Editing Josquin des Prez (section)

==Life==
===Early life===
====Birth and background====
[[File:Hainault and the surrounding area.svg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[County of Hainaut|Hainault]] and the surrounding area in the time of Josquin{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=8}}]]

Little is known about Josquin's early years.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§1 "Birth, family and early training (''c''1450–75)"}} The specifics of his biography have been debated for centuries. The musicologist William Elders noted that "it could be called a twist of fate that neither the year, nor the place of birth of the greatest composer of the Renaissance is known".{{sfn|Elders|2013|p=17}} A now-outdated theory is that he was born around 1440, based on a mistaken association with Jushinus de Kessalia, recorded in documents as "Judocus de Picardia".{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=18}} A reevaluation of his later career, name and family background has discredited this claim.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§1 "Birth, family and early training (''c''1450–75)"}} He is now thought to have been born around 1450, and at the latest 1455, making him a "a close contemporary" of composers [[Loyset Compère]] and [[Heinrich Isaac]], and slightly older than [[Jacob Obrecht]].{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§1 "Birth, family and early training (''c''1450–75)"}}

Josquin's father Gossart dit des Prez was a policeman in the [[castellany]] of [[Ath]], who was accused of numerous offenses, including complaints of [[undue force]], and disappears from the records after 1448.{{refn|Gossart had died by the time Josquin took up his inheritance in 1483. It remains uncertain exactly when he died, and whether the composer was an orphan for much of his youth.{{sfn|Kellman|2009|loc=p. 199, note 57}}|group=n}} Nothing is known of Josquin's mother, who is absent from surviving documents, suggesting that she was either not considered Josquin's legitimate mother, or that she died soon after, or during, his birth. Around 1466, perhaps on the death of his father, Josquin was named by his uncle and aunt, Gille Lebloitte dit des Prez and Jacque Banestonne, as their heir.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|pp=11–13}}{{sfn|Kellman|2009|pp=183–200}}

Josquin was born in the French-speaking area of Flanders, in modern-day northeastern France or Belgium.{{sfn|Sherr|2017|loc=§ "Introduction"}}{{refn|Modern scholarship differs in how it describes Josquin's nationality; his exact birthplace is unknown,{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§1 "Birth, family and early training (''c''1450–75)"}} and determining nationalities for 15th-century composers is problematic in general.{{sfn|Bridgman|1960|p=241}} He is known to have been born somewhere in French-speaking [[County of Flanders|Flanders]].{{sfn|Sherr|2017|loc=§ "Introduction"}} The musicologist [[Gustave Reese]] contends that "By far the greater number of [Josquin's] secular compositions have French texts. Culturally and legally Josquin was a Frenchman".{{sfn|Reese|1984|p=2}} As such, sources such as Patrick Macey, [[Jeremy Noble (musicologist)|Jeremy Noble]], Jeffrey Dean and Reese in ''[[Grove Music Online]]'' call him a "French composer".{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§ "Introduction"}} The musicologist {{ill|Nanie Bridgman|fr}} notes that Josquin succeeded [[Johannes Ockeghem|Ockeghem]] in leading the 'Netherland[ish] Style', but also that Josquin and his contemporaries united that school with the "very different world of French music",{{sfn|Bridgman|1960|p=241}} resulting in what scholars call the [[Franco-Flemish School]].{{sfn|Gleason|Becker|1988|pp=106, 109}} Some sources refer to him as 'Franco-Flemish'.{{sfn|Milsom|2011}}{{sfn|''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music''|2013}}|group=n}} Despite his association with Condé in his later years, Josquin's own testimony indicates that he was not born there.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=18}}{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§1 "Birth, family and early training (''c''1450–75)"}} The only firm evidence for his birthplace is a later legal document in which Josquin described being born beyond Noir Eauwe, meaning 'Black Water'.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=18}}{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§1 "Birth, family and early training (''c''1450–75)"}} This description has puzzled scholars, and there are various theories on which body of water is being referred to.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§1 "Birth, family and early training (''c''1450–75)"}} L'Eau Noire river in the [[Ardennes]] has been proposed, and there was a village named [[Prez, Ardennes|Prez]] there,{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§1 "Birth, family and early training (''c''1450–75)"}} though the musicologist [[David Fallows]] contends that the [[#Name|complications surrounding Josquin's name]] make a surname connection irrelevant, and that the river is too small and too far from Condé to be a candidate.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=19}} Fallows proposes a birthplace near the converging [[Scheldt|Escaut]] and [[Haine]] rivers at Condé, preferring the latter since it was known for transporting coal, perhaps fitting the "Black Water" description.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|pp=19–20}}{{refn|If the Haine theory from Fallows is correct, that would mean Josquin was born in the County of Hainaut, which would fit with a 1560 verse by the poet [[Pierre de Ronsard]] that describes him as such.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=20}}|group=n}} Other theories include a birth near [[Saint-Quentin, Aisne]], due to his early association with the [[Basilica of Saint-Quentin|Collegiate Church of Saint-Quentin]], or in the small village of [[Beaurevoir]], which is near the Escaut, a river that may be referred to in an acrostic in his later motet ''Illibata Dei virgo nutrix''.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§1 "Birth, family and early training (''c''1450–75)"}}

====Youth====
There is no documentary evidence covering Josquin's education or upbringing.{{sfn|Reese|1984|p=3}} Fallows associates him with Goseequin de Condent, an [[altar boy]] at the collegiate church of Saint-Géry, [[Cambrai]] until mid-1466.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|pp=13, 35}} Other scholars such as [[Gustave Reese]] relay a 17th-century account from [[Cardinal Richelieu]]'s friend Claude Hémeré, suggesting that Josquin became a choirboy with his friend [[Jean Mouton]] at the Collegiate Church of Saint-Quentin;{{sfn|Reese|1984|p=3}} this account has been questioned.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§1 "Birth, family and early training (''c''1450–75)"}} The collegiate chapel there was an important center of royal patronage and music for the area. All records from Saint-Quentin were destroyed in 1669, and Josquin may have acquired his later connections with the French royal chapel through an early association with Saint-Quentin.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§1 "Birth, family and early training (''c''1450–75)"}} He may have studied under [[Johannes Ockeghem]], a leading composer whom he greatly admired throughout his life. This is claimed by later writers such as [[Gioseffo Zarlino]] and [[Lodovico Zacconi]]; Josquin wrote a [[lamentation]] on the death of Ockeghem, ''[[Nymphes des bois]]''.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§1 "Birth, family and early training (''c''1450–75)"}} There is no concrete evidence for this tutorship, and later commentators may only have meant that Josquin "learnt from the older composer's example".{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§1 "Birth, family and early training (''c''1450–75)"}} Josquin [[Musical quotation|musically quoted]] Ockeghem several times, most directly in his double motet ''Alma Redemptoris mater/Ave regina caelorum'', which shares an opening line with Ockeghem's motet ''Alma Redemptoris mater''.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§1 "Birth, family and early training (''c''1450–75)"}}{{sfn|Finscher|2000|pp=258–259}}{{refn|The similarities between these two pieces are "often cited as a clear allusion";{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=37}} Fallows expresses uncertainty on how meaningful the similarities between Josquin's ''Alma Redemptoris mater/Ave regina caelorum'' and Ockeghem's ''Alma Redemptoris mater'' are, see {{harvtxt|Fallows|2020|p=37}}. See {{harvtxt|Finscher|2000|pp=258–260}} for analysis on how Josquin quickly departs from Ockeghem's style in this work. See [[:File:Comparison of Alma Redemptoris mater-Ave regina caelorum and Alma Redemptoris mater.png|this image]] for an example.|group=n}}

Josquin could have been associated with [[Old Cambrai Cathedral|Cambrai Cathedral]], as there is a "des Prez" among the cathedral's musicians listed in ''Omnium bonorum plena'', a motet by Compère.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=25}} The motet was composed before 1474 and names many important musicians of the time, including [[Antoine Busnois]], [[Johannes Tinctoris]], [[Johannes Regis]], Ockeghem and [[Guillaume Du Fay]].{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§1 "Birth, family and early training (''c''1450–75)"}} The motet may refer to the singer Pasquier Desprez, but Josquin is a likelier candidate.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§1 "Birth, family and early training (''c''1450–75)"}}{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=27}}{{refn|Due to chronological issues in his career Josquin was long dismissed as the "des Prez" of Compère's motet.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=25}} Modern research allows for the reexamination of this possibility. See {{harvtxt|Fallows|2020|pp=25–29}} for further information.|group=n}} Josquin was certainly influenced by Du Fay's music;{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=39}} the musicologist [[Alejandro Planchart]] suggests that the impact was not particularly large.{{sfn|Planchart|2004|loc=§2 "Posthumous reputation"}}

====Early career====
[[File:Le Roi René.PNG|thumb|left|upright=0.8|[[René of Anjou]], Josquin's first known employer]]

The first firm record of Josquin's employment is from 19 April 1477 when he was a singer in the chapel of [[René of Anjou]], in [[Aix-en-Provence]].{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§2 "Aix-en-Provence, ?Paris, Condé-sur-l'Escaut (''c''1475–1483)"}} Other evidence may place him in Aix as early as 1475.{{sfn|Merkley|Merkley|1999|p=428}} Josquin remained there until at least 1478, after which his name disappears from historical records for five years.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§2 "Aix-en-Provence, ?Paris, Condé-sur-l'Escaut (''c''1475–1483)"}} He may have remained in René's service, joining his other singers to serve [[Louis XI]], who sent them to the [[Sainte-Chapelle]] of Paris.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§2 "Aix-en-Provence, ?Paris, Condé-sur-l'Escaut (''c''1475–1483)"}} Josquin's connection to Louis XI could be furthered by his early motet ''Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo'', which may be a musical tribute for the king, since it ends with the psalm verse "In te Domine speravi, non confundar in aeternum", the line Louis commissioned [[Jean Bourdichon]] to write on 50 scrolls in the [[Château de Plessis-lez-Tours]].{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§2 "Aix-en-Provence, ?Paris, Condé-sur-l'Escaut (''c''1475–1483)"}} A less accepted theory for Josquin's activities between 1478 and 1483 is that he had already entered the household of his future employer [[Ascanio Sforza]] in 1480.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§3 "Milan and elsewhere (1484–9)"}} In that case, Josquin would have been with Ascanio in Ferrara and might have written his ''[[Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae]]'' at this time for Ercole d'Este.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§3 "Milan and elsewhere (1484–9)"}} Around this period the ''[[Casanatense chansonnier]]'' was collected in Ferrara,{{sfn|Lockwood|2009|pp=298–299}} which includes six chansons by Josquin, ''[[Adieu mes amours]]'', ''En l'ombre d'ung buissonet'', ''Et trop penser'', ''Ile fantazies de Joskin'', ''Que vous ma dame'' and ''Une mousque de Biscaye''.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§2 "Aix-en-Provence, ?Paris, Condé-sur-l'Escaut (''c''1475–1483)"}} ''Adieu mes amours'' and ''Que vous ma dame'' are thought to have been particularly popular, given their wide dissemination in later sources.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=351}}

In February 1483 Josquin returned to Condé to claim his inheritance from his aunt and uncle, who may have been killed when the army of Louis XI besieged the town in May 1478 and had the population locked and burned in a church.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§2 "Aix-en-Provence, ?Paris, Condé-sur-l'Escaut (''c''1475–1483)"}}{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=105}} In the same document, the collegiate church of Condé is reported to have given ''vin d'honneur'' ({{lit|wine of honor}}) to Josquin, because "as a musician who had already served two kings, he was now a distinguished visitor to the little town".{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=105}} Josquin hired at least 15 [[Procuration|procurators]] to deal with his inheritance, suggesting he was then wealthy.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=106}} This would explain how later in his life he was able to travel frequently and did not have to compose greatly demanded mass cycles like contemporaries Isaac and [[Ludwig Senfl]].{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=106}}

===Italy and travels===
==== Milan and elsewhere====
{| class= "wikitable floatright"
|-
|+Tentative outline of Josquin's life from 1483 to 1489{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=118}}
|-
! Date
! Location
! Confidence
|-
| March 1483
| [[Condé-sur-l'Escaut|Condé]]
| Certain
|-
| August 1483
| Departure from Paris
| Possible
|-
| March 1484
| Rome
| Possible
|-
| 15 May 1484{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§3 "Milan and elsewhere (1484–9)"}}
| Milan
| Certain
|-
| June–August 1484
| Milan (with [[Ascanio Sforza|Ascanio]])
| Certain
|-
| Up to July 1484
| Rome (with {{abbr|A.|Ascanio}})
| Certain
|-
| July 1485
| Plans to leave (with {{abbr|A.|Ascanio}})
| Certain
|-
| 1485 –&nbsp;?
| Vienna{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=524}}
| Possible
|-
| Jan–Feb 1489
| Milan
| Certain
|-
| Early May 1489
| Milan
| Probable
|-
| June 1489
| Rome (in [[Sistine Chapel Choir|Papal choir]])
| Certain
|}

A surviving record indicates that Josquin was in Milan by 15 May 1484, perhaps just after his 1483 trip to Condé.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§3 "Milan and elsewhere (1484–9)"}} In March 1484 he may have visited Rome.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=118}} Fallows speculates that Josquin left Condé for Italy so quickly because his inheritance gave him more freedom and allowed him to avoid serving a king who he suspected had caused the deaths of his aunt and uncle.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=105}} By then, the sacred music of [[Milan Cathedral]] had a reputation for excellence.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=109}} Josquin was employed by the [[House of Sforza]], and on 20 June 1484 came into the service of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§3 "Milan and elsewhere (1484–9)"}} Josquin's renown as a composer, a strong recommendation from a patron of fellow musician, or the use of his wealth, might have helped him get this prestigious and long-term position.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=110}} While working for Ascanio, on 19 August Josquin successfully requested a previously rejected dispensation to be [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]] at the [[parish church]] Saint Aubin without having been ordained a priest.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=111}} [[Joshua Rifkin]] dates the well-known motet ''[[Ave Maria ... Virgo serena]]'' to this time, {{circa|1485}}.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§2 "Aix-en-Provence, ?Paris, Condé-sur-l'Escaut (''c''1475–1483)"}}{{sfn|Rifkin|2003|p=305}}{{refn|''Ave Maria ... Virgo serena'' is among Josquin's most frequently analyzed and celebrated works.{{sfn|Sherr|2017|loc=§ "Ave Maria ... virgo serena"}} See {{harvtxt|Dumitrescu|2009}}, {{harvtxt|Milsom|2015}} and {{harvtxt|Rifkin|2003}} for further information on the motet.|name=Ave|group=n}}

Josquin went to Rome with Ascanio in July 1484 for a year, and may have gone to Paris for a litigation suit involving the [[benefice]] in Saint Aubin during the later 1480s.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§3 "Milan and elsewhere (1484–9)"}} Around this time the poet [[Serafino dell'Aquila]] wrote his sonnet to Josquin, "Ad Jusquino suo compagno musico d'Ascanio" ("To Josquin, his fellow musician of Ascanio"), which asks him "not to be discouraged if his 'genius so sublime' seemed poorly remunerated".{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§3 "Milan and elsewhere (1484–9)"}}{{sfn|Elders|2013|p=34}}{{refn|See {{harvtxt|Elders|2013|p=34}} for the complete poem and an English translation|group=n}} Between 1485 and 1489 Josquin may have served under the Hungarian king [[Matthias Corvinus]] in Vienna;{{sfn|Fallows|2020|pp=114–115, 524}} an account by the Cardinal [[Girolamo Aleandro]] in 1539 recalls the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Esztergom–Budapest|archbishop of Esztergom]] {{ill|Várdai Pál|hu|lt=Pal Varday}} stating that the court of Matthias included "excellent painters and musicians, among them even Josquin himself".{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=112}}{{sfn|Király|1992|p=145}} Some scholars suggest Aleandro was repeating a false rumor,{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§3 "Milan and elsewhere (1484–9)"}} or that Varday confused Josquin des Prez for [[Josquin Dor]] or [[Johannes de Stokem]].{{sfn|Fallows|2020|pp=112–113}} Fallows contends that it is unlikely that Varday, who was well-educated and a musician, would have made such a mistake, but concedes that it is possible.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=113}} The court of Matthias had a high standard of music and employed numerous musicians, many of them from Italy.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§3 "Milan and elsewhere (1484–9)"}} Though Fallows asserts that Josquin's presence in the Hungarian king's service is likely,{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=115}} the evidence is circumstantial, and no original documents survive to confirm the claim.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§3 "Milan and elsewhere (1484–9)"}} Josquin was in Milan again in January 1489, probably until early May, and met the theorist and composer [[Franchinus Gaffurius]] there.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|pp=117–118}}

====Rome====
[[File:Josquin des Prez signature.webp|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Josquin's presumed signature (<small>JOSQUINJ</small>) on the [[Sistine Chapel]]'s choir gallery wall]]

From June 1489 until at least April 1494, Josquin was a member of the papal choir in Rome, under [[Pope Innocent VIII]] then the [[House of Borgia|Borgia]] pope [[Pope Alexander VI|Alexander VI]].{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§4 "The papal chapel (1489–1494)"}}{{refn|Until 1997 Josquin was thought to have joined the papal choir in 1486, as he was mistakenly identified with a 'Jo. de Pratis' in papal documents. It is now thought that this refers to the composer [[Johannes de Stokem]] instead, and thus the earliest record of Josquin's employment in the papal choir is from 1489.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=139}} See {{harvtxt|Starr|1997}} for further information.|group=n}} Josquin may have arrived there due to an exchange of singers between [[Ludovico Sforza]] and Pope Innocent, where the latter sent [[Gaspar van Weerbeke]] to Milan, presumably in return for Josquin.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§4 "The papal chapel (1489–1494)"}} Josquin's arrival brought much-needed prestige to the choir, as the composers Gaspar and Stokem had left recently and the only other choristers known to be composers were [[Marbrianus de Orto]] and Bertrandus Vaqueras.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=141}} Two months after his arrival, Josquin laid claim to the first of various benefices on 18 August.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|pp=139–140}} Holding three unrelated benefices at once, without having residency there or needing to speak that area's language, was a special privilege that Josquin's tenure and position offered;{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=171}} many of his choir colleagues had also enjoyed such privileges.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§4 "The papal chapel (1489–1494)"}} His claims included a canonry at the [[Notre-Dame de Paris]]; Saint Omer, Cambrai; a parish in the gift of [[Saint-Ghislain Abbey]]; the Basse-Yttre parish church; two parishes near Frasnes, Hainaut; and Saint-Géry, Cambrai.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§4 "The papal chapel (1489–1494)"}} Surviving papal letters indicate that some of these claims were approved, but he does not appear to have taken up any of the canonries.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=171}} The Sistine Chapel's monthly payment records give the best record of Josquin's career, but all papal chapel records from April 1494 to November 1500 are lost, making it unknown when he left Rome.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=139}}

After restorations from 1997 to 1998, the name <small>JOSQUINJ</small> was found as a [[graffiti|graffito]] on the wall of the [[Sistine Chapel]]'s ''cantoria'' (choir gallery).{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§4 "The papal chapel (1489–1494)"}}{{sfn|Pietschmann|1999|p=204}} It is one of almost four hundred names inscribed in the chapel, around a hundred of which can be identified with singers of the papal choir.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=173}} They date from the 15th to 18th centuries, and the <small>JOSQUINJ</small> signature is in the style of the former.<ref name=Sherr2000p2>[[#Sherr Introduction|Sherr 2000]], p. 2</ref> There is some evidence suggesting the name refers to Josquin des Prez; it may be interpreted as either "Josquin" or "Josquinus", depending on whether the curved line on the far right is read as the abbreviation for "us".{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=173}} Other choristers named Josquin tended to sign their name in full, whereas Josquin des Prez is known to have done so [[mononym]]ously on occasion.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=173}} [[Andrea Adami da Bolsena]] notes in his 1711 ''Osservazioni per ben regolare il coro dei cantori della Cappella Pontificia'' that in his time Josquin's name was visibly 'sculpted' in the Sistine Chapel's choir room.<ref name=Sherr2000p2 /> The musicologist Richard Sherr writes that "while this is not a true autograph signature, the possibility that Josquin des Prez actually produced it during his stay in the papal chapel is very high",<ref name=Sherr2000p2 /> and Fallows says that "it hardly counts as an autograph, but it may be the closest we can get."{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=174}}

===France===
[[File:Ludwig XII. von Frankreich.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Josquin probably served under [[Louis XII]], who had captured the Sforzas, his previous employers.]]

Documents found since the late 20th century have shed some light on Josquin's life and works between 1494 and 1503; at some point he was ordained a priest.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|pp=193, 195}}{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§5 "France and Italy (1494–1503)"}} In August 1494 he went to Cambrai, as attested by a ''vin d'honneur'' ({{lit|wine of honor}}) record, and he may have returned to Rome soon after.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=191}} From then to 1498 there is no firm evidence for his activities; Fallows suggests he stayed in Cambrai for these four years,{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§5 "France and Italy (1494–1503)"}}{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=194}} citing Johannes Manlius's 1562 book ''Locorum communium collectanea'', which associates Josquin with Cambrai's musical establishment.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=194}} This assertion would fit with Josquin's possible youthful connections in Cambrai and later ''vin d'honneur'' there.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=194}} Manlius cites the reformer [[Philip Melanchthon]] as the source for many of his stories, strengthening the authenticity of his Josquin anecdotes; Melanchthon was close to musical figures of his time, including the publisher [[Georg Rhau]] and the composer [[Adrianus Petit Coclico]].{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=194}}

Two letters between members of the [[House of Gonzaga]] and Ascanio Sforza suggest that Josquin may have re-entered the service of the Sforza family in Milan around 1498; they refer to a servant Juschino who delivered the [[hunting dog]]s to the Gonzagas.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§5 "France and Italy (1494–1503)"}}{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=203}} Circumstantial evidence suggests Juschino may have been Josquin des Prez, but he is not known to have been qualified for such a task, and it would be unusual to refer to him as a servant rather than a musician or singer.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=204}} Josquin probably did not stay in Milan long, since his former employers were captured during Louis XII's [[Italian Wars of 1499–1504|1499 invasion]].{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§5 "France and Italy (1494–1503)"}} Before he left, he most likely wrote two secular compositions, the well-known frottola ''[[El Grillo (song)|El Grillo]]'' ("The Cricket"), and ''In te Domine speravi'' ("I have placed my hope in you, Lord"), based on [[Psalm 31]].{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§5 "France and Italy (1494–1503)"}}{{sfn|Macey|1998|p=155}} The latter might be a veiled reference to the religious reformer [[Girolamo Savonarola]], who had been burned at the stake in Florence in 1498, and for whom Josquin seems to have had a special reverence; the text was Savonarola's favorite psalm, a meditation on which he left unfinished in prison when he was executed.{{sfn|Macey|1998|p=155}}

Josquin was probably in France during the early 16th century; documents found in 2008 indicate that he visited [[Troyes]] twice between 1499 and 1501.{{sfn|Wegman|2008|pp=210–212}} The long doubted account from Hémeré that Josquin had a canonry at Saint-Quentin was confirmed by documentary evidence that he had exchanged it by 30 May 1503.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=196}} Canonries at Saint-Quentin were almost always gifts from the French king to royal household members, suggesting Josquin had been employed by Louis XII.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=196}} According to Glarean in the ''Dodecachordon'' of 1547, the motet ''Memor esto verbi tui servo tuo'' ("Remember thy promise unto thy servant") was composed as a gentle reminder to the king to keep his promise of a benefice to Josquin.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§5 "France and Italy (1494–1503)"}} Glarean claimed that on receiving the benefice, Josquin wrote a motet on the text ''Bonitatem fecisti cum servo tuo, Domine'' ("Lord, thou hast dealt graciously with thy servant") to show his gratitude to the king, either Louis XI or Louis XII.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|pp=91–93}}{{sfn|Sherr|2011|pp=449–455}} Although such a motet survives and is mentioned with Josquin's ''Memor esto'' in many sources, ''Bonitatem fecisti'' is now attributed to [[Carpentras (composer)|Carpentras]].{{sfn|Fallows|2020|pp=91–93}}{{sfn|Sherr|2011|pp=449–455}} Some of Josquin's other compositions have been tentatively dated to his French period, such as ''Vive le roy'', and ''In exitu Israel'', which resembles the style of other composers of the French court.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|pp=231–233}} The five-voice ''De profundis'', a setting of [[Psalm 130]], seems to have been written for a royal funeral, perhaps that of Louis XII, [[Anne of Brittany]] or [[Philip I of Castile]].{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§5 "France and Italy (1494–1503)"}}

===Ferrara===
[[File:Ercole I d'Este.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Ercole d'Este I|Ercole I d'Este]], an important patron of the arts, was Josquin's employer during 1503–1504.]]

Josquin arrived in Ferrara by 30 May 1503, to serve [[Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara]], an arts patron who had been trying for many years to replace the composer and choirmaster [[Johannes Martini]], who had recently died.{{sfn|Merkley|2001|pp=547–548}}{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=235}} No extant documents record Josquin as having worked in Ferrara before, though his earlier associations with Ercole suggest prior employment there;{{sfn|Reese|1984|p=9}} he signed a deed indicating he did not intend to stay there for long.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=238}} Ercole is known to have met with Josquin's former employer Louis XII throughout 1499 to 1502, and these meetings may have led to his service for the Duke.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§5 "France and Italy (1494–1503)"}} Two letters survive explaining the circumstances of his arrival, both from courtiers who scouted musical talent in the service of Ercole.{{sfn|Reese|1984|p=10}} The first of these was from Girolamo da Sestola (nicknamed "Coglia") to Ercole, explaining: "My lord, I believe that there is neither lord nor king who will now have a better chapel than yours if your lordship sends for Josquin [...] and by having Josquin in our chapel I want to place a crown upon this chapel of ours" (14 August 1502).{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§5 "France and Italy (1494–1503)"}} The second letter, from the courtier Gian de Artiganova, criticized Josquin and suggested Heinrich Isaac instead:{{sfn|Fallows|2020|pp=236–237}}

{{blockquote|"To me [Isaac] seems well suited to serve your lordship, more so than Josquin, because he is more good-natured and companionable, and will compose new works more often. It is true that Josquin composes better, but he composes when he wants to and not when one wants him to, and he is asking 200 ducats in salary while Isaac will come for 120—but your lordship will decide."|source=Gian de Artiganova to Ercole I d'Este, 2 September 1502{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§5 "France and Italy (1494–1503)"}}}}

Around three months later, Josquin was chosen; his salary of 200 [[ducat]]s was the highest ever for a ducal chapel member.{{sfn|Reese|1984|p=11}} The Artiganova letter is a unique source for Josquin's personality, and the musicologist Patrick Macey interprets it as meaning he was a "difficult colleague and that he took an independent attitude towards producing music for his patrons".{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§5 "France and Italy (1494–1503)"}} [[Edward Lowinsky]] connected his purportedly difficult behavior with musical talent, and used the letter as evidence that Josquin's contemporaries recognized his genius.{{sfn|Lowinsky|1964|pp=484–486}}{{sfn|Wegman|2000|pp=36–37}} Musicologist Rob Wegman questions whether meaningful conclusions can be drawn from such an anecdote.{{sfn|Wegman|1999|pp=335–337}} In a later publication, Wegman notes the largely unprecedented nature of such a position and warns "yet of course the letter could equally well be seen to reflect the attitudes and expectations of its recipient, Ercole d'Este".{{sfn|Wegman|2000|p=39}}

While in Ferrara, Josquin wrote some of his most famous compositions, including the austere, Savonarola-influenced ''[[Miserere (Josquin)|Miserere mei, Deus]]'',{{sfn|Macey|1998|p=184}} which became one of the most widely distributed motets of the 16th century.{{sfn|Milsom|2000|p=307}} Also probably from this period was the virtuoso motet ''Virgo salutiferi'', set to a poem by [[Ercole Strozzi]], and ''O virgo prudentissima'' based on a poem by [[Poliziano]].{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§6 "Ferrara (1503–4)"}} Due to its stylistic resemblance to ''Miserere'' and ''Virgo salutiferi'', the ''Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae'' is also attributed to this time; it was previously thought to have been written in the early 1480s.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|pp=256–259}}{{sfn|Merkley|2001|pp=578–579}}{{refn|Fallows cites [[Lewis Lockwood]], Joshua Rifkin, [[Jeremy Noble (musicologist)|Jeremy Noble]] and Christopher Reynolds as supporting the later dating, against the "received view" that it was composed much earlier. Its structure has been used to date it to both the 1480s and the early 1500s, depending on whether the rigidity of the tenor was interpreted as a sign of immaturity or mastery. In the end, evidence of style, biography and transmission all point toward 1503/4 as the most likely composition date.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=259}}{{sfn|Reynolds|2004}}{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§3 "Milan and elsewhere (1484–9)"}}|group=n}} Josquin did not stay in Ferrara long. An outbreak of the [[plague (disease)|plague]] in 1503 prompted the evacuation of the Duke and his family, as well as two-thirds of the citizens, and Josquin left by April 1504. His replacement, Obrecht, died of the plague in mid-1505.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§6 "Ferrara (1503–4)"}}

===Condé===
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Josquin probably moved from Ferrara to his home region of Condé-sur-l'Escaut, and became [[provost (religion)|provost]] of the collegiate church of Notre-Dame on 3 May 1504; he may have obtained the post from Philip I's sponsorship.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§7 "Condé-sur-l'Escaut (1504–21)"}} His role gave him political responsibility, and put him in charge of a workforce which included a dean, a treasurer, 25 canons, 18 chaplains, 16 vicars, 6 choir-boys and other priests.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|pp=276–277}} This was an appealing place for his old age: it was near his birthplace, had a renowned choir and was the leading musical establishment in Hainaut, besides St. Vincent at [[Soignies]] and Cambrai Cathedral.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§7 "Condé-sur-l'Escaut (1504–21)"}} Very few records of his activity survive from this time; he bought a house in September 1504, and sold it (or a different one) in November 1508.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=277}}{{refn|The chapter at [[Bourges Cathedral]] asked him to become master of the choirboys there in 1508, but it is not known how he responded, and there is no record of him working there; most scholars presume he remained in Condé.<ref>[[#Sherr Introduction|Sherr 2000]], p. 17</ref>|group=n}} The Josquin mentioned may be the Joskin who traveled to present chansons to [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor]] in [[Brussels]] or [[Mechelen]].{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§7 "Condé-sur-l'Escaut (1504–21)"}}

In his later years Josquin composed many of his most admired works. They include the masses ''[[Missa de Beata Virgine (Josquin)|Missa de Beata Virgine]]'' and ''[[Missa Pange lingua]]''; the motets ''Benedicta es'', ''[[Inviolata, integra et casta es Maria|Inviolata]]'', ''Pater noster–Ave Maria'' and ''Praeter rerum seriem''; and the chansons ''[[Mille regretz]]'', ''Nimphes, nappés'' and ''Plus nulz regretz''.{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=351}} The last of these, ''Plus nulz regretz'', is set to a poem by [[Jean Lemaire de Belges]] that celebrates the future engagement between Charles V and [[Mary I of England|Mary Tudor]].{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§7 "Condé-sur-l'Escaut (1504–21)"}} In his last years Josquin's music saw European-wide dissemination through publications by the printer [[Ottaviano Petrucci]].{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§9 "Reputation"}} Josquin's compositions were given a prominent place by Petrucci, and were reissued numerous times.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§7 "Condé-sur-l'Escaut (1504–21)"}}

On his deathbed, Josquin left an endowment for the performance of his work, ''Pater noster'', at all general processions when townsfolk passed his house, stopping to place a [[wafer]] on the marketplace altar to the Holy Virgin.{{sfn|Milsom|2000|pp=303–305}} He died on 27 August 1521 and left his possessions to Condé's chapter of Notre Dame.{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§7 "Condé-sur-l'Escaut (1504–21)"}} He was buried in front of the church's high altar,{{sfn|Fallows|2020|p=347}} but his tomb was destroyed, either during the [[French Wars of Religion]] (1562–1598) or in 1793 when the church was demolished amid the [[French Revolution]].{{sfn|Macey|Noble|Dean|Reese|2011|loc=§7 "Condé-sur-l'Escaut (1504–21)"}}