Thomas Le Lièvre alias Leporis

fl. 1444-1481

Map

Displaying 10 events/geographical origins

Biography

Burgundian court chapel, 1444-1453
On 20.6.1444, Thomas le Lièvre, singer of Rouen, received 10 florins “for having come from his country to my lord” (“pour don d’être venu de son pays devers monseigneur”). He then appears in the lists of the chapel of Philip the Good from 1447 to 1453, at the rank of “sommelier” [i.e. minor cleric] (Marix 1939, p. 202 and 249-252).

Court chapel of Anjou, Summer 1454
He is received in June 1454 as a new singer of the recently established court chapel of René d'Anjou with Philippe Dehayes*, and then paid with the whole group of chapel singers for the following months until october (F-Pnm Français 8588, f. 93v: "A maistre Thomas Lelievre et Phelippes Deshayes, nouveaulx chantres venuz a ladite chappelle, pour leurs gaiges des moys de juign et juillet m cccc liiii la somme de vingt quatre escus a raison de six escus par moys pour chacun... Pour ce a livres trente troys livres cy xxxiii livres" etc. ; published by Allinson 1993, p. 77, misreading "Leheure" and "Deshanes" for "Lelievre" and "Deshayes").

Papal Chapel, 1458-1472
He appeared in November 1458 in the papal chapel, with a recently recruited group of singers including Monstreuil, Cernier and Beaunnoir, and he served without interruption until Autumn 1472. In May 1460, he requested leave to undertake a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, which he apparently did during the summer of 1466. His employment in Rome allowed him to obtain canonicates at Lisieux, Rouen and Laon. In a document of the Papal curia (dated 23.7.1468), Leporis describes himself as born of noble birth (“de nobili genere procreatus”) (Starr 1987, p. 191-196 & Starr 1998, p. 182). He had been granted an expectative for a canonicate in Cambrai on 21.11.1458, right after his arrival, in which he is described as licentiate in canon law (Dubrulle 1905, p. 10).

Meeting with Cornuel*
In his letter in verse to Nicolas Rembert (Droz 1926, p. 186), the minor vicar of Cambrai Jean Cornuel mentions “Michault and Leporis”. This refers doubtless to the presence of Cornuel, Rembert and Leporis in Rome in the early 1470s. (Contrary to the statement of Reynolds 1995, p. 128, Michaut is probably Michaut du Ris*, who travelled with Cornuel to Milan in 1473-1474, and not Michault Sauvage dit le Lutin*.)

Court chapel at Milan, 1472-1474
In October 1472, a letter from a Milanese ambassador presents “magister Thomas” as the principal recruiter for the new ducal chapel in Milan; the letter recalls his career and his talent (Merkley&Merkley 1999, p. 84). On 3.11.1472, Galeazzo Maria Sforza sent the two Norman singers in his service (Cardin and Leporis) to recruit singers in France, with a letter of recommendation for Okeghem (id., p. 79-80). In January 1473, new singers from Normandy were being expected (id., p. 43). In March 1473, Leporis, cleric and canon of the diocese of Rouen, complained that he had been subjected to considerable hostility from the musicians of the court of Savoy at Vercelli, who had criticised Milan for poaching the singers of the duchess Iolanda (id., p. 38-39). Last mentioned in Milan in 1474.

Canonicate at the cathedral of Rouen, 1469-1475
First mentioned as curate of Saint-Laurent de Rouen (1464-1467), then as canon at Laon in 1467, he was a canon at Rouen by apostolic collation from 1469 to 1475, described as holding the licentiate in canon law and as singer in the chapel of Paul II (Tabbagh 1998, n°295, p. 378).

Court of Savoy, 1481?
Since the date of his death is unknown, and his connexion with Savoy attested, he could be the Thomas Leporis who was remunerated for a diplomatic mission in 1481 (Ménabréa 1859, p. 230, doc. nº 233 [section “Comptes”]: “Diète concernant le retour du duc, 1481 [sans autre précision]: Item libravit Thome Leporis servienti misso cum litteris clausis magnifici consilii ducalis dominis ecclesiasticis nobilibus et egregiis communitatibus ad causam conferendo de modo tenendo ut illustrissimus dominus noster ad partes suas veniat” [Diet concerning the return of the duke, 1481 [without further detail]: Item. Payment made to Thomas Leporis, a servant sent with sealed letters of the most illustrious ducal council to the ecclesiastical princes and excellent communities in the matter of conferring on the way to proceed that our most illustrious lord might come to his territory”]).

Fiala David

Information

  • Roles

    Member of a church (higher ecclesiastic, canon)
    Member of a court chapel (musician)
    Member of a princely/private household
    Noble birth
    Pilgrim

  • Gender

    Male

Events

(YYYY-MM-DD)

9 in database

Geographical origins

Rouen (France)

Musical position

Member of a court chapel (musician)
1444/1453
Brugge (Belgium)


Patron: Philip the Good

Institution: Chapelle ducale de Bourgogne, Burgundy (France)

Musical position

Member of a court chapel (musician)
1454-06/1454
Anjou (France)


Patron: René of Anjou

Institution: Chapelle ducale d'Anjou, Anjou (France)

Musical position

Member of a court chapel (musician)
1458/1464
Roma (Italy)


Patron: Pius II

Institution: Papal chapel, Città del Vaticano (Vatican City State)

Bibliography: Starr 1987

Musical position

Member of a court chapel (musician)
1464/1471
Roma (Italy)


Patron: Paul II

Institution: Papal chapel, Città del Vaticano (Vatican City State)

Travel

1466
Jerusalem (Israel)


Bibliography: Starr 1987

Comments: Pilgrimage to Jerusalem authorised in 1466

Religious position

Member of a church (higher ecclesiastic, canon)
1469/1475
Rouen (France)


Institution: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen, Rouen (France)

Musical position

Member of a court chapel (musician)
1472/1472-09
Roma (Italy)


Patron: Sixtus IV

Institution: Papal chapel, Città del Vaticano (Vatican City State)

Bibliography: Starr 1987

Comments: Mandati Camerali for the eraly years of pope Sixtus IV are lost but Leporis, still in service at the death of Paul II (July 1471) probably remained in the papal chapel until his departure for Milan in October 1472 (Starr 1987, p. 194, n. 294)

Musical position

Member of a court chapel (musician)
1472/1474
Milano (Italy)


Patron: Galeazzo Maria Sforza

Institution: Cappella ducale di Milano, Milano (Italy)

Bibliography: Merkley & Merkley 1999

Professional career - others

Member of a princely/private household
1481
Chambéry (France)


Institution: Cour ducale de Savoie, Chambéry (France)

Variant names

Leheure ; Le lievre ; Lephoris

Associated people

No associated person.

Bibliography

[Allinson 1993]

Allinson, L., 1993, Two Accounts for the Chapel of René of Anjou (1449-54), Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle, p. 59‑93 http://www.jstor.org/stable/25099436.

[Droz 1926]

Droz, E., 1926, Notes sur Me Jean Cornuel, dit Verjus, petit vicaire de Cambrai, Revue de Musicologie, 7, p. 173‑189.

[Dubrulle 1905]

Dubrulle, H., 1905, Bullaire de la province de Reims sous le pontificat de Pie II, Lille https://www.sudoc.fr/020129122.
(p. 10)

[FEG 2 Rouen]

Tabbagh, V., 1998, Fasti ecclesiae gallicanae: répertoire prosopographique des évêques, dignitaires et chanoines de France de 1200 à 1500. Tome II. Diocèse de Rouen, Turnhout http://www.sudoc.fr/008197113.

[Marix 1939]

Marix, J., 1939, Histoire de la musique et des musiciens de la cour de Bourgogne sous le règne de Philippe le Bon (1420-1467), Strasbourg http://lccn.loc.gov/49051990 (consulté le 22 janvier 2013).

[Merkley & Merkley 1999]

Merkley, P. A. et Merkley, L. L. M., 1999, Music and patronage in the Sforza Court, Turnhout http://www.sudoc.fr/055225020 (consulté le 22 janvier 2013).

[Ménabréa 1859]

Ménabréa, L. et Lambert, J., 1859, Chroniques de Yolande de France, duchesse de Savoie, soeur de Louis XI :  documents inédits, Chambéry http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k54783346 (consulté le 9 février 2025).

[Reynolds 1995]

Reynolds, C. A., 1995, Papal patronage and the music of St. Peter’s: 1380-1513, Berkeley ; London https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft4199n91h;brand=ucpress.

[Starr 1987]

Starr, P. F., 1987, Music and Music Patronage at the Papal Court, 1447-1464, Thèse de doctorat soutenue à , 1987.

[Starr 1998]

Starr, P. f., 1998, Strange Obituaries: The Historical Uses of the perobitum Supplication, dans R. Sherr (éd.), Papal Music and Musicians in Late Medieval and Renaissance Rome, p. 0 https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198164173.003.0008 (consulté le 26 avril 2024).
(p. 182)

Archival references

[Registre Anjou 1452-1454 (F-Pnm Français 8588)]

1401, F-Pnm Français 8588. Comptes divers du XVe siècle [dont: Compte second de Jehan de Vacincourt, conseiller... du roy de Jherusalem et de Sicile, duc d’Anjou, per de France,... de toutes les receptes... depuis le Ier jour de novembre l’an 1452 jucques au derrain jour d’octobre 1454] https://archivesetmanuscrits.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cc56937b (consulté le 7 février 2025).

Contributors

Fiala David - Project manager ; Biography author


Data collectors

Fiala David

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Fiala David, Thomas Le Lièvre alias Leporis, in RicercarDataLab [https://ricercardatalab.cesr.univ-tours.fr/people/1371/] (accessed 17 October 2025).

Last modification: Sept. 27, 2025