ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some little-known versions of a trope usually associated with the celebration of Easter, and through an investigation of their manuscript contexts will reveal some of the varied circumstances in which it was adapted, performed, and transmitted. It examines the relationship among some pieces juxtaposed in an important proser-troper from the monastery of Saint-Martial at Limoges, compiled in the late eleventh century: a Quern queritis bearing the rubric Oc est de mulieribus, the macaronic play known as Sponsus, and an early ordo prophetarum. Changes in the basic structure of the Visitatio sepulchri should hardly trouble us when we recognize that it was common practice to alter the wording of Scripture in order to strengthen the imagery of a particular office. A rare Visitatio from Kremsmunster deserves consideration both as an interesting local artifact and because it sheds light on the circulation and transmission of text and music within a wider geographical area.
