organista. Léonin’s successor Pérotin, called optimus discantor, possibly revised much of
the Magnus liber organi, replacing many of the passages in organum style with discant;
and he composed the two known organa quadrupla, which were for the Graduals of the
Masses of Christmas and the feast of St. Stephen of the day following. These organa are
in discant style, because the three embellishing parts are rhythmically and melodically
coordinated in the manner of discant.
Sandra Pinegar
[See also: LÉONIN; MUSIC THEORY; NOTRE-DAME SCHOOL; PÉROTIN]
Atkinson, Charles M. “Franco of Cologne on the Rhythm of Organum purum.” Early Music
History 9 (1989):1–26.
Reckow, Fritz. “Das Organum.” In Gattungen der Musik in Einzeldarstellungen, Gedenkschrift Leo
Schrade. Bern: Francke, 1973, pp. 434–96.
Roesner, Edward H. “The Performance of Parisian Organum.” Early Music 7 (1979):174–89.
Sanders, Ernest H. “Consonance and Rhythm in the Organum of the 12th and 13th Centuries.”
Journal of the American Musicological Society 33 (1980):264–86.
Yudkin, Jeremy. “The Rhythm of Organum Purum.” Journal of Musicology 2 (1983):355–76.
ORIFLAMME
. A forked-tongue scarlet banner embroidered with golden flames, the Oriflamme was
believed to have originated as Charlemagne’s standard; it represented a flaming lance
with which he could save the Holy Land from the Muslims. Hugh Capet later deposited it
at the monastery of Saint-Denis, where it remained largely unheralded until Louis VI
used it as his royal standard in battle in 1124 against Henry I of England. A century later,
Louis IX received the Oriflamme from the abbot of Saint-Denis before going on his
crusades. Although traditionally to be unfurled only in the face of enemies of
Christianity, by the 14th and 15th centuries the Oriflamme had become the military
standard of the French kings. It appeared frequently on the battlefield during the Hundred
Years’ War. It was present both at French victories, as at Mons-en-Pévèle in 1304 (where
it was nearly destroyed), Cassel in 1328, and Roosebeke in 1382, and at defeats, like
Crécy in 1346, Poitiers in 1356, and Agincourt in 1415. After 1418, the use of the
Oriflamme diminished, and it was returned to the monastery of Saint-Denis.
Kelly De Vries
[See also: PRESLES, RAOUL DE]
Contamine, Philippe. L’oriflamme de Saint-Denis aux XIVe et XVe siècles. Nancy: Université de
Nancy II, Institut de Recherche Régionale, 1975.
Hallam, Elizabeth M. Capetian France, 987–1328. London: Longman, 1980.
Keen, Maurice H. The Laws of War in the Late Middle Ages. Toronto: University of Toronto Press,
1965.
Lewis, P.S. Later Medieval France: The Polity. London: Macmillan, 1980.
Liebman, C.J. “Un sermon de Philippe de Villette, abbé de Saint-Denis, pour la levée de
l’oriflamme (1414).” Romania 68 (1944–45):444–70.
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