Du Fay and the style of Molinet

Abstract

JEHAN Molinet, whose 500th anniversary was commemorated in 2007, was one of the most important and influential poets writing in French at the end of the 15th century. Contemporary commentators were particularly appreciative of the verbal and metric virtuosity of his verse with its numerous allusions to classical and biblical topics, all the while maintaining what can be called an affective decorousness that to modern ears borders on the impersonal but which was part and parcel of the almost ritualized form that most social communication took, particularly in the circle around the Dukes of Burgundy. In this respect his poetry can be compared with some of the dances at the turn of the century, where intricate and sometimes extremely fast footwork supported an almost motionless upper torso that had to appear relaxed and natural even though the contrast between the footwork and the pose of the upper body was in itself highly artificial.

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