Augustine’s De musica and Its Recovery Between the Ninth and Thirteenth Centuries

This paper explores the neglected importance of the De musica of Augustine, long overshadowed by his writings on Christian theology, as well as by the subsequent reputation of the De institutione musica of Boethius. It considers the rediscovery of Augustine’s De musica in the ninth century, not just through surviving manuscripts, but in the writing of Sedulius Scotus and John Scotus Eriugena, as well as in certain commentaries on both Augustine and Boethius on music that deserve exploration as transmitting his core ideas. The paper also explores the renewal of interest in the De musica in the thirteenth century, not just through scholastics like Robert Grosseteste and Alexander of Hales, but through various manuscripts from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, including one belonging to Richard of Fournival.