Magister Jacobus de Ispania, Author of the Speculum musicae - 9781472460943

Taylor & Francis

The Speculum musicae of the early fourteenth century is by a long way the largest medieval treatise on music. For nearly a century, its author has been known as Jacques de Li\u00E8ge or Jacobus Leodiensis. \u2019Jacobus\u2019 is certain, fixed by an acrostic declared within the text; Li\u00E8ge is hypothetical, based on evidence shown here to be less than secure. New documentary evidence identifies its author as \u2019Magister Jacobus de Ispania\u2019. It is here suggested that the author of the Speculum is either someone who left no paper trail or James of Spain, a nephew of Eleanor of Castile, whose career is documented mostly in England. The book traces his career and the likelihood of his authorship of the Speculum musicae. > The Speculum musicae of the early fourteenth century, with nearly half a million words, is by a long way the largest medieval treatise on music, and probably the most learned. Only the final two books are about music as commonly understood: the other five.