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An English composer in royal and aristocratic service: Robert Chirbury, c. 1380–1454

An English composer in royal and aristocratic service: Robert Chirbury, c. 1380–1454

By Alexandra Buckle

Plainsong and Medieval Music, Vol.15 No.2 (2006)

Abstract: Four compositions in the first layer of the Old Hall Manuscript (GB-Lbl, Add. MS 57950) are attributed to R. Chirbury (or R. Chyrbury). This article argues that the Robert Chirbury who ended his days as Dean at the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick was this composer. His career included stints at the Chapel Royal and probably also earlier employment in the London diocese, as well as service in the household of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. Moreover, this individual can be differentiated from similarly named men in the Register of the London St Nicholas Fraternity of Parish Clerks, and the assertion that the composer was employed at St George’s, Windsor can be discounted.

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