Jacobus of Liège (died after 1330) was a music theorist active in the Southern Netherlands in the late middle ages. He compiled the largest surviving medieval treatise on music, (the ''Mirror of Music''), probably in the 1320s and 1330s.
Life and work
The ''Speculum musicae'' of Jacobus was previously attributed to
Jean de Muris, due to a misreading of the attribution of another treatise in its chief source, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, MS lat. 7207, fol. 299v. Yet Jacobus incorporated his own name by means of an acrostic: the initial letters of each of the seven books of the opus spell out the name IACOBUS. In Book VI Jacobus demonstrates expert knowledge of chant practices in the
diocese of Liège, and states that he had been resident in one of the churches of Liège. He also reveals that he had studied at the University of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, presumably in the final decades of the 13th century.
A contemporary treatise, written not long after 1376, mentions a certain Jacobus de Montibus as an expert on the
genera of ancient Greek music theory. The most extensive contemporary treatment of that arcane topic is found in Book V of ''Speculum musicae''. A canon named Jacobus de Montibus was resident in the church of
Saint Paul (now cathedral) in Liège during the 1320s and 1330s.
The discovery of an attribution of the ''Speculum'' to a ''Iacobus de Ispania'' initially suggested that the author had come from Spain (), possibly identifying him with a James of Spain known to have worked in
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
in the 14th century, and suggesting that the connection with Liège was spurious. Further research demonstrated that ''Ispania'' more likely refers to
Hesbaye, an archdeaconate in the diocese of Liège known in Latin as Hispania or Hesbania.
[ Wegman 2016.]
Of the seven books of ''Speculum musicae'', the last has received the most attention for its long argument against unnamed "moderni" (including
Philippe de Vitry and Johannes de Muris), whom Jacobus held responsible for corrupting the mensural notation system as defined by
Franco of Cologne.
See also
*''
Ars nova''
References
External links
Medieval Treatises on Music
{{Authority control
14th-century scholars
Belgian male classical composers
Belgian music theorists
People from medieval Belgium
14th-century composers
Medieval male composers
14th-century writers from the Holy Roman Empire
Medieval music theorists