Machaut, Guillaume de (gēyōm` də mäshō`), c.1300–1377, French poet and composer. Variants of his name include Machault, de Machaudio, and de Mascaudio. He studied theology and took holy orders. In the service of King John of Bohemia he traveled through Europe on chivalric expeditions. Later, while in the service of King Charles of Navarre, he wrote the long narrative poems Confort d'ami and Le Jugement du roi de Navarre. The recipient of numerous papal benefices, Machaut was canon at Reims from 1340 until his death. In Le Livre du voir dit (1361–65) he wrote a long poem of courtly love with musical interpolations. Considered the greatest French musician of the 14th cent. and the exponent of ars nova in France, he wrote lais, motets, ballads, rondeaux, virelais, and one mass. He contributed to the secularization of the motet by using French texts of courtly love instead of Latin liturgy. Most important perhaps was his skillful use of rhythm with counterpoint, which made his music widely known and admired. His mass, the first complete polyphonic version, was still in use in the 16th cent. and led to the great masses of Josquin Desprez and Palestrina.

Machaut, Guillaume de

or Guillaume de Machault

Guillaume de Machaut, detail of a miniature from Oeuvres de Guillaume de Machaut, …

(credit: Courtesy of the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris)

(born c. 1300, Machault, France—died 1377, Reims) French poet and composer. After possibly receiving a university education and taking holy orders, he traveled throughout Europe as secretary to the king of Bohemia. He was appointed canon of Reims cathedral in 1337. After the king's death, Machaut was supported by several royal patrons, including the duke de Berry, and King Charles V. Beside 14 narrative poems incorporating short lyrics, he wrote more than 400 separate lyric poems. He wrote dozens of musical compositions in each of the genres of formes fixes. He also composed the first complete setting of the mass for four voices, and he was the outstanding figure of the Ars Nova. His poetry is noted chiefly for its technical innovations. Geoffrey Chaucer's Book of the Duchesse shows the influence of Machaut.