Abstract :
This article examines aspects of variation and transmission in the Office of Thomas Becket in the Diocese of Trier, Germany. Palaeographic evidence suggests that by the mid-fifteenth century, liturgical sources in Trier exhibited numerous transmission errors and disruptions in the modal scheme of the Thomas Office. However, a subset of late fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century manuscripts from St Florin and St Castor in Koblenz displays efforts to restore the theoretical modal scheme of the Office by composing new melodies for four items; the uniqueness of these items has been confirmed with the assistance of a large-scale electronic project cataloguing the Office of Thomas Becket across Europe, headed by Andrew Hughes at the University of Toronto. The present study provides a detailed melodic and modal analysis of the four newly composed items: the invitatory, Adsunt Thome martyris; the fourth responsory for Matins, Post sex annos; the ninth responsory for Matins, Iesu bone per Thome; and the fourth antiphon for Lauds, Ad Thome memoriam. Numerous melodic allusions to the Office of St Gorgonius – a martyr also venerated in Koblenz from the turn of the fifteenth century – have been uncovered in the four newly composed items. The re-ordering of the modal schemes of the Thomas Office and the colourful array of musical and theological echoes and allusions between the Becket and Gorgonius Offices suggests a desire to establish, reflect and cultivate a local liturgical identity within the community in Koblenz.
