Philippe le Chancelier, also known as "Philippus Cancellarius Parisiensis" (Philip, Chancellor of Paris) (''c'' 1160–December 26, 1236) was a French

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, Latin lyric

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

, and possibly a

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

as well. He was the illegitimate son of Philippe, Archdeacon of Paris (born 1125), and was part of a family of powerful clerics. He was born and studied theology in

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He was

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Notre Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

starting in 1217 until his death, and was also

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

Noyon Noyon (; pcd, Noéyon; la, Noviomagus Veromanduorum, Noviomagus of the Veromandui, then ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department, northern France. Geography Noyon lies on the river Oise (river), Oise, a ...

. Philip is portrayed as an enemy to the Mendicant orders becoming prevalent at the time, but this has been greatly exaggerated. He may have even joined the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

order soon before his death.Thomas B. Payne. "Philip the Chancellor", ''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'', ed. L. Macy (accessed April 1, 2006)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access) Philip was one of the most prolific Medieval lyric poets. He was the subject of

Henri d'Andeli Henry d'Andeli was a 13th-century Norman poet notable for his work ''La Bataille des Vins'' (English Battle of the Wines), and for the satirical poem ''Battle of the Seven Arts''. He also wrote ''Dit du Chancelier Philippe'' on the subject of his c ...

's ''Dit du Chancelier Philippe''. Philip's most influential work was his ''Summa de Bono''. Philip may have been a composer as well as a poet, although it is not certain, since many of his works are set to pre-existing tunes. He put text to many of

Pérotin Pérotin () was a composer associated with the Notre Dame school of polyphony in Paris and the broader musical style of high medieval music. He is credited with developing the polyphonic practices of his predecessor Léonin, with the introdu ...

's works, creating some of the first

Motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...

s. His poems were available to many composers in the

Notre Dame school The Notre-Dame school or the Notre-Dame school of polyphony refers to the group of composers working at or near the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris from about 1160 to 1250, along with the music they produced. The only composers whose names hav ...

, and his works were a moving force within that artistic movement. He died in Paris.

References

Bibliography

Works

* Philippi Cancellari Parisiensis, ''Summa De Bono, Ad fidem codicum primum edita studio et cura Nicolai Wicki'', Bern, Francke, 1985.

Studies

* Jan A. Aertsen, ''Medieval Philosophy as Transcendental Thought. From Philip the Chancellor (ca. 1225) to Francisco Suárez'', Leiden, Brill, 2012. * Ayelet Even-Ezra, ''Ecstasy in the Classroom: Trance, Self and the Academic Profession in Medieval Paris'' (Fordham University Press: NY, 2018).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Philip The Chancellor 13th-century French philosophers 12th-century French philosophers Medieval French theologians Medieval French poets 1236 deaths 1160s births Chancellors of the University of Paris 13th-century French writers Medieval Latin poets 13th-century French Roman Catholic priests Medieval Paris French male poets 13th-century Latin writers 13th-century French poets