In medieval music and rhetoric, a short concluding phrase or cadence; in linguistics, a rhythmic ending to a sentence.
From Latin clausula (closing), diminutive of clausum (closed). Used extensively in medieval ecclesiastical music and Roman rhetorical theory.
Medieval monks debated 'clausulae' as intensely as musicians debate cadences today—the perfect ending to a chant wasn't just musical, it was theological, supposed to resolve tension in the listener's soul.
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