ABSTRACT
It is also possible that the text refers to the old counselors of the dauphin: in an ordinance of February 1358, deputies of the Estates still held to the reform ideals of the previous two years, blaming the problems of the country on the counselors of the dauphin, and calling for effective leadership (Delachenal 1909-31, 1:354). The tide was beginning to turn in the dauphin's favor after he left Paris in March 1358. Even so, he did not regain control of Paris until after the assassination of Etienne Marcel on 31 July 1358, and re-entered the city on 3 August (Delachenal 1909-31, 1:461). It seems likely that the motet was composed for a special occasion, perhaps for the Estates of Compiègne in May 1358 (cf. Delachenal 1909-31, 1:389-92). Markstrom (1989, 27-29) proposes the Estates General of Champagne at Provins (10 April 1358) as the occasion for the motet, and this, too, is reasonable. It is notable that Machaut felt free to address Charles in a familiar tone (tui cari). He was already an intimate of the future Charles V , whom he had no doubt had known since the latter's birth in 1338.
