It is difficult to be certain about many aspects of Machaut’s life and career, given gaps in the documentary record. Because many of his narrative poems feature a pseudo-autobiographical narrator, it is tempting to supplement that record by mining his literary works for biographical details. We do so at our own risk, though, because, while this narrator is often given the name Guillaume, he is a literary construct. Since Machaut plays extensively with the relationship between truth and fiction, what he tells us about Guillaume may not line up with Machaut’s lived reality. Nevertheless, it is sometimes the only information we have, so we must use it, however carefully.
Most scholars believe Guillaume de Machaut was born c. 1300 in or near Reims, perhaps in the town of Machault or the nearby village of Cauroy de les Machaut. Nothing is known for certain about his family or social status, except that he had a brother, Jean, who like him became a canon of Reims cathedral. Roger Bowers has argued that he may have come from a landowning family, but there is no proof. He probably received his early education in Reims, and he may have received a master of arts degree from the University of Paris, but the evidence for that degree is weak. By about 1323 he had entered the service of John, king of Bohemia, working first as a clerk but eventually rising to the rank of secretary. With the king he apparently traveled extensively. Through the influence of John of Bohemia he received several church benefices, culminating in a canonicate at Reims cathedral.
Whether he settled in Reims around 1340 or decades later, Machaut owned a house in that city by 1372. The house no longer stands, but its location near the cathedral has been identified, and it appears to have been fairly large, with a courtyard and garden. This suggests that he and his brother, who shared the house, had some means. Machaut died around 1377: we don’t have the exact date, but his canonry was given to another man on 9 November 1377, so it must have been earlier that year.
For further reading:
Bowers, Roger. “Guillaume de Machaut and His Canonry of Reims, 1338–1377.” Early Music History 23 (2004): 1–48.
Earp, Lawrence. Guillaume de Machaut: A Guide to Research. Garland Composer Resource Manuals. New York and London: Garland, 1995.
Leach, Elizabeth Eva. Guillaume de Machaut: Secretary, Poet, Musician. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2011.
Robertson, Anne Walters. Guillaume de Machaut and Reims: Context and Meaning in his Musical Works. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Most scholars believe Guillaume de Machaut was born c. 1300 in or near Reims, perhaps in the town of Machault or the nearby village of Cauroy de les Machaut. Nothing is known for certain about his family or social status, except that he had a brother, Jean, who like him became a canon of Reims cathedral. Roger Bowers has argued that he may have come from a landowning family, but there is no proof. He probably received his early education in Reims, and he may have received a master of arts degree from the University of Paris, but the evidence for that degree is weak. By about 1323 he had entered the service of John, king of Bohemia, working first as a clerk but eventually rising to the rank of secretary. With the king he apparently traveled extensively. Through the influence of John of Bohemia he received several church benefices, culminating in a canonicate at Reims cathedral.
Whether he settled in Reims around 1340 or decades later, Machaut owned a house in that city by 1372. The house no longer stands, but its location near the cathedral has been identified, and it appears to have been fairly large, with a courtyard and garden. This suggests that he and his brother, who shared the house, had some means. Machaut died around 1377: we don’t have the exact date, but his canonry was given to another man on 9 November 1377, so it must have been earlier that year.
For further reading:
Bowers, Roger. “Guillaume de Machaut and His Canonry of Reims, 1338–1377.” Early Music History 23 (2004): 1–48.
Earp, Lawrence. Guillaume de Machaut: A Guide to Research. Garland Composer Resource Manuals. New York and London: Garland, 1995.
Leach, Elizabeth Eva. Guillaume de Machaut: Secretary, Poet, Musician. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2011.
Robertson, Anne Walters. Guillaume de Machaut and Reims: Context and Meaning in his Musical Works. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
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