By the twelfth century the West could be imagined as a soundscape of Latin plainsong and be given a name: Latinitas. https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/singers-in-the-making-of-europe

The Gregorian chants for the Mass figured prominently in this body of shared material, and were spread by many different methods of colonisation and conquest. This was both internally by the foundation of new houses in abandoned or waste areas and externally by crusade in Spain, eastern Europe and Livonia. The singers of the Latin churches were therefore masters of an art that belongs with other aspects of medieval culture that helped to impel what may be called 'the making of Europe'.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/singers-in-the-making-of-europe

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

Support the show