Dance music from the medieval era is hardly thick on the ground; a complete accounting of such works only adds up to about 70 to 80 pieces, most crammed into the odd margins of manuscript sources otherwise devoted to sacred or court music. One medieval source that forms an exception to the rule is Le Manuscrit du Roi, shelfmark fonds français 844 in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris and also known as the Chansonnier du Roi. On folios 103-104 are found eight "Estampie Real" (i.e., royal); another estampie and two ...
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Dance music from the medieval era is hardly thick on the ground; a complete accounting of such works only adds up to about 70 to 80 pieces, most crammed into the odd margins of manuscript sources otherwise devoted to sacred or court music. One medieval source that forms an exception to the rule is Le Manuscrit du Roi, shelfmark fonds français 844 in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris and also known as the Chansonnier du Roi. On folios 103-104 are found eight "Estampie Real" (i.e., royal); another estampie and two additional dances are located elsewhere in the volume. At one time, it was believed this manuscript volume belonged to Charles of Anjou, however its name probably stems from the fact that it contains a large concentration of chansons composed by King Thibault IV. The section containing the estampie is later than the rest of the volume, dating from around 1300, therefore well after Charles of Anjou perished during his final campaign in Sicily in 1285. It is not known which royal house once...
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