the university and the royal court, the motet harmonized the sacred with the worldly,
the Latin language with the vernacular.
Two to four voices joined together in a motet. The most common sort from the
second half of the thirteenth century had three voices. The lowest, often taken from
a liturgical chant, generally consisted of one or two words, suggesting that it was
normally played on an instrument (such as a vielle or lute) rather than sung. The
second and third voices had different texts and melodies, sung simultaneously. The
form allowed for the mingling of religious and secular motives. Very likely motets
were performed by the clerics who formed the entourages of bishops or abbots—or
by university students—for their entertainment and pleasure. In the motet S’Amours,
whose opening music is pictured in Plate 7.6, the top voice complains (in French): “If
Love had any power, I, who have served it all my life with a loyal heart, should
surely have noticed.” By contrast, the middle voice, also singing in French, rejoices in
Love’s rewards: “At the rebirth of the joyous season, I must begin a song, for true
Love, whom I desire to serve, has given me a reason to sing.” Meanwhile the lowest
voice sings the Latin word “Ecce”—“Behold!”^15
