A 13th century parchment manuscript containing 419 folios. Among the 36 items, mainly literary, are such well-known works as Le Bestiaire, Le Lucidaire of Honorius of Autun and the Miracles of Gautier de Coincy. Musically important is the collection of motets which appear as items 30 and 31, of which only the French texts were considered in the 18th century copies. The 3 music gatherings of 8, 8 and 6 folios respectively take up folios 369 to 390v and are notated in typical motet manner in 2 columns. The notation is pre-Franconian on the level of Mo, fascicles II-VI, and in fact many of the compositions occur there. Altogether there are 55 motets, of which 6 three-part and 1 four-part work are in Latin, 2 two-part, 26 three-part and 7 four-part pieces in French, and 8 three-part and 5 four-part compositions in both languages.

The ms had in fact been lost for years, and was rediscovered by Mr Albi Rosenthal and sold by him to the Bibliothèque Nationale in 1952. Its principal contents were, however, known from copies made in the 18th century for Jean-Baptiste de la Curne de Sainte-Palaye, probably by a certain Mouchet and now preserved as Bibliothèque Nationale, fonds Moreau 1715-1719 and Bibliothèque de 1'Arsenal, 6361. At that time the ms belonged to the marquis de Noblet de La Clayette, after whom it is usually known, namely as the La Clayette codex.

very worm-eaten old binding of which only the covers remain, fastened to a new dark maroon stiff back at each end. The spine is bare and shows up the separate fascicles.

pre-Franconian

14 red five-line staves per page except on f. 369, which has only 13.

pagination in pencil at t.r.r.; a foliation in copying ink pencil added in the same place.

parchment

RISM B/IV 1: A 13th century parchment manuscript meas. 262 x 184 mm. and containing 419 folios in all with a pagination in pencil at t.r.r. Quite recently a foliation in copying ink pencil was added in the same place. The ms had in fact been lost for years, and was rediscovered by Mr Albi Rosenthal and sold by him to the Bibliothèque Nationale in 1952. Its principal contents were, however, known from copies made in the 18th century for Jean-Baptiste de la Curne de Sainte-Palaye, probably by a certain Mouchet and now preserved as Bibliothèque Nationale, fonds Moreau 1715-1719 and Bibliothèque de 1'Arsenal, 6361. At that time the ms belonged to the marquis de Noblet de La Clayette, after whom it is usually known, namely as the La Clayette codex. Among the 36 items, mainly literary, are such well-known works as Le Bestiaire, Le Lucidaire of Honorius of Autun and the Miracles of Gautier de Coincy. Musically important is the collection of motets which appear as items 30 and 31, of which only the French texts were considered in the 18th century copies. The 3 music gatherings of 8, 8 and 6 folios respectively take up folios 369 to 390v and are notated in typical motet manner in 2 columns with long-breve differentiation but without clarifying the values of notes in ligature. The notation is pre-Franconian on the level of Mo, fascicles II-VI, and in fact many of the compositions occur there, though there are no two-part motets from Mo VI. However, the arrangement of voices is not a practical one. Instead of the common motet arrangement with Tr on the left, Mot on the right and T at the bottom of the page, all voices follow on from one column to the next from the highest voice to the lowest. There are 14 red five-line staves per page except on f. 369, which has only 13. The semi-Gothic script employs blue and red initials. Altogether there are 55 motets, of which 6 three-part and 1 four-part work are in Latin, 2 two-part, 26 three-part and 7 four-part pieces in French, and 8 three-part and 5 four-part compositions in both languages. Only 2 pieces are completely new, nos. 3 and 41, though no. 50 was only known previously by its texts. Cl 3 is a hybrid work, for its 3 voices are all known in F as monodic conducti, though in Cl it combines them as a tritextual Latin motet. In its present state, Cl is provided with a very worm-eaten old binding of which only the covers remain, fastened to a new dark maroon stiff back at each end. The spine is bare and shows up the separate fascicles.

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