Episode 130: Battle Raps of the High Middle Ages

Making of a Historian

You HAVE to check the shownotes for this one. Go to https://www.historian.live/home/2019/4/17/episode-130-battle-raps-of-the-high-middle-ages RIGHT NOW There? Good. Our guest today Dr. Jenna Phillips has been kind enough to give us a great series of musically accompaniments to today's talk. Dr. Phillips tells us about a fascinating form of singing in the high middle ages that’s basically like medieval battle rap. Two singers debate a topic in song, and make appeals to two judges, who then declare the winner. It’s a great episode because it has everything. We discuss just what on earth the High Middle Ages are through talking about the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Then Jenna takes us into the world of popular singing: the troubadours and the crusaders. Finally we talk about one particular style of singing, the juex partis. Then, as an added bonus, Dr. Phillips talks to us about how an archival discovery let her understand how people actually sang the jeux partis back in the day.