ecclesia sive capella. (BADC 8 G 1509, fol. 62v.)

6. [1470-71] A Loys Petit, jadiz enfant de cuer, auquel messeigneurs ont donna pour I'amour de dieu pour s'en aler pour cause qu'i[1] n'avoit point de voix, II escus. (BADC 8 G 1653, fol. 151r.)

7. Eadem die [16 January 1470] prefati domini capitulantes ordinaverunt quod eorum receptor tradat et deliberet Johanni Soupison nuper clerico chori dicte sacre cappelle qui propter suam




insufficienciam seu impericiam fuit per dominum thesaurarium et capitulum ab eadem sacra cappella privatus, sex scuta auri pro faciendo expensas suas et solvendo et supportando alia sua neccessaria. (F-Pn n.a.l. 1534, fol. 48r.)

8. Eadem die [Saturday after Ascension, May 1464] memorati domini capitulantes destitue- runt dominum Petrum Lamberti presbyterum magistrum puerorum dicte sacre capelle ab officio magistratus dictorum puerorum ad quorum regimen iidem domini capitulantes commisserunt Anthonio Pastoris ordinantes quod Philipus alter jam dictorum puerorum instruet et docebit alios pueros in cantu sive arte musice. (BADC 8 G 1510, fol. 18r.)

9. Ipsa die [1 April 1466] concluserunt quod solvatur domino Johanni Vigier de XX libris turonensibus quas petit de et pro duobus mensis racione puerorum chori quos tenet summa quindecim librarum turonensium et Philippo Barizon C solidos turonenses. (BADC 8 G 1510, fol. 44r.)

10. [1467-68] A Phelippon Bazison, vicaire de ladicte Saincte Chapelle auquel messeigneurs ont donne pour avoir une chape IIII L. T. (BADC 8 G 1650, fol. 101r.)

11. Eadem die [4 February 1469] prefati domini capitulantes denuo tradiderunt regimen puerorum chori dicte cappelle Philipo Bazison amoto Johanne Laloyer quem eciam amoverunt et denunciaverunt amotum, certis de causis ad hoc animum suum moventibus inhibuerunt

quod domino Dionysio le Duc eorum receptori ne habeat eidem Laloyer tradere nec expedire aliquas pecunias pro et occasione regiminis dictorum puerorum sub pena recuperendi ab eo id

quod tradiderit. (F-Pn n.a.l. 1533, fol. 21v; F-Pn n.a.l. 1534, fol. 20r.)

12. [1468-69] A Phelippon Basizon auquel a este paye et baillk par le commandement de

messeigneurs la somme de LXXV sols tournois qu'il avoit despenduz pour avoir [este] envoyd a Paris devers monseigneur le tresorier pour estre maistre des enffens de cuer de ladicte

chapelle. (BADC 8 G 1651, fol. 92r.)

13. [21 January 1469] Eadem die Philipus Basizon requisivit ut sibi juvaretur videlicet quod traderentur sibi pueri ecclesie prout alias fuerat sibi promissum, quoniam pro servicio ecclesie renuerat et reffutaverat servicium domini cardinalis Andegavensis, domini archiepiscopi Bituricensis, et aliorum quam plurimorum dominorum qui sibi promiserant facere quam plurima bona, habebatque magnum onus de matre fratribus et parentis suorum quare nisi ei breviter provideretur non posset supportare dicta onera; conclusum fuit per dictos dominos

capitulantes, excepto Magistro Martino Bonin, quod sibi tradentur pueri dicte ecclesie et quod denuncietur alteri quod infra mensem presentem faciat provisiones et sibi provideat; et die lune VIa mensis februarii in capitulo generali celebrato post festum beati Juliani anno quo supra dictus magister Martinus Bonin consentiit huiusmodi conclusioni et dictam conclusio- nem approbavit. [In the margin: Radiatur de consensu dictorum dominorum presente domino

thesaurario.] (F-Pn n.a.l. 1534, fol. 18v.)1

14. [14 January 1469] Eadem die super requesta per Johannem Laloyer magistrum puerorum dicte sacre cappelle facta dicens quod ad sui noticiam devenerat quod dicti domini volebant eum a regimine puerorum predictorum amovere, dicens nullam causam fecisse propter quam amoveri deberet, quare casu quo ad hoc procedere vellent se opponebat et se opposuit in

capitulo necnon in manu dicti Martini Bonini tamquam vicarii generalis domini thesaurarii,

petens se ad oppositionem admicti, qua requesta per dominum vicarium audita eidem Laloyer dixit quod non habebat intencionem ad hoc procedendi nisi dictus magister feceret peius quam fecit, quoniam nullam sciebat causam in eo idcirco eum admisit ad oppositionem; dicti

1 I wish to thank Mile Marie-Heldne Tesnibre, of the Bibliothbque Nationale, for her suggestions as to the interpretation of documents 13 and 14.




vero domini capitulantes concluserunt quod eum non amoverent nisi contingeret eumdem Laloyer aliquid facere2 quod non esset fiendum. (F-Pn n.a.l. 1533, fol. 18v.)

15. [1407-1408] Autre despense pour le mesnage desdiz enffans ... Item pour six tabletes3 pour faire le contrepoint desdiz enffans, V S. T. (BADC 8 G 1634, fol. 48r.)

16. [1469-70] A Jehan Lermite, pelletier, auquel a este paye la somme de C S. T. par le commandement de messeigneurs pour une pane toute neufve d'aignaulx noirs baillke au maistre des enffens nomme Phelippon Basiron pour son sallaire d'avoir joue des orgues. (BADC 8 G 1652, fol. 92v.)

17. [1407-08] A Jehan Arnault, clerc de monseigneur le tresorier, pour l'achapt d'un livre de motez et de Patrens [sic] qui fut Foliot, a luy paid par le commandement de monseigneur le tresorier XLV S. T. et livre ledit livre audit Cesaris pour lesdiz enffans. (BADC 8 G 1634, fol. 58r.)

18. Eadem die [18 June 1471] prefati domini capitulantes responderunt et responsum fecerunt Philippo Basiron de et super litteris regiis superius insertis in hunc qui sequitur modum[:] A la requeste de Phelipon Basiron par laquelle demande collacion luy estre faicte par le chappitre de ceans au moyen des lettres par luy presenties audit chappitre de la prebende du chasteau4 que tient et posside il a trois ans ou environ Messire Denis le Duc prebtre. Respond ledit chappitre que voulentiers s'il povoit et devoit, feroit ladite collacion ainsi que le Roy le mande. Maiz pour plusieurs causes et trois principalles ne peut ne doit sans encorir les peines cy apres declairees. La premiere cause car selon raison touteffoiz qu'il appert aucun estre possesseur d'un benefice sine cum justo titullo sive collocato. On ne puit faire collacion dudit benefice sans appeller et oyr ledit possesseur. Et ainsi le portent lesdites lettres dudit Basiron en ce qu'il est contenu en icelles. Mandantes quatenus casu predicto etc. Qui n'est autre chose que evocacion de partie. Or est ledit le Duc possesseur de ladite prebende; et ainsi la confesse ledit Basiron. Par quoy s'ensuit que de ladite prebende ledit chappitre ne peut ne doit faire collacion comme premierement ne soit appelle ledit le Duc et oy. La seconde car le privillege sur lequel sont causees lesdites lettres dudit Basiron jamais ne sortit effect. (F-Pn n.a.l. 1534, fol. 79r.)

19. Eadem die [5 July 1471] dominus locumtenens videlicet Magister Johannes de Fleur pro virtute dictarum litterarum regiarum praecepit eisdem dominis capitulantibus quatenus collacionem canonicatus et prebende ecclesie de castro quos nuper et ultimo obtinere solebat dominus Stephanus le Gendre Philippo Basiron facerent alias ipse dominus locumtenens temporalem capituli saisiret et poneret in manu regia secundum tenorem litterarum regiarum cuiquid domino locumtenenti prefati domini capitulantes ...' (F-Pn n.a.l. 1534, fol. 80v.)

20. [undated: ca. May 1489-May 1491]6 Maistre Phelippe Basiron de sa maison et jardin qui tient a cause de sa vicairie fond&e en ladicte esglise de St-Pierre-le-Guillard A l'autel de Nostre Dame tenant d'une part derriere au jardin dudit Maistre Loys David d'autre part a la maison Messire Loys [Allabat] qui est de la vicairie de St-Nicollas fondee A l'autel de St-Nicolas en ladicte esglise de St-Pierre-le-Guillard et d'autre part a la maison dudit Maistre Estienne d'Orsanville et doit cens non accordables. (BADC 8 G 1566 [Terrier Denis le Duc ou Livre vert], fol. 61r.)

2 F-Pn n.a.l. 1533 gives 'faceret;' improved reading 'facere' from another copy of the document in F-Pn n.a.l. 1534, fol. 16v.

The word 'tables' has been crossed out and replaced with 'tabletes.' 4 Saint-Austr6g6sile-du-Chateau, commonly known as St-Ofitrille-du-Chateau. (See Figure 1.)

s Document ends here, followed by an empty folio which signifies that the chapter did not wish to record its response

publicly. 6 The register can be dated on the basis of allusions to canon Henry Bellestat (who was received as canon on 16 May 1489) and to Philippe Basiron (who died before 31 May 1491) in the present tense.




21. Hac die [8 June 1491] Magister Johannes Barizon capellanus huius cappelle existens in commixtura plurimam capellanorum et vicariorum dicte capelle honorabili viro Magistro Johanni Vesse in legibus licenciato presentavit dominis canonicis et capitulo ibidem existentibus quasdem litteras presentationis domini nostri francorum Regis de data die ultime mensis maii ultime fluxi per quas idem dominus noster rex presentat eisdem dominis dictum Barizon ad vicariam perpetuam fundatam in ecclesia parrochiali sancti Petri Guillardi Bituricensis ad altare Beatae Marie Virginis quam nuper obtinere solebat deffunctus magister Philippus Barizon clericus dicte capelle; et hoc ob deffectum debite provisionis eis requirens quatenus virtute ipsarum litterarum vellent sibi dare et conferre collationem dicte vicarie secundum tenorem dictarum litterarum ... (BADC 8 G 1511, fol. 54r-v.)

22. [1462-63] A Messire Pierre Lambert pour le nourissement et instruction desdiz enffans lesquelz il a nourriz et instruis durant l'an de ce present compte pour lequel nourrissement et instruction il a eu par marche fait entre mesdizseigneurs et luy la somme de VIxx L. T. [In the margin: Docuit per quictantiam de IIIIxxX libris signatam Lambert et per unam quictantiam de XXX libris signatam Faugues.] (BADC 8 G 1649, fol. 117v.)

23. Eadem die [16 July 1471] conclusum fuit quod dominus Faugues presbiter presentabitur ex parte capituli domino thesaurario seu eius vicario ut recipiatur et admictatur ad

cappellanum seu in cappellaniam sacre cappelle loco deffuncti domini Johannis Ploton. (F-Pn n.a.l. 1534, fol. 81r.)

24. [1472-73] Aux chappellains et vicaires ausqueulx messeigneurs ont donne XXX sols tournois pour festoyer certains chappellains chantres nouvellement venuz a Bourges; pour ce icy XXX S. T. (BADC 8 G 1654, fol. 112r.)

25. [1462-63] Autre despence faicte pour envoyer du vin a plusieurs seigneurs venuz a Bourges ceste presente ann6e ... le VIe jour de novembre, a Monseigneur le thesaurier de Saint-Martin de Tours, pour vin a luy envoyd de par mesdiz seigneurs, IIII S. T. (BADC 8 G 1649, fol. 123v.)

26. [3 September 1468] Item fuit conclusum quod dictus magister puerorum recipiet in domo sua fratrem Philippi [blank space in original] et sibi ministrabit neccessaria sua sicuti aliis

pueris. (F-Pn n.a.l. 1533, fol. 11v.)

Appendix II: Summary of Documents Concerning Philippe Basiron, 1458-1491

1458-59 (ca. 15 October 1458 - 31 March 1459) Messire Jehan Gaudier, alias Doucet, paid for feeding and instruction of Philippon and Pierron, choirboys of the

Sainte-Chapelle. (BADC 8 G 1648, fol. 113v.) (see Document 1)

(1458-59) Doctor paid for treating and curing Philippon, one of the

choirboys, of an infection he had in his leg. (BADC 8 G 1648, fol. 122v.) (see Document 2)

1462-63 Philippon, one of the choirboys, visited and treated by a doctor for a debilitating illness [tetanus?] occasioned by a thorn prick. (BADC 8 G 1649, fol. 145v.) (see Document 3)

Chapter purchases a manicordium for "Philippon Barizon, one of the choirboys of the Sainte-Chapelle." (BADC 8 G 1649, fol. 148r.) (see Document 4)




1464 (May) Chapter appoints new master of the choirboys and orders that "Philippe, one of the choirboys, instruct the other boys in singing and in the art of music." (BADC 8 G 1510, fol. 18r.) (see Document 8)

1465-66 (1 April) Receives part of salary of master of the choirboys. (BADC 8 G 1510, fol. 44r.) (see Document 9)

1467-68 Receives allocation of bread and wine. (BADC 8 G 1650, fols. 18v and 36r.)

Payment to "Phelippon Bazison, vicar of the Sainte-Chapelle," for a chape (a ceremonial robe). (BADC 8 G 1650, fol. 101r.) (see Document 10)

Listed among vicars. (BADC 8 G 1650, fols. 79r-80v.)

1468-69 Receives allocation of bread. (BADC 8 G 1651, fol. 18v.)

Listed among vicars. (BADC 8 G 1651, fols. 79r-80r.)

Salary paid to "Jehan Laloyer and Phelippon Basizon, masters of the choirboys." (BADC 8 G 1651, fol. 81r.)

(21 January) Reminds canons of their promise to appoint him master of the choirboys. (F-Pn n.a.l. 1534, fol. 18v.) (see Document 13)

(4 February) Appointed master of the choirboys in place of Jehan Laloyer. (F-Pn n.a.l. 1533, fol. 21v.) (see Document 11)

Paid for having gone to Paris to see the Treasurer of the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges about becoming master of the choirboys. (BADC 8 G 1651, fol. 92r.) (see Document 12)

1469-70 Receives allocation of bread and wine. (BADC 8 G 1652, fols. 17v and 35r.)


Receives salary for having played the organ. (BADC 8 G 1652, fol. 92v.) (see Document 16)

Receives salary as master of the choirboys. (BADC 8 G 1652, fol. 88v.)

Paid for feeding of Jehan de Nevers, one of the choirboys. (BADC 8 G 1652, fol. 88v.)

1470-71 Receives allocation of bread and wine. (BADC 8 G 1653, fols. 29r and 57r.) Listed among vicars. (BADC 8 G 1653, fols. 125v-127r.)

Receives salary as master of choirboys. (BADC 8 G 1653, fol. 128r.) Paid for feeding of a choirboy. (BADC 8 G 1653, fol. 28r.)

(7 June 1471) Letter of supplication requesting benefice at St-Ofitrille-du- Chateau describes him as "a student in canon law at the University of Bourges ..." (Archivio Segreto Vaticano, Reg. suppl. 668, fol. 104v.)

(14 June 1471) Brevet of Louis XI to the chapter of the Sainte-Chapelle of Bourges supporting the petition of "dilecti nostri Philippi Basiron" for the canonry and prebend at St-Ofitrille. (F-Pn n.a.1. 1534, fol. 78r-v.)

(18 June 1471) Chapter of the Sainte-Chapelle deliberates issue of Basiron's canonry. (F-Pn n.a.1. 1534, fol. 79r.) (see Document 18)

(5 July 1471) Chapter of the Sainte-Chapelle ordered to give Basiron the canonry and prebend at St-Ofitrille or risk a saisine du temrnporel, a




confiscation by the king of the material assets of the Chapel. (F-Pn n.a.1. 1534, fol. 80v.) (see Document 19)

1472-73 Receives allocation of bread and wine. (BADC 8 G 1654, fols. 19r and 37v.)


Receives salary as master of the choirboys. (BADC 8 G 1654, fol. 97v.)

1488-91 Holds vicariate of Notre-Dame in the church of St-Pierre-le-Guillard in

Bourges (a benefice at the collation of the Treasurer of the Sainte-Chapelle), which provided him with a house and garden on the rue des Arenes. (BADC 8 G 1566, fol. 61r.) (see Document 20)

1491 (31 May) Date of royal letters cited in minutes of chapter meeting of 8 June 1491 recommending Johannes Barizon, chaplain of the Sainte-Chapelle, to the vicariate of Notre-Dame at St-Pierre-le-Guillard, formerly held by "deffunctus magister Philippus Barizon, clericus dicte capelle." (BADC 8 G 1511, fol. 54r-v.) (see Document 21)

