Manuscript Lisbon, Bibiloteca Nacional, CIC 60: The Repertories and their Context

Abstract

This manuscript is not only among the earliest sixteenth-century Portuguese sources to contain examples of vernacular song, but also one of few sources in Portugal preserving Latin polyphony of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Numerous concordances can be identified for the Latin-texted works in the manuscript, and an examination of the readings encountered reveals a close stemmatic relationship with the readings in manuscripts from the Santa Cruz Monastery in Coimbra; this may be relevant for the provenance of the Lisbon manuscript. Analysis of the textures which predominate among the songs in the manuscript, and comparison with specific Spanish repertories, indicate the likely date of these songs. Finally, the article considers those songs which are - or probably are - based on common melodies of the period, along with their texts.