Music and Warfare

As wars were fought in 13th and 15th century Europe people were affected, some of the affected people were composers who used the experiences from seeing, fighting, or hearing about the wars to make their art. Music can be seen changing as wars are fought, some changes are small, but others are huge. [1] Some of the changes that can be seen, or better said heard, is the key, the lyrics, and the timbre of a piece.

A good example of a change in music are the pieces Sumer Is Icumen In and Perspice Christicola. [2]

In the piece above, the listener can hear a happier, major key piece. This piece was written about Summer approaching and the life it brings. [3]

______________________Modern English Translation___________________

Summer has arrived,
Sing loudly, cuckoo!
The seed is growing
And the meadow is blooming,
And the wood is coming into leaf now,
Sing, cuckoo!

The ewe is bleating after her lamb,
The cow is lowing after her calf;
The bullock is prancing,
The billy-goat farting,
Sing merrily, cuckoo!

Cuckoo, cuckoo,
You sing well, cuckoo,
Never stop now.

Sing, cuckoo, now; sing, cuckoo;
Sing, cuckoo; sing, cuckoo, now! [4]

For this piece, the lyrics and translation are below from Latin to English. This allows you, the listener, to read and hear the difference of the lyrics compared to Sumer Is Icumen In. This piece was created to add a modern aspect to the church. Many times, a church would use a famous piece and rewrite the lyrics to fit into a holy setting. These changes allowed passersby to hear and recognize a song in the hopes that the person would be intrigued enough to go into the church. It was a “holy lure” of sorts.

The changes with the lyrics were something major that not many people would tend to think about. Adding these Christianized lyrics showed the changes that were happening within Britain. A larger focus on the Catholic church was growing, and the church began reaching out to grow its congregation, not just expecting people to come to the church’s masses.

The social history of Perspice Christicola revolved around the growth of the Catholic Church at the time. It had the same tempo and rhythms and was in the same key as Sumer Is Icumen In The only change to the piece was the lyrics. The piece was now based on the Crucifixion of Jesus on the cross.

The Catholic church grew after the Eastern Roman Empire was beginning its downfall and the Ottoman Empire began growing. Most of Catholic Christianity at the time was grown by anti-Judaism. [5] A hate for one group can unite another.

What does this have to do with warfare you might ask? Well, here’s your answer:

As wars are fought, battles are won and lost, and time progresses, changes occur. Changes not just to the men and women who fought in the war, but also the world they come back to. Laws are created and destroyed based upon wars. An easy example to think about is the Civil War. As the war was ragging on the people were battling over “yes, we must defend the institution of slavery,” and “no, this is a free land, men cannot be enslaved.” (A very shortened version of the Civil War) In the end, new laws had to be created to prevent slavery from continuing. The United States changed drastically from this, and it can be seen all over the world.

Laws that changed England during the 14th century were the laws created against serfdom.[6] The peasants who survived during the Black Death began to rise up and grew in economic power. This caused riots, battles, and never any battles large enough to be called wars, but that is probably because 1/3 of the population was dead.

To gain control again, the government began creating new laws that didn’t wholly rid England of serfdom, but over time laws were added and people were removed from the bondage of servitude. By 1485 only 1% of the population was still a serf. [7] Freedom for a serf meant time to master something. They could now master art, music, blacksmithing, or even grow their own farm once free from the bondage of ownership.

As one can see, wars change and music changes with it. The Catholic church showed itself reaching out to more people in the 15th century, and those who were released from their ties as serfs began writing their own folk music. Not many pieces remain from the folk tunes because they wouldn’t be written down, simply remembered and passed on to the next generation.

People fight in wars, wars change laws, laws change people, and people make music. It’s a cycle that continues even today since the creation of music.

Sources

[1] Mackerness, E. D. “A Social History of English Music,” 13–43. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1964.

[2] V, Henry, and John Dunstable. THE OLD HALL MANUSCRIPT. “Polyphonic mass settings and motets, compiled and written (with a “second layer” of near-contemporary additions probably for the Chapel Royal) in the reign of Henry V; England;” circa 1415–1421 . Latin. 1421 1415. 2000x3007. http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/external/oldhall.jpg.

[3] Wycombe, W. de. “Sumer is Icumen in.” Online encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 1261. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumer_Is_Icumen_In.

[4] Millett, Bella. “WPWT.” Sumer is icumen in, May 29, 2003. http://www.southampton.ac.uk/~wpwt/harl978/sumertrs.htm.

[5] Needham, Nicholas “The 13th Century” The Reign of Pope Innocent III, September 1, 2013. Https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/13th-century/

[6] Abram, A. “History of English Land Law,” March 23, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_English_land_law#Political_reform.

[7] Cheyney, Edward P. “The Disappearance of English Serfdom” 15, no. 57 (1900): 20–37. http://www.jstor.org/stable/548409.