Anonymous IV was an English student working at Notre Dame in Paris, most likely in the 1270s or 1280s. Nothing is known about his life, not even his name. His manuscripts survive in two partial copies from Bury St. Edmunds; one from the 13th century, and one from the 14th.

Along with Johannes de Garlandia and Franco of Cologne, whose work precedes his, Anonymous IV's writings are the main source for understanding the Notre Dame school of polyphony. He is mainly famous for having written about Leonin and Pérotin, thereby assigning names to two of the composers of the music of the Notre Dame school who otherwise would have been anonymous; Leonin and Pérotin are among the earliest European composers whose names are actually known. Although they probably died at least fifty years before he was writing, he describes them as though they were still famous by name and part of a living tradition at the time.

In addition to mentioning Leonin and Pérotin as the best composers of organum, Anonymous IV mentions the work of the theorist Franco of Cologne, and gives descriptions of organum, discantus, rhythmic modes, rules for use of consonance and dissonance, notation, and genres of composition.

Sources and Further Reading

• Richard H. Hoppin, Medieval Music. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1978. (ISBN 0393090906)
• Harold Gleason and Warren Becker, Music in the Middle Ages and Renaissance (Music Literature Outlines Series I). Bloomington, Indiana. Frangipani Press, 1986. (ISBN 089917034X)
• Articles "Anonymous theoretical writings," "Organum," "Leonin," "Perotin," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. (ISBN 1561591742)

Anonymous 4 is also the name of an all-female a cappella singing group which specializes in music of the Medieval era and early Renaissance.