Poetry and Music in Medieval France: From Jean Renart to Guillaume de Machaut (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature) [Hardcover]

Review of the hardback: 'Ardis Butterfield's new book on poetry and music in thirteenth- and fourteenth-century France gives one hope for the bright future of medieval studies. Not only does it act upon the interdisciplinarity its title preaches, but it also builds and improves on an already venerable musico-philological study....the study's magnitude and rich offerings. Butterfield's new book has shown us the rich musico-literary potential of these late French medieval repertories by offering up a model of the kind of interdisciplinary study required from now on.' John Haines, Notes and Queries

Review of the hardback: '… an immensely useful and illuminating study… going well beyond what others have done.' Sylvia Huot, French Studies

Review of the hardback: 'Ardis Butterfield has created a profoundly incisive text exploring the relationship between poetry and music in thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century France. The beautifully illustrated volume has much to offer: thorough scholarship in the text, a fine appendix, glossary, and bibliography, as well as an index.' Henry H. Peyton III, Arthuriana

Review of the hardback: 'The immense scope of the material covered in Butterfield's book requires a scholar of her talents, eminently knowledgeable in both medieval literature and music … Ardis Butterfield has produced a wonderfully insightful work, based on impeccable scholarship, and written in a lively and engaging fashion. It is intended for those who are familiar with medieval musical forms, medieval narrative genres, and the manuscripts of both repertories. However, generalists should find it accessible, especially with the glossary that she has provided. Specialists in narrative with lyric insertions will find this to be an invaluable resource.' The Medieval Review

Review of the hardback: 'This book is an extremely rich contribution to the study of medieval song, performance, and textuality. The Year's Work in Modern Language Studies

'In this richly detailed book, Ardis Butterfield challenges us to rethink not only the history of the chanson but of all medieval French lyric poetry and narrative: as stated on the very first page, "understanding song requires understanding song in romance." …Although recent years have seen the publication of a number of studies of such works, this book stands apart both for its thorough account of the manuscript evidence, based on the consultation of hundreds of manuscripts, and for its thoughtful reassessment of the history of lyric and narrative genres. … Butterfield is one of the few literary historians capable of working on a sophisticated level with the melodies as well as with the texts of medieval French song … the value of Poetry and Music in Medieval France as an outstanding study that offers new insights to readers in several disciplines.' Susan Boynton, Romantic Review

'Behind the conciliatory title of Ardis Butterfield's book on medieval poetry and music lies a provocative and engaging study that is a model for the practice and value of true interdisciplinary research … Poetry and Music in Medieval France is a rich and complex work that imitates its central subject of inquiry, the refrain, by testing borders, refusing boundaries, and inviting a fresh approach to medieval artistic production … Butterfield's work shakes up the disciplines of literature and music. By refusing to favour either one, she challenges future scholars to engage in comparative readings and to knock down the self-imposed boundaries between disciplines that distort our understanding of medieval texts.' Speculum

Butterfield's argument is bold and complex; it deserves serious consideration by historians of music and literature alike…Her rich study provides the groundwork for nuanced thinking about the relationships of form, genre, social registers and cultural meaning. Judith Peraino, Plainsong and Medieval Music

Ardis Butterfield's book breaks new ground in challenging scholars to think anew not only about the development and interaction of French genres during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, but also about the very definition of genre … It is a dense book, covering a broad corpus with a dizzying amount of detail …. Butterfield argues (with a leisurely and finely developed subtlety that is impossible to capture fully here) … Butterfield's illumination of how song and narrative changed from the thirteenth to the fourteenth century is innovative and compelling…like a medieval narrative the book repays more than one reading; its multitude of strands weaves a tapestry whose aspect changes from one viewing to the next. Butterfield's research has opened new doors of inquiry that are sure to reinvigorate our study of medieval French song. Journal of the American Musicological Society

In Poetry and Music in Medieval France Ardis Butterfield examines vernacular song in medieval France. She begins with the moment when French song first survives in writing in the early thirteenth century, and examines a large corpus of works which combine elements of narrative and song, as well as a range of genres which cross between different musical and literary categories. Emphasising the cosmopolitan artistic milieu of Arras, Butterfield describes the wide range of contexts in which secular songs were quoted and copied, including narrative romances, satires and love poems. She uses manuscript evidence to shed light on medieval perceptions of how music and poetry were composed and interpreted. The volume is well illustrated to demonstrate the rich visual culture of medieval French writing and music. This interdisciplinary study will be of interest to both literary and musical scholars of late medieval culture.

Ardis Butterfield examines the relationship between poetry and music in medieval France. Butterfield describes the wide range of contexts in which secular songs were quoted and copied, including narrative romances, satires and love poems. The volume is well illustrated to demonstrate the rich visual culture of medieval French writing.

Ardis Butterfield is a Lecturer in English at University College, London. She has published widely on French and English literary and musical history. Her articles have appeared in Medium Aevum and Plainsong and Medieval Music.