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College of Music

Abstract geometry in the motets of Dunstable and Dufay. Volume 1 and 2

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

This dissertation has been inspired by architectural studies showing the extent to which the medieval architect was steeped in geometrical and mathematical thinking. Researchers such as Lesser, von Simson and Wittkower have shown that, from its overall proportion to its most intimate detail of ornamentation, the Gothic cathedral is derived from the sacred lore of numbers and its concommitent geometric procedures, notably quadrature and triangulation. With a single basic dimension, the Gothic architect developed all the measurements of his ground plan and elevation by geometrical means, using the square and the triangle as his module. Dimensions are related, for example, by squares of which the area diminishes or increases in geometric proportion:

Degree

thesis:*
Grantor
College of Music
Year dc:date.issued
1983

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Rommelaere, Paul Frederick Marie

Subjects

dc:subject × 1

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Handle dc:identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/11427/39106
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/39106

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Cape Town
Base URL
open.uct.ac.za/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
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citation

Rommelaere, Paul Frederick Marie. Abstract geometry in the motets of Dunstable and Dufay. Volume 1 and 2. College of Music, 1983. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/39106