English Votive Style

The English Votive Style, or simply the Votive Style, was a movement in English early Renaissance choral polyphony that began in the 1470s, in the final stages of the Wars of the Roses, and ended in the 1540s, with the death of Henry VIII and the beginning of the Edwardian Reformation. A brief revival occurred in the 1550s with the reign of Mary I, which came to an end by the 1559 injunctions.

The style is characterised by high treble lines, long solo verses and a frequent use of melisma throughout. Votive antiphons in the style were generally performed at the end of the day, after compline, while longer Lady Masses occurred on feast days. While most of the surviving body in the style is Marian, masses and motets for other non-Marian feast days were also composed.


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