Question

Among other causes, ___________________ music became more important than ___________________ music in the fourteenth century because the literature of the time stressed earthly sensuality, rival popes claimed authority at the same time, thereby weakening the authority of the church, and the feudal system had gone into decline.

a) Secular, sacred
b) Sacred, secular
c) Vocal, instrumental
d) Gregorian chant, secular

Answer 1

During the fourteenth century, secular music became more important than sacred music due to the cultural inclinations toward earthly sensuality, a decline in the Church's authority, and the decline of the feudal system which shifted the focus from monastic life to urban centers where secular culture was more prevalent.

Step-by-step explanation:

The fourteenth century marked a significant shift in musical preference from sacred to secular music. This change was influenced by various cultural and political factors. Literary trends emphasized earthly sensuality, which paralleled the rise of secular themes in music. At the same time, the political and religious landscape was unstable, particularly with the occurrence of the Western Schism where multiple popes claimed authority, thus weakening the centralized power of the Church.

The decline of the feudal system also contributed to the changing dynamics, as people moved to towns and cities where secular life thrived over the strictly controlled religious feudal communities. As a result, secular music, which included a variety of vocal genres such as the Italian madrigal, and the French chanson, began to flourish. The invention of the Gutenberg press further aided this shift by making music and musical theory more widely available to the emerging bourgeois class, marking a decisive point in Renaissance music where secular tunes were more aligned with the zeitgeist than their sacred counterparts.