Transmission of late medieval offices - the case of Historia s. Dorotheae
Transmission of late medieval offices - the case of Historia s. Dorotheae

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the office for St. Dorothy Ave gemma virtuosa, which appears in numerous Central European breviaries and antiphoners from the early 14th century on. The music for the office differs astonishingly from source to source. Four main melodic traditions can be discerned: the first appears in sources from Austria, Silesia, Prague and Esztergom, the second can be found in manuscripts from the environs of Mainz and Kraków, the third and the fourth are peculiar for Augsburg and Passau respectively. Other versions are also known from Olomouc, Płock and Maastricht, which combine the melodies from the first two types and add some new chants. The intricate case of Historia s. Dorotheae provokes the question how late medieval offices were created and disseminated.

• Details
• Contents