The fragment contains a segment of Machaut’s Remede de Fortune, lines 2757-2862 and 3021-3146, including the music for the complete triplum, first half of the cantus, and complete tenor of the ballade ‘En amer ha douce vie’, as well as the end of the tenor and complete contratenor of the ballade ‘Dame, de qui toute ma joie vient’. The fragment is almost exactly the scale of the US-KCferrell MS 1 (Machaut Vg), and the text corresponds virtually word for word with Vg, fols. 109 and 112. Text readings are more distant from those of BnF MS fr. 1585 (Machaut B), modern fols. 126 and 129, which was a copy of Vg probably made when the duc de Berry sent Vg to Gaston Fébus in 1388. The music, however, does not precisely follow the layout of Vg/B, and the readings for these two ballades generally align more closely with F-Pnm Français 1586 (Machaut C), F-Pnm Français 9221 (Machaut E), and GB-Cmc MS 1594 (Pepys), as well as with the repertory manuscripts F-Pnm Italien 568 (Pit), F-Pnm NAF 6771 (Reina), and I-Fn Panciatichiano 26 (Panc) (on relationships among these sources, see Leach 1997). It is remarkable that an errant reading in the contratenor in Reina (f. 68v) is closely related to the reading of the new fragment, confirming Reinhard Strohm’s observation (1984) that the readings of a core group of French chansons transmitted to German and Italian manuscripts came from northern French or Flemish sources. It also supports connection of the original manuscript to Philip, from 1369 duke of Burgundy and from 1384 count of Flanders. The original manuscript may have been one of the lost Machaut manuscripts held in the library of the dukes of Burgundy, particularly the one described in Earp 1995, p. 96 as MS [12]. This manuscript disappeared from the Burgundian library between 1644 and 1731 (perhaps damaged in the 1731 fire), and was then used as an archival wrapper by the late 18th century. It corresponded essentially to what would have been the first volume of Vg in its probable original state as a two-volume manuscript, containing the lyrics not set to music, and the narrative poems (including the Remede de Fortune with its seven musical interpolations), and ending with the Fonteinne amoureuse.

The work of one text scribe and one (presumably separate) music scribe. A formal bookhand, but not as elegant as the scribes of Vg.

Used in the 18th century as a wrapper for archival documents; numerous folds, tears, and small missing bits. one side of the bifolio (fols Ar/Bv) stained and rubbed

five red 5-line staves, fol. Ava; seven red 5-line staves, fol. Avb; six red 5-line staves, fol. Bra. stave gauge 13 mm

No foliation, here assigned Ar–Bv; signature ‘p iij’ on f. A at b.r.r., perhaps also ‘iij’ below that

Rubrics. gold initials on a cusped blue and purple background with white tracery, 2 text lines tall. On f. Bv there is a large gold initial ‘I’ with stems and ivy leaves, 10 text lines tall.