ABSTRACT
The greatest French poet and composer of the 14th century, Machaut's narrative dits set a style in poetry that would predominate in France and England through the 15th century. His lyrics, many set to music, established and popularized the formes fixes'. His Messe de Nostre Dame is the earliest surviving polyphonic setting of all movements of the Mass Ordinary by one composer. His strong interest in manuscript production made him a prime force in creating an awareness of the artist as a professional figure. The terms magica and ars magica were used in medieval Europe primarily for operations that explicitly or implicitly invoked the aid of demons. One of the three New Testament canticles used in the liturgy, the Magnificat is sung at the climax of Vespers accompanied by the censing of the altar and on high feasts by the ringing of bells. Like the psalms of the Office, the Magnificat is associated with an antiphon.
