A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Garlandia, Johannes de
GARLANDIA, Johannes de. The works on music which appeared under this name were formerly ascribed to a Gerlandus who, owing to some confusion of dates, was said to have flourished in 1041, but who was afterwards identified with the mathematician Gerlandus, canon of the abbey of St. Paul at Besançon in the middle of the 12th century. It appears, however, more probable that the writer on music, Johannes de Garlandia, was identical with the grammarian and poet of that name who flourished nearly a century later. Of the life of this latter we gather several particulars from his great work 'De triumphis Ecclesiæ' (finished in 1252), of which the British Museum possesses an almost contemporary copy (Claudius A. X.), which has been printed by Mr. Thomas Wright. Born in England late in the 12th century, Johannes de Garlandia studied first at Oxford, and afterwards at Paris. Here he opened a school in the Clos de Garlande, since known as the Rue Gallande, from which he is supposed to have derived his name de Garlandia, or, as one early writer spells it, de Gallandia. It was probably about this time that he wrote his treatise on music. In 1218 we find him present at the siege of Toulouse, apparently himself taking part in the crusade against the Albigenses. It was to this place also that he was invited in 1229 to assist in the formation of the newly-founded University; and here he remained till 1232, when he and his colleagues were forced to leave owing to the persecution to which they were subjected at the hands of the Dominicans and others. They escaped after many dangers to Paris, where John de Garlandia was still residing in 1245. Here no doubt were written most of his poems on historical and theological subjects, and his grammatical treatises. The titles of his musical works which have come down to us are two fragments, 'De fistulis' and De nolis,' printed by Gerbert from a MS. at Vienna;—'De musica mensurabili positio,' of which there are MSS. at Paris and Rome; in this work the author figures as a composer, giving, among many other examples of his own, one in double counterpoint; a treatise, 'De cantu piano,' to which he himself refers in the last-mentioned work; this may be the 'Introductio musice plane et etiam mensurabilis ' in the St. Dié MS.—Philip de Vitry refers to other works by de Garlandia, of whom he writes as 'quondam in studio Parisino expertissimum atque probatissimum.' The 'Optima introductio in contrapunctum pro rudibus,' contained in MSS. at Pisa and Einsiedeln, should perhaps be assigned to a Johannes de Garlandia of a rather later date; or, if the work of the same man, must have been written by him when at an advanced age. The same may be said of the extracts quoted by Handle and Hanboys. Most of the above works are printed by de Coussemaker.
A John de Garlandia is mentioned by Roger Bacon as eminent at Paris apparently shortly before 1267.