Johannes Tinctoris

Johannes Tinctoris (born 1436, Nivelles?, duchy of Brabant [now in Belgium]—died October 1511, Nivelles) was a Flemish music theorist, composer, and author of the earliest dictionary of musical terms.

Tinctoris studied law and theology at the Catholic University of Leuven (Louvain), which he left before 1476 to take up a position as chaplain to Ferdinand I, king of Naples. He was a member of the Papal Chapel (1484–1500) and established a public music school in Naples. To Beatrice of Aragon, Ferdinand’s daughter, he dedicated his dictionary, Terminorum musicae diffinitorium (c. 1476; printed c. 1495), which contains 291 definitions in alphabetical order. His other theoretical works include Proportionale musices, dealing with musical notation, and Liber de arte contrapuncti, a survey of the art of composition as practiced in the late 15th century. His best-known composition is his Missa l’homme armé.