The topic of this seminar is the period that music historians call the Ars Nova. The first element that has traditionally defined Ars Nova is the Roman de Fauvel, a lengthy animal romance containing a wealth of new music along with innovative notation. The second is the ruckus raised by Jacques de Liège's monumental Speculum musice. The third is the Ars nova treatise itself, more accurately a half dozen separate anonymous pamphlets on a common theme.

In addition to these elements, the seminar will also explore several other, unedited treatises that elucidate the historical puzzle of Ars Nova.