The Emergence of Gregorian Chant in the Carolingian Era
James W. McKinnon
We are fairly well informed about the state of liturgical chant at close Christian antiquity, that is to say, in ad 450, but there a sharp decline thereafter quantity and quality literary sources provided our knowledge earlier period. Most Christendom endured protracted period justly referred as Dark Ages, time characterized by barbarian incursions, breakdown governance communication, deterioration physical infrastructure education. Liturgy somehow survived all this, indeed seem have flourished, so ninth century one observes splendid systems ecclesiastical song both East West. Our task here first describe chief Western representative these systems, Gregorian chant, we know it from early medieval sources, then make some attempt penetrate gloom intervening centuries.
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