Lost in Translation? Multilingualism in Early Song in the Low Countries (1350-1550)

Multilingualism is a widely discussed societal phenomenon. The present project aims to contribute to a better understanding of multilingualism from a specific historical perspective: medieval and early modern song (1350-1550) in the Low Countries. A multidisciplinary collaboration between musicologists, musicians, translation scholars, (literary) historians, and database specialists will focus on mapping out multilingualism in the songs’ material sources, within the song repertory itself, and in the circulation of both. In the Integrated Database for Early Music (https://idemdatabase.org/), a new module will be built to process these data and to make them accessible for use by researchers and performers. The critical historical study of the multilingualism that shapes and diversifies the early song repertory will, furthermore, result in the creation of an authoritative, historically and critically informed body of song translations– a commodity that is in worldwide demand by scholars, performers, early music festivals, and concert halls.

Keywords:musical heritage, multilingualism, Low Countries, 1350-1550, songbooks, polyphony

Disciplines:History of music