The Medieval Liberal Arts Curriculum:Music
To the Ancient Greeks and scholars in the Middle Ages, arithmetic and Music were perceived to be the two different expressions of the same basic principle. Music thought to be the expression of numerical relationships using sound. while Arithmetic was the numerical manifestation of universal ratios. In Music, harmony, according to Michael Masi was " the ratio and proportion expressed in musical terms.1"Music was also regarded seriously not only for its aesthetic value but for its importance in worship and religious practises. For scholars in the Liberal Arts, however, the primary focus and reason for studying Music was to become familiar with the mathematical nature of music.
_____________________
1Michael Masi, Arithmeticin The Seven Liberal Arts in the Middle Ages, ed., by David L. Wagner (Indiana University Press, 1983) pp. 147-166.
Medieval and Renaissance Home Page
Medieval Universities
Medieval University Curriculum
Musicians by Van Eyk
The Medieval Curriculum
The Trivium
The Quadrivium
