——. Commonitorium, trans. George E.MacCracken. In Early Latin Theology. Philadelphia:
Westminster, 1957.
VIRELAI
. While in the 14th century the virelai has a recognizable forme fixe, its origins and
development are obscure and controversial. The first references to the vireli or virenli
occur in the mid-13th century in the context of dance-song, but at this date it is difficult
to distinguish it from the ballette: in effect, both are expansions of the rondet. There are
resemblances between the vireli and the Occitan dansa, the Spanish villancico, and the
Italian lauda.
By the 14th century, the term “virelai” becomes more common, although it is then
redefined by Guillaume de Machaut as chanson baladee. The first known poems of the
type, composed by Jehannot de Lescurel (d. 1303), feature an opening refrain; strophes in
two sections, the second corresponding to the meter and rhyme of the refrain lines; and
the repetition of the refrain after each strophe. The number of refrain lines varies from
one to eight, and the first strophic section can have a distinct rhyming and metrical
scheme. The music has the pattern: I II II I etc. Of Machaut’s thirty-three virelais set to
music, twenty-five are monodic (like Lescurel’s). Never common, virelais are
increasingly rare by the 15th century.
Ardis T.B.Butterfield
[See also: BALLADE; LESCUREL, JEHANNOT DE; MACHAUT, GUILLAUME
DE; RONDEAU; VERSIFICATION]
Wilkins, Nigel, ed. One Hundred Ballades, Rondeaux and Virelais from the Late Middle Ages.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969.
Apel, Willi. “Rondeaux, Virelais, and Ballades in French Thirteenth-Century Soug.” Journal of the
American Musicological Society 7(1954):121–30.
Bec, Pierre. La lyrique française au moyen âge (XIIe-XIIIe siècles): contribution a une typologie
des genres poétiques médiévaux. 2 vols. Paris: Picard, 1977–78, Vol. 1: Études; Vol. 2: Textes.
VIRGIL, INFLUENCE OF
. Among all the Latin poets, Virgil (ca. 70–19 B.C.) was the most “classical”—in the
literal sense. Students read and relished his writings, copied and interpreted the Latin, and
memorized and canonized his ideas from the earliest period. Those who followed the
master imitated his style unashamedly: Ovid, Lucan, and Claudian, for example, allude to
his works constantly. Medieval authors found in his works inspirational and exemplary
inducements to pursue virtue. Both Virgil’s own person and his work became magical
touch-stones of prophecy.
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 1820