The Missa L’homme arme of Johannes Regis and Franco-Flemish Perceptions of St. Michael the Archangel

St. Michael the Archangel performed three key roles in medieval western Christendom, as outlined by religious historian Richard Johnson: guardian, warrior, and psychopomp. The roles of intercessor and military leader derive from scriptural references to St. Michael, while the psychopomp role derives from the Jewish and Christian apocryphal tales that compose the Saint’s vita. Beginning with Charlemagne, liturgies dedicated to Michael were nationally sanctioned in the Carolingian Empire. The Frankish region would remain devoted to the Archangel well into the fifteenth century. Mont-Saint-Michel in particular would develop its own foundation myth, leading the surrounding area in angelic patronage during the late middle ages.

Michael’s three key roles directly correlate with the rise and fall of the Cult’s popularity, which notably coincides with the coming and going of wars. Fresh off the campaigns of the Hundred Years War, fifteenth-century Franco-Flemish countries produced music dedicated to St. Michael that predictably demonstrate a militaristic tone. Franco-Flemish composer Johannes Regis (c.1425-c.1496), in particular, represents this tradition in his Missa L’homme armé. The prominence of the Archangel in this work reflects the historically Michael-devoted environment in which Regis composed his mass.

Regis’s Missa L’homme armé portrays St. Michael as protector and military leader through tropes focusing on the expulsion of the dragon from heaven and depictions of the apocalyptic trumpet. Musically, the piece relies not only on dramatic text but also the popular L’homme armé [Armed Man] cantus firmus, which carried its own military theme and history, including frequent use in fifteenth-century polyphonic works to symbolize warrior figures such as St. Michael. Searches for the tune’s origins lead to Phillip the Good’s Order of the Golden Fleece, as well as Louis XI’s Order of St. Michael, organizations that significantly blended chivalric ideals, knightly practice, and votive devotions.

Missa L’homme armé reflects St. Michael’s western military and devotional functions in Franco-Flemish society through its treatment of text, choice of cantus firmus, and compositional techniques. My study of this piece illuminates the musical expression of the Cult of St. Michael during one of its most popular periods in history.