Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-p566r Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T12:41:16.131Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

9 - The Iberian peninsula

from Part II - Topography

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2011

Mark Everist
Affiliation:
University of Southampton
Get access

Summary

As with so many other aspects of Hispanic culture in the early Middle Ages, the musical life of the Iberian peninsula was distinct from that of other parts of Europe for many centuries. Though Christianity reached the peninsula as early as the third century, most of the country came under Muslim rule in 711, to be reconquered by Christians in a series of campaigns through the Middle Ages. Not only did this bring Arabic music into Europe, but the Muslims were also uniquely tolerant of the Jews, allowing a Judaeo-Spanish musical tradition to flourish, which has had wide influence elsewhere in later centuries. Until the eleventh century, the church in the Spanish kingdoms remained independent from the Roman rite and employed a separate liturgical structure, with its own musical tradition. The later Middle Ages saw much greater assimilation of musical traditions from the rest of Europe, but the peninsula also developed its own discrete musical genres, particularly in secular music making.

Isidore of Seville and Old Spanish chant

Though some evidence survives for music and dance from the Stone Age onwards, it will be as well to begin this survey after the Visigoths had established a kingdom centred on Toledo and extending across almost the whole of modern-day Spain, Portugal and the south of France, by the end of the sixth century. Isidore, Archbishop of Seville (ca559–636), is a figure of major importance in all branches of learning.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • The Iberian peninsula
  • Edited by Mark Everist, University of Southampton
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Music
  • Online publication: 28 September 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL9780521846196.011
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • The Iberian peninsula
  • Edited by Mark Everist, University of Southampton
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Music
  • Online publication: 28 September 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL9780521846196.011
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Iberian peninsula
  • Edited by Mark Everist, University of Southampton
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Music
  • Online publication: 28 September 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL9780521846196.011
Available formats
×