| ANCIENT WORLD | ||
| ca. 1012-972 BC | Reign of David, King of Israel | Many psalms attributed to David; later sung in Jewish observances |
| ca. 497 BC | Pythagoras dies | |
| ca. 380 BC ca. 330 BC |
Plato, Republic Aristotle, Politics |
Ancient Greek music: one line, closely linked to poetry and ethos |
| ca. 4 BC | Birth of Jesus | |
| ca. 30 AD | Crucifixion of Jesus, beginnings of Christian observances; Christianity begins to spread | Psalms and hymns sung as part of Christian observances |
| 313 | Roman Emperor Constantine ends persecution of Christianity (Edict of Milan) | |
| 395 | Roman Empire divided into Western Empire (capital at Rome) and Eastern Empire (also called Byzantine Empire, capital at Constantinople/Byzantium) | |
| MIDDLE AGES | ||
| 476 | Fall of Rome, dissolution of Western Roman
Empire Europe divided; Middle Ages begin |
|
| ca. 480-524 | Boethius, major authority on music for the Middle Ages | |
| 5th-6th cent. | Bishop of Rome (Pope) recognized as head of western church | Popes consolidate liturgy and chant |
| 768-814 | Reign of Charlemagne, King of the Franks (crowned Emperor in 800); introduces Roman rite throughout empire in 789 | Charlemagne's drive for uniformity standardizes chant repertory throughout empire; this repertory becomes Gregorian chant |
| 9th cent. | Charlemagne's empire divided after his death, but remains most active cultural and musical region of Europe through 13th cent. | Notation begins to develop; helps fix chant
melodies Tropes and sequences begin to be added to established chant |
| ca. 850-900 | Early polyphony (parallel and oblique organum) described in Musica enchiriadis | |
| 1014 | Catholic Mass liturgy finalized with addition of Credo | |
| ca. 1020s | Guido of Arezzo codifies four-line staff, solmization | |
| 1054 | Split between Western (Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox) churches becomes permanent | |
| 1066 | Normans conquer England | |
| 11th cent. | Free polyphony (note against note organum), described in Ad organum faciendum (ca. 1100) | |
| early 12th cent. | Aquitanian polyphony: florid organum | |
| 12th-13th cent. | Crusades (1095-13th cent.) | Troubadours/trobairitz, trouvères |
| 12th-14th cent. | Minnesingers | |
| 1163-1230 | Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris built (finished in 14th century) | Notre Dame style: rhythmic notation based on rhythmic modes |
| early 13th cent. | Albigensian Crusade (begun 1208) crushes south of France | Troubadours disperse, north becomes dominant
in music through 16th cent. Development of the motet |
| ca. 1280 | Franco of Cologne: rhythmic notation based on note shapes | |
| 1309 | Pope moves to Avignon, France; church politics and corruption lead to secularization of culture | |
| early-mid 14th cent. | Ars Nova (New Art): new notation, duple as
well as triple meters Guillaume de Machaut (ca. 1300-77), French poet and composer |
|
| 1338-1453 | Hundred Years War between France and England | |
| 1348-50 | Black Death (plague) across Europe | |
| 1386 | Chaucer's Canterbury Tales | |
| late 14th-early 15th cent. | Papal schism (1378-1417), with two or three rival popes at once | Ars Subtilior (More Subtle Art): height of complexity in music |
| 1431 | Execution of Joan of Arc | |
| 1453 | Constantinople falls to the Turks; end of Byzantine Empire (often called beginning of Renaissance) | |
Last updated: 4 September 1998
URL: http://www.music.indiana.edu/som/courses/m401/timeline.html
Comments:
burkhold@indiana.edu
Copyright © 1998 by J. Peter Burkholder