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Sumer is icumen in
Medieval English canon / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Sumer is icumen in" is the incipit of a medieval English round or rota of the mid-13th century; it is also known variously as the Summer Canon and the Cuckoo Song.
Sumer is icumen in | |
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Canon | |
![]() Harley MS 978, folio 11v, British Library[1] | |
Language | Wessex dialect of Middle English |
The line translates approximately to "Summer has come" or "Summer has arrived".[2] The song is written in the Wessex dialect of Middle English. Although the composer's identity is unknown today, it may have been W. de Wycombe[3] or a monk at Reading Abbey, John of Fornsete [Wikidata].[4] The manuscript in which it is preserved was copied between 1261 and 1264.[3]
This rota is the oldest known musical composition featuring six-part polyphony.[5]
It is sometimes called the Reading Rota because the earliest known copy of the composition, a manuscript written in mensural notation, was found at Reading Abbey; it was probably not drafted there, however.[6] The British Library now retains this manuscript.[7] A copy of the manuscript in stone relief is displayed on the wall of the ruined chapter house of Reading Abbey.[8]