Ars nova, which means “new art” in Latin, is a musical style that was popular in the Kingdom of France and nearby areas during the Late Middle Ages. It refers mainly to the time between the creation of the Roman de Fauvel in the 1310s and the death of composer Guillaume de Machaut in 1377. Sometimes, the term is used more broadly to describe all European polyphonic music from the 14th century.
The Notre-Dame school, also called the Notre-Dame school of polyphony, is a group of composers who worked near the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris between about 1160 and 1250. These composers created music that used multiple voices singing together. Only two composers from this time are known by name: Léonin and Pérotin.
The conductus (plural: conducti) was a sacred Latin song from the Middle Ages. Its poetry and music were newly created, not copied from earlier works. It is not used in religious services because its Latin lyrics are not similar to earlier chants.
Organum is a type of music that begins with a plainchant melody and adds at least one more voice to create harmony. It was developed during the Middle Ages. Depending on the style of the chant, a supporting bass line (called a bourdon) may be sung using the same text, the melody may be repeated in parallel motion (called parallel organum), or both techniques may be used together.
Polyphony is a type of musical texture that includes two or more separate melodies played at the same time. This is different from monophony, which has only one melody, or homophony, where one main melody is supported by chords. In Western music, the term polyphony is often used to describe music from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance periods.
Plainsong, also called plainchant, is a type of music used in religious services of the Western Church. The term “plainsong” refers to sacred songs written in Latin. This style of music was the main form of church music in Western Christianity until the ninth century, when music with multiple melodies, called polyphony, was introduced.
Gregorian chant is the main type of Western plainchant, a style of sacred music with only one melody line and no instrumental accompaniment. It is sung in Latin (and sometimes Greek) by the Roman Catholic Church. This music developed mostly in western and central Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries, with later changes and additions.
A Meistersinger, which means “master singer” in German, was a person who belonged to a group in Germany during the 14th to 16th centuries. This group focused on writing poetry, creating music, and singing songs without instruments. Most members of this group were men from the middle class.
Minnesang, which means “love song” in German, was a tradition of writing and singing songs that was popular in Germany between the 12th and 14th centuries. The word “Minnesang” comes from “minne,” a German word for love, because these songs mostly focused on love. People who wrote and performed Minnesang were called Minnesänger, and each song was known as a Minnelied.
The estampie (French: estampie, Occitan and Catalan: estampida, Italian: istanpitta) is a medieval dance and music style that was widely used in the 13th and 14th centuries. It was performed with instruments and singing. The term “estampie” was also used to describe poetry.