The
Schola cantorum was the trained papal
choirA choir, chorale, or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together is called a choir or chorus...
during the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
, specializing in the performance of plainchant. Although legend associates them with the papacy of Gregory the Great, who is popularly but falsely credited with creating the Gregorian repertory, there is no historical evidence to support this claim. The Schola is attested in historical records beginning in the 8th century, possibly beginning under
Pope Sergius IPope Saint Sergius I was Pope from 687–701. Selected to end a schism between Antipope Paschal and Antipope Theodore, Sergius I ended the last disputed sede vacante of the Byzantine Papacy....
.
The
Schola cantorum was the trained papal
choirA choir, chorale, or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together is called a choir or chorus...
during the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
, specializing in the performance of plainchant. Although legend associates them with the papacy of Gregory the Great, who is popularly but falsely credited with creating the Gregorian repertory, there is no historical evidence to support this claim. The Schola is attested in historical records beginning in the 8th century, possibly beginning under
Pope Sergius IPope Saint Sergius I was Pope from 687–701. Selected to end a schism between Antipope Paschal and Antipope Theodore, Sergius I ended the last disputed sede vacante of the Byzantine Papacy....
. They played a significant and contentious role in the transmission of Roman chant to the
CarolingianThe Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with its origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
court of
CharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe...
, where the fusion of Roman and
Gallican chantGallican chant refers to the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Gallican rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Gaul, prior to the introduction and development of elements of the Roman rite from which Gregorian chant evolved...
evolved into what we now know as
Gregorian chantGregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical chant in Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
.
Between the years
876-Births:* Henry the Fowler, the duke of Saxony from 912 and king of the Germans from 919 until his death....
and 1073, the prior of the Schola is recorded to have performed a curious dance with clearly pagan origins known as
Cornomania, on the Saturday following
EasterEaster is the most important annual religious feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to Christian scripture, Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the third day from his crucifixion...
, on the
LateranLateran and Laterano are the shared names of several architectural projects throughout Rome. The properties were once owned by the Lateranus family of the former Roman Empire...
Square in the
VaticanVatican City , officially the State of the Vatican City , is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, the capital city of Italy...
. He would wear a wreath with horns on his head, swing a rattle with bells, scatter
laurelThe Bay Laurel , also known as True Laurel, Sweet Bay, Laurel Tree, Grecian Laurel, Laurel, or Bay Tree, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub reaching 10–18 m tall, native to the Mediterranean region.-Growth:The leaves are 6–12 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, with a characteristic...
leaves, and cry out in an unknown language,
"Iaritan, iaritan, iariariasti; raphayn, iercoin, iariariasti".
Several institutions have modeled themselves after the medieval Schola, including the
Schola Cantorum BasiliensisSchola Cantorum Basiliensis is a music academy and research institution located in Basel, Switzerland, and focusing on early music and historically informed performance....
of Basel and the
Schola CantorumLa Schola Cantorum is a private music school in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera...
of Paris.