BASIRON, PHILIPPE
(Phelippon, Philippon de Bourges; ca. 1450–1491). Composer, musician, and cleric.
Basiron first appears as a choirboy in the records of the Sainte-Chapelle in Bourges in
- He maintained a lifelong association with this institution, which was closely tied
during Basiron’s lifetime to both Charles VII (r. 1422–61) and Louis XI (r. 1461–83).
Basiron was granted a vicariate at the Sainte-Chapelle in 1467 and served for most of his
career as master of the chapel choirboys. Basiron, or “Phelippon,” was the composer of
over a dozen surviving works, including a L’homme armé Mass and seven Burgundian
chansons.
J.Michael Allsen
[See also: CYCLIC MASS]
Higgins, Paula. “Tracing the Careers of Late Medieval Composers: The Case of Philippe Basiron of
Bourges.” Acta Musicologica 62(1990):1–28.
Picker, Martin. “Basiron, Philippe.” In The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed.
Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan, 1980, Vol. 2, pp. 240–42.
BASOCHE
. In the early 15th century, the law clerks of Paris and other cities organized professional
associations called basoches, one of whose functions was the staging of dramatic
spectacles. In Paris, each high court of justice had its Basoche, the primary ones being
those of the Parlement (the Palais de Justice) and the Châtelet (the high criminal court).
By the end of the century, there may have been as many as 10,000 Basochiens in Paris.
The Basoche had its own administrative and judicial structure, with a king, a chancellor,
and a high court.
The Basochiens assembled at special times, such as Mardi Gras, to stage a variety of
spectacles, including tableaux vivants, burlesque lawsuits called causes grasses (“fat”
cases, because they were presented at carnival time), and plays, such as moralities, farces,
and sotties. The Basoche also contributed comic plays to the performances of mystères
organized by the Confrérie de la Passion. The Enfants-sans-souci, the principal Parisian
company performing sotties, may have been part of the Basoche. Authors who were not
law clerks, such as Pierre Gringore, also appear to have written for the Basoche. Some
critics, in particular Howard Graham Harvey, argue from the records of Parlement and
from evidence drawn from late-medieval plays that the Basoche had taken on the “more
or less exclusive privilege of staging comic plays in Paris.” While professional
entertainers, students, and others also put on comic plays, the Basoche had a crucial
influence on the development of satiric theater in medieval France.
Heather M.Arden
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 182