Eastern and Western Influences in the <I> Cantus Publicus</I> Tradition of the 12th and 13th Centuries

Abstract

Considers the impact of Muslim­Arab culture (via Andalusia) on the one hand and of the Church poetry and music on the other on the troubadours’ art. The author argues that though troubadours’ love poetry was quite alike Arabic lyrics, the formal structure of the songs created in the South of France was directly related to the Church Latin poetry and music of the second half of the 11th century. However, the ambiguity about the issue is rooted in the poetic Arab influence on these Church “songs” that spread during the 9th and the 10th centuries.