MURBACH
. The Benedictine abbey of Murbach (Haut-Rhin) in the Vosges was founded in 727 by
St. Firmin and splendidly endowed by Count Eberhard d’Eguisheim. Among its
benefactors was Charlemagne, and its abbots were all princes of the Holy Roman Empire.
It had the distinction that only members of noble families could join, and its monks were
knights as well. Only the east end of the massive, late 12th-century pink-sandstone abbey
church of Saint-Sixte survives: choir, transept with twin towers, and flat chevet, flanked
by two two-storied chapels. The decoration of the transept and chapels, as at nearby
Guebwiller, is of Lombard arcading.
William W.Kibler/William W.Clark
[See also: GUEBWILLER]
Deshoulières, François. “Murbach.” Congrès archéologique (Metz, Strasbourg, Colmar)
83(1920):438–47.
Will, Robert. “L’église de Murbach.” Congrès archéologique (Haute-Alsace) 136(1978):198–211.
MURET
. During the early years of the Albigensian Crusade, Simon de Montfort, a castellan from
the Île-de-France, ousted Raymond VI, count of Toulouse, from his lands. Peter II, king
of Aragon, intervened in 1213 to support the Occitan lords against the crusaders from
northern France. Peter and his allies besieged the town of Muret (Haute-Garonne) on
September 10, 1213. Montfort arrived with a much smaller force, hoping to break the
siege. Although badly outnumbered, he displayed superior tactical skill in maneuvering
his cavalry reserves, who changed formation, charged up a hill, and won a superior
position. Montfort then won a decisive victory. The king of Aragon was killed, and the
hitherto strong Aragonese political ties to southern France lost their importance.
John Bell Henneman, Jr.
[See also: ALBIGENSIAN CRUSADE; MONTFORT; SAINT-GILLES]
MUSIC THEORY
. Systematic reflection on the art of music in the West had its origin in the ancient
philosophical tradition that considered mathematical knowledge propaedeutic to the study
of philosophy. Ancient mathematics was divided into four disciplines ordered according
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