John Hanboys
Encyclopedia
John Hanboys, also John Hamboys and possibly J. de Alto Bosco (fl. 1370), was an English Renaissance composer and musical theorist, highly regarded in his own country, although the details of his life are unclear.
or friar
, but this uncertain. Traditionally authors followed the earliest biographical source John Bale
's Illustrium maioris britanniae sciptorum (Summary of the Writers of Britain) (1548), which uses the spelling 'Hamboys' and indicates he received a liberal education from an early age, but was chiefly devoted to the study of music. That he was eloquent and accomplished, and after studying for many years in 'the school of his land' he was given the degree of doctor of music. He adds that he was 'the most noted man of his day in England' and that he came to prominence in 1470 in the reign of Edward IV
(r.1461-83). If he did hold a doctorate of music it was probably one of the first from Oxford or Cambridge, although the common assertion in older literature that it was the first held from Oxford is not clear from the sources, and Bale may simply be expanding his biography from the title 'doctoris musice', which could be read as 'learned in music'. More recently Brian Trowell has argued that he can be identified with J. de Alto Bosco, the Latin title of a musician mentioned in the motet Sub Arturo plebs
, which is probably from a century earlier, in the 1370s. It is possible that Bale only knew the Summa from a later edition and so may have assumed the period of authorship to fit with that or he may have conflating him with fifteenth-century composer and theorist John Hothby
(d. 1487).
and mensuration from the thirteenth century and proposes several new methods for recording music. It discusses the differences between the ars antiqua
and developing ars nova
styles of music and proposes the expansion of the mensural system to a total of eight figures.
Biography
Very little is known of the life of Hanboys. He may have come from one of the villages of Little or Great Hautboys in Norfolk. In the attribution of one version of the treatise Summa super musicam he is called 'doctoris musice reverendi'. It has been assumed that because he was called 'reverend', may have been a monkMonk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
or friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
, but this uncertain. Traditionally authors followed the earliest biographical source John Bale
John Bale
John Bale was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English , and developed and published a very extensive list of the works of British authors down to his own time, just as the monastic libraries were being...
's Illustrium maioris britanniae sciptorum (Summary of the Writers of Britain) (1548), which uses the spelling 'Hamboys' and indicates he received a liberal education from an early age, but was chiefly devoted to the study of music. That he was eloquent and accomplished, and after studying for many years in 'the school of his land' he was given the degree of doctor of music. He adds that he was 'the most noted man of his day in England' and that he came to prominence in 1470 in the reign of Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
(r.1461-83). If he did hold a doctorate of music it was probably one of the first from Oxford or Cambridge, although the common assertion in older literature that it was the first held from Oxford is not clear from the sources, and Bale may simply be expanding his biography from the title 'doctoris musice', which could be read as 'learned in music'. More recently Brian Trowell has argued that he can be identified with J. de Alto Bosco, the Latin title of a musician mentioned in the motet Sub Arturo plebs
Sub Arturo plebs
Sub Arturo plebs – Fons citharizantium – In omnem terram is an isorhythmic motet of the second part of the 14th century, written by an English composer known by the name of Johannes Alanus or John Aleyn. It stands in the tradition of the Ars nova, the fourteenth-century school of polyphonic music...
, which is probably from a century earlier, in the 1370s. It is possible that Bale only knew the Summa from a later edition and so may have assumed the period of authorship to fit with that or he may have conflating him with fifteenth-century composer and theorist John Hothby
John Hothby
John Hothby , also known by his Latinised names Johannes Ottobi or Johannes de Londonis, was an English Renaissance composer and musical theorist who travelled widely in Europe and gained an international reputation for his work.-Biography:Little is known of the origins or early life of John Hothby...
(d. 1487).
Work and Influence
Following Bale, Hanboys is traditionally identified as the author a (now unknown) volume of music and, more securely, of an important musical treatise Summa super musicam continuam et discretam, a theoretical work on music that discusses the origins of musical notationMusical notation
Music notation or musical notation is any system that represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols.-History:...
and mensuration from the thirteenth century and proposes several new methods for recording music. It discusses the differences between the ars antiqua
Ars antiqua
Ars antiqua, also called ars veterum or ars vetus, refers to the music of Europe of the late Middle Ages between approximately 1170 and 1310, covering the period of the Notre Dame school of polyphony and the subsequent years which saw the early development of the motet...
and developing ars nova
Ars nova
Ars nova refers to a musical style which flourished in France and the Burgundian Low Countries in the Late Middle Ages: more particularly, in the period between the preparation of the Roman de Fauvel and the death of the composer Guillaume de Machaut in 1377...
styles of music and proposes the expansion of the mensural system to a total of eight figures.