Jerome of Moravia (or Hieronymus de Moravia) (died after 1271) was a medieval

music theorist Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the " rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (k ...

. He was a Dominican friar. His origin is unknown, but he is believed to have worked in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

at the Dominican convent on the Rue Saint-Jacques. He most likely came from the Dominican convent in Elgin, Moray, although based on some renderings of his name he may have come from the Dominican community in

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

.Grove He is known for only one extant

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions." Tre ...

"Tractatus de Musica" which was an encyclopedic treatment of the most important aspects of music in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

: ''ars musica'',

mensural Mensural notation is the musical notation system used for European vocal polyphonic music from the later part of the 13th century until about 1600. The term "mensural" refers to the ability of this system to describe precisely measured rhythmi ...

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, ...

, mathematical treatments of music, and ecclesiastical chant. He copied large chunks of earlier music treatises. These included

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tr ...

' ''De institutione musica'' and the treatises of Johannes Cotto, Johannes de Garlandia,

Franco of Cologne Franco of Cologne (; also Franco of Paris) was a German music theorist and possibly a composer. He was one of the most influential theorists of the Late Middle Ages, and was the first to propose an idea which was to transform musical notation pe ...

and

Petrus de Picardia Petrus may refer to: People * Petrus (given name) * Petrus (surname) * Petrus Borel, pen name of Joseph-Pierre Borel d'Hauterive (1809–1859), French Romantic writer * Petrus Brovka, pen name of Pyotr Ustinovich Brovka (1905–1980), Soviet Belar ...

. The treatise was probably compiled after 1272, and the only extant manuscript was probably copied before 1304. The original owner of this manuscript was

Pierre de Limoges Peter of Limoges ( la, Petrus Lemovicensis or '; french: Pierre de Limoges; – 1306) was the author of ''A Moral Treatise on the Eye'' ( la, Tractatus Moralis de Oculo) or ''On the Moral Eye'' ('), a popular guide for Catholic priests, composed ...

, and it was given to the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

when he died.

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was most likely aware of this manuscript when he wrote. The purpose of the manuscript was to educate mainly Dominican ecclesiastics about chant and polyphony, so that they could perform it and judge it.

References

*Frederick Hammond and Edward H. Roesner. "Hieronymus de Moravia", '' Grove Music Online'', ed. L. Macy (accessed January 26, 2007)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access).

Notes

{{Authority control Music theorists Members of the Dominican Order 13th-century births 1271 deaths Tonaries De Moravia family