The earliest source of Notre-Dame polyphony? A new conductus fragment from the early thirteenth century

While it is known that Parisian organum and related genres were being cultivated in the last quarter of the twelfth century, no manuscript collection dating before the 1230s has yet been discovered. The surviving Notre-Dame sources do not predate the decade 1230–40 at the earliest. The manuscript Troyes, Médiathèque du Grand Troyes 1471 alters this picture. The binding flyleaves of this source transmit the texts of eight conducti and two Benedicamus Domino, which were set to receive two-part music that was never entered. Despite the absence of written notation, these fragments offer the opportunity to address the implications of polyphonic book production in the generation preceding the great Notre-Dame manuscripts. Codicological and historical evidence suggests a Parisian origin and a possible date of 1210–20 for a source probably comparable to such manuscripts as F and W1. Such an early date makes these flyleaves the earliest surviving witness to the production of books of Parisian polyphonic music, and challenges the general assumption that no thirteenth-century manuscripts of Notre-Dame polyphony were produced before the second quarter of the thirteenth century. It also raises questions relating to the notation, chronology, and transmission of the repertory in the early thirteenth century

The production of polyphonic manuscripts in thirteenth-century Paris: new evidence for standardised procedures

Modern understanding of the production and dissemination of thirteenth-century polyphony is constrained by the paucity of manuscript sources that have been preserved in their entirety; the panorama of sources of medieval polyphony is essentially fragmentary. Some of the surviving fragments, however, were torn from lost books of polyphony that were to some extent comparable to well-known extant codices. The fragment of polyphony preserved in the binding of manuscript 6528 of the Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid is illustrative in this respect. This fragment displays a number of codicological and musical features that are strikingly similar to those of the Florence manuscript (F). Both sources share format and mise-en-page, make use of similar styles of script, notation and pen-work decoration,We wish to thank Mark Everist, Carmen Julia Gutiérrez and the anonymous reviewers of Early Music History for their invaluable comments and suggestions. Permission to reproduce the images has been graciously accorded by the Biblioteca Nacional de España (BNE) and Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo (MiBACT). The following library sigla are used: CH-SGs Sankt Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek D-GI Giessen, Universitätsbibliothek E-Mn Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional de España F-Pn Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France GB-Lbl London, British Library In addition, the Ars antiqua manuscripts mentioned in this article are indicated by their familiar sigla: F Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Pluteus 29.1 LoA London, British Library, Egerton 2615Ma Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional de España, 20486 W1 Wolfenbüttel, Herzog August Bibliothek, Cod. Guelf. 628 Helmst. transmit the pieces in the same order, and present virtually identical musical readings. The Madrid fragment thus provides new evidence for a standardised production of polyphonic books in thirteenth-century Paris. The study provides a detailed account of the fragment's codicological and philological features, and explores the hypothesis that it originated in the same Parisian workshop that produced F.</p

Does self-report of multimorbidity in later life predict impaired physical functioning, and might this be useful in clinical practice?

Background: Multimorbidity has been shown in several studies to relate to impaired physical function in later life. Aims: To examine if self-report of multimorbidity predicts impaired physical functioning, as assessed by formal physical function testing, in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were self-reported by 443 older community-dwelling UK adults via questionnaire, asking the question: ‘Have you been told by a doctor that you have any of the following conditions?’ Assessments of walking speed, chair stands and balance allowed us to create a composite score (0–12) on which impaired physical functioning was defined as ≤ 9. Results: The mean age of participants was 75.5 ± 2.5 years for men and 75.8 ± 2.6 for women. The proportion of individuals with impaired physical functioning was 71.2% in women and 56.9% in men. Having four or more NCDs was associated with an increased risk of poor physical function in men and women (p &lt; 0.05). The number of medications and medicated systems was associated with gait speed (p &lt; 0.03 and &lt; 0.02, respectively) and timed up-and-go tests (p &lt; 0.03 and &lt; 0.02, respectively) in women but not men. Discussion and conclusion: Self-report of 4 or more NCDs was associated with an increased risk of poor physical function, an outcome which has previously been associated with adverse clinical sequelae. This observation may inform development of a simple screening tool to look for poor physical function in older adults.</p

Predictors and consequences of not seeking healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic: findings from the HEAF cohort

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a dramatic reduction of routine healthcare availability in many European countries. Among a cohort of English middle-aged adults, we explored pre-pandemic and pandemic factors associated with not seeking healthcare during lockdown, and their effect on subsequent self-reported health measures. Longitudinal data from the Health and Employment After Fifty (HEAF) cohort were used. Pre-pandemic data came from the 5th annual follow-up (2019), when participants were aged 56-71 years, and pandemic data were collected by e-survey in February 2021 and November 2021. Response rates of the two e-surveys were 53% and 79%, respectively. Pre-pandemic predictors of not seeking healthcare were: female gender, higher BMI, higher comorbidity, poorer self-rated health and depression; non-care seekers were also more likely to report that family or friends were affected by COVID-19 and to have been advised to shield. Not seeking healthcare during lockdown was associated with a higher risk of reporting worsening of physical, but not mental, health during the later phase of the pandemic. In this cohort, those with generally poorer health were disproportionately more likely to not seek healthcare during lockdown, which may potentially exacerbate pre-existing inequalities and lead to longer-term health consequences.</p