A Study on the Interaction and Influence between Gregorian Chant and Early Secular Songs

Gregorian chant constituted the official liturgical music of the medieval Roman Church, with monks and clergy expressing praise and reverence for God through its chanting. It held a pivotal position within medieval religious life. However, with the rise of cities and the development of commerce, the bourgeoisie gradually expanded, developing a desire for musical forms capable of expressing everyday emotions and reflecting secular life. Given these divergences, traditional scholarship has predominantly examined the contrasting relationship between the two, with scant exploration of their mutual interaction. This paper therefore adopts this perspective to analyse how the two forms permeated and influenced one another.