TEXTS ON MUSIC IN ENGLISH
School of Music
University of Nebraska--Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68588-0100
(phone: [402] 472-2507; Internet: plefferts1@unl.edu)

Data entry: Peter M. Lefferts
Checked by: Peter Slemon
Approved by: Peter M. Lefferts

Fn and Ft: HIGPOANO_TEXT
Author: Higden, Ranulph
Title: Musical Portions of Ranulph Higden's Polychronicon (1357), in an anonymous 15th-century translation in London, �British Library, Harley 2261
Source: Ranulf Higden, Polychronicon Ranulph Higden Monachi Cestrensis: Together with the English Translations of John Trevisa and of an Unknown Writer of the Fifteenth Century, 9 vols., ed. Churchill Babington and Joseph Rawson Lumby, Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores, vol. 41 (London: Longman, 1869-71), 2:229, 375, 377 and 3:203, 205, 207, 209, 211.
Graphics: HIGPOANO 01GF

[-2:229-] [from Book 2, chapter 5] Petrus, capitulo vicesimo septimo. Tubalcaym founde firste the arte of smythes and gravenge, whiche laborenge at the foerge, Tubal hauenge delectacion in the sownde of the malles founde proporciones and consonance of the wei3htes of theyme; that is to say, Tubal was an exciter of consonances but not the fynder of instrumentes musicalle, for thei were founde by a longe season after that tyme. Ranulphus. But discrete men say, thau3he Tubal exercisede firste musike to alleuiate the tediosenes pastoralle, neuerthelesse he was not the firste fynder of the reason of consonance by wei3htes, but rather Pitagoras, of whom hit schalle be schewede in the thrydde booke.

[from Book 2, Chapter 11] [-2:375-] Petrus. The latere Apollo, son of Latona, after the wrytenge of men of Grewe, founde the arte of medicines, and made an harpe, in the tyme of Aioth. Ranulphus. And, after Isidorus, Ethymologiarum, libro tertio, that man [-2:377-] Mercurius did adde to the harpe vij. cordes, in the tyme of Gedeon, and streynede theim in to a sownde in this maner folowenge. When that grete floode callede of Nilus after the flooenge of hit returnede ageyne, levenge diuerse bestes in the feldes, a schelle fische was lefte also, whiche putrefiede, the senowes of hit were extente within the couerenge of that fische, whiche 3afe a lytelle sownde; Mercurius perceyvenge that, made an harpe vn to the similitude of hit, and toke hit to Orpheus the nowble harper. Petrus. The seide Mercurius founde in that tyme siringas, whiche be musicalle instrumentes made of pipes other reedes, whiche name was taken of Siringa, wife to Cadmus, whiche departede from here howsebonde for the luffe of armony. But hit is not hade in certitude what Mercury this was, wheder hit was Hermes, other Trimegistus the philosopher, other elles grete Mercurius. For Iosephus rehersethe that there were thre nowble men callede by that name Mercurius. Isidorus, Ethymologiarum, libro quinto, et [2:379-] Petrus. A instrumente callede chorus, other a chore, was founde in Grece, of fewe cordes and strynges, whiche is callede nowe a crowthe or a crowde.

[from Book 3, Chapter 11] [-3:203-] Isidorus, libro secundo, capitulo vicesimo quarto. Thau3he Tubal, off the kynde of Cayn, afore the grete floode of Noe, be redde to haue be the firste fynder of musike, that is to say, the firste mover of consonancy, neuerthelesse Grekes reherse Pictagoras to haue beene the firste fynder of musike, thro the sownde of malles and extension of wyres other strynges. Macrobius, libro secundo. As Pictagoras wente in a season in the hie weye, he herde smy3htes strykenge [-3:205-] yrne ybrente with homers, corespondente in a certeyne ordre and proporcion of consonancy in whom the scharpenes was consonaunte to the gretenesse. Then Pictagoras causede the smythes to chaunge theire homers, but the same conformite of the sownde remaynede stille. Whiche, takenge the measure of euery homer, causede theyme to make gretter homers, chaungenge that wei3hte in to wires and in to strynges of the bowelles of bestes, and of the senowes of theyme, whiche, streynenge the strynges, founde the same consonancy in theyme whiche he founde afore in the homers. And after that he laborede to knowe the nowmbres and acordes, and so he profite moche to the fyndenge of musike. Ranulphus. Tullius rehersethe of Pictagoras, de Tusculanis Quaestionibus, libro quarto, that his disciples cowthe reduce theire myndes from wickede thou3htes thro musike and songe. Augustinus in Epistola quinta, contra Julianum. When [-3:207-] yonge men, ouercommen with wyne and drunke, wolde breke the durres of chaste women, Pictagoras wolde commaunde men to synge slawely, that the hasty luste and brennenge scholde passe aweye thro that slawe syngenge. Seneca, libro tertio, de ira. Pictagoras constreynede and removede perturbaciones of the sawle with an harpe. Ranulphus. Discrete men reherse that Pictagoras goenge in a tyme by the places of smythes herde a swete sownde and consonante thro the ofte strykenges of the homers. Wherefore he takenge the measure and wei3htes of the homers, founde oon of theyme to weye that other twies, and that other to weie alle that other and the halfe parte moore, and that other homer to weie alle the other and the thrydde parte moore. As the thrydde homer [-3:209-] of viij wei3htes and the fourthe of ix. wei3htes, as this figure presente schewethe: [Higden, Polychronicon, 209; text: vi, viii, ix, xii, sesquitercia. sesquioctava. sesqualtera. dupla proporti.] [HIGPOANO 01GF]

These cordes yfounde, Pictagoras 3ave names to theyme, callenge hit in sowndes diapason, whiche is callede in nowmbres dupla proporcio, other a dowble proporcion. And that corde in nowmbres called sequaltera is diapente in sowndes. And that corde whiche is callede sequitercia proportio in nowmbres is made diatesseron in sowndes. And that [-3:211-] acorde which is in nowmbre a proporcion callede quadrupla, is in musike bis diapason, twies diapason. As hit may be schewed in the monocorde, when the wire extendede on a holowe body is distreynede diametrally by an instrumente restreynenge the wyre to a certeyne acorde callede magada, whiche is in to ij. egalle thynges, then diapason resultethe on either parte of the wire. And if the wire be distreynede in to thre equalites, and the seide instrumente be putte under the oon extremalle diuision other departenge, the longer parte of the wyre ytowchede yeldethe diapente. And if the corde other wire be distreynede in to iiij. equalites, and that instrumente magada be putte under the oon extremalle diuision, the longer parte of the wire ytowchede yeldethe diatesseron. And if the wire be distreynede in to ix. partes, and that instrumente magada putte under hit in the oon extremalle diuision, the longer parte of the wire ytowchede yeldethe tonus, for ix. to viij. yeldeth a proportion sequioctaua, as hit schalle be schewede clerely in this presente figure. [Higden, Polychronicon, 211] [HIGPOANO 01GF]