The troper-proser Huesca, Chapter Library, MS 4: a Vestige of Cluny?

Abstract

ABSTRACTComparing a species of codex such as the troper-proser with Cluniac charisma might at first seem somewhat contradictory. Cluny has been understood in criticism to have systematically opposed the addition of any extra-official compositions (tropes and sequences) to the liturgy and as a model of splendor and solemnity in medieval chants.Through the case of MS 4 from the Huesca Cathedral, a troper-proser from the end of the eleventh century or beginning of the twelfth, this article aims to put this axiomatic understanding to the test of reason. While the liturgy that developed at the mother house in Cluny was one thing, that which became established in the some of the monasteries that embraced reform in the spirit of the Burgundian abbey was quite another. In the latter, practices that were previous to, contemporary with and posterior to the adoption of Cluniac reforms contributed to a distinctive and particular style that preserved typical regional features, giving local flavor to the liturgical repertoire.Moreover, in order to address the question as to whether this troper-proser is a kind of book that would have belonged to a monastery or cathedral, we will take a look at the information provided by the manuscript itself. Taking all angles into account, we will inquire into codicology, the suppositions of the history of reception, cultural transfers and, of course, liturgy and chant. The attribution of the manuscript and the shaping of regional profiles will be among the issues brought into play in this analysis.