Renaissance humanism and John Merbecke's - The booke of Common praier noted (1550)

TL;DRAbstract

Renaissance humanism was an intellectual technique which contributed most to the origin and development of the Reformation. While the relation of Renaissance humanism and the Reformation is of considerable interest in the realms of history and theology, it has seldom been examined from a musicological perspective. This study aims to fill that gap by elucidating the way humanist musical thought influenced Reformation attitudes to music, with particular reference to the sixteenth-century reform of plainchant. The focus of the study is on the musical manifestation of the English Reformation, The booke of Common praier noted (BCPN, 1550) by John Merbecke (c.1505 - C.1585). Drawing upon issues of the interpretation of Renaissance humanism and its relation to the Reformation, the thesis challenges existing understandings of Merbecke and his music. Chapter one is a biographical study to re-appraise Merbecke's careers and outlooks in the light of Renaissance humanism, especially of Erasmian li

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