A Soldier of Great Prowess in a Motet around 1500

The motet Miles mire probitatis, printed by Petrucci in Motetti C of 1504, was once believed to be the work of Ockeghem, admittedly without much critical consideration. A manuscript from the collegiate church of Saint-Martin of Tours, where Ockeghem famously served as Treasurer, is the only extant source to transmit both text and music of the sequence Miles mire probitatis, honoring St. Martin. The motet is based on this short rhymed sequence, whose other concordances (text only) likewise emanate from that church. Scholars have advanced and dismissed various claims for the authorship of the motet Miles mire probitatis, but none has considered the implications of the unique source to transmit both the music and words of the original sequence. No less important is the fact that the sequence circulated only in a very narrow geographical area. An analysis of both the sequence and the motet based on it permits a reconsideration of questions of authorship and style, as well as an evaluation of the history of the debate.