The repertory of the Cypriot manuscript developed at the court of Cyprus as various court poets contributed poems that were borrowed and used in musical compositions. These works draw from a good deal of the same literature for their references, and consistently refer to characters from Greek mythology such as Jason, Medea, Pygmalion, and Oedipus. Contrary to earlier scholarship, some similarities between this repertory and music of the west do exist. Strong textual and formal similarities exist between the anonymous motet Toustans que mon esprit mire and Machaut's Lay de Notre Dame. Both focus especially on simultaneous appearances of sustained notes. Incessanter expectari/Virtutis ineffabilis also bears a strong textual connection with Vitry's Impudenter circuivi. This repertory does in fact bear connections with western music.

Works: Motet: Toustans que mon esprit mire (96-97), Incessanter expectari/Virtutis ineffabilis (98-99).

Sources: Machaut: Lay de Notre Dame (96); Vitry: Impudenter circuivi (98-99).

Index Classifications: 1300s

Contributed by: Rebecca Dowsley