Magnus Williamson, The Eton Choirbook: Its Institutional and Historical Background (DPhil, Oxford, 1997)

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Abstract

The Eton Choirbook (Eton College Library, MS 178) is one of the most important English musical codies surviving from the century before the Reformation. Its significance derives from its size and quality; from its value as a source of unica; and from its unbroken association with its host institution, one of the foremost royal foundations of the late Middle Ages. The aims of this thesis were to examine in detail the circumstances in which it was made; to establish the reasons for its compilation, when and how it was made, and the most likely sponsors; to consider its role within the devotional life of the college, to determine the reasons for its survival and for its present physical state; and to profile the careers and interests (as far as could be traced) of those who used it.

Table of Contents

  • Abbreviations5
  • Introduction7
  • Acknowledgements21
  • 1. History and Historiography23
    • 1.1 Henry VI as king and founder23
    • 1.2 Eton within the tradition of royal foundations28
    • 1.3 Revisions and enlargements28
    • 1.4 Eton as a royal college49
    • 1.5 The Eton choirbook in modern musicology55
    • 1.6 MS 178 in the context of contemporary choral practice63
  • 2. Liturgy, Devotion and the Daily Round81
    • 2.1 The devotional day83
    • 2.2 The architectural environment110
    • 2.3 The votive antiphon and its place within the college's devotional life117
    • 2.4 The liturgical uses and positions of organs124
    • 2.5 Conclusion136
  • 3. Establishment, Suppression and Re-establishment: 1440-1479139
    • 3.1 Precedents140
    • 3.2 The statutory framework146
    • 3.3 Nomination, recruitment and expansion149
    • 3.4 The chronology of expansion and statutory revisions157
    • 3.5 Henry Abyndon159
    • 3.6 Consolidation163
    • 3.7 1465-79: re-establishment and retrenchment170
    • 3.8 Securing the services of a professional choir-trainer177
  • 4. MS 178: A Source Study183
    • Introduction: issues and objectives183
    • Paleographical Examination193
      • 4.1 MS 178: a description193
        • 4.1.1 quiring and foliation193
        • 4.1.2 binding198
      • 4.2 order of copying201
        • 4.2.1 prima facie evidence208
        • 4.2.2 scribal evidence222
        • Illustrations261
        • 4.2.3 illuminations: corroborative evidence of the copying order262
        • 4.2.4 conclusions283
    • Authorship, Ownership and Dating287
      • 4.3 the date of MS 178287
      • 4.4 the financing of MS 178300
        • 4.4.1 other sources and institutions301
        • 4.4.2 possible donors of MS 178311
      • 4.5 the significance of cantus firmus319
      • 4.6 conclusion: MS 178 and its concordances328
  • 5. The Institutional Background, 1479-1530339
    • 5.1 Financial recovery339
    • 5.2 The prosopographical background343
    • 5.3 Recruitment and provision after 1510364
    • 5.4 Employment practices, promotion and skills366
    • 5.5 Chaplains and their musical role374
    • 5.6 Musical activity among the scholars382
    • 5.7 Conclusion395
  • 6. Schism, Reformation and Counter-Reformation, 1530-1558396
    • 6.1 Musical and liturgical changes before 1547399
    • 6.2 The Edwardine Reformation411
    • 6.3 Reform and restoration: MS 178432
    • 6.4 Conclusion440
  • Conclusion442
  • Appendices
    • A. Daily suffrages and observances455
    • B. The liturgical rota469
    • C. Biographical register
      • 1. clerks of Eton College, 1440-1560478
      • 2. chaplains487
      • 3. choristers, scholars and fellows496
    • D. The career of John Browne504
    • E. Year-lists of clerks, chaplains and choristers512
    • F. College officials, 1444-1560512
    • G. Income and expenditure535
    • H. Selected wills539
  • Manuscript muniments, Eton College, 1440-1560545
  • Bibliography550

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