The #1 hit in Germany (in 1350)

If yesterday's post did not whet your appetite to read the referenced article by Wegman, perhaps this will. He suggests that the tradition of musicians travelling once a year to the minstrel's schools (particularly given the purpose of this journey, in at least some accounts, is to learn new songs), could be behind the regular reports by a Limburg chronicler in the second half of the 14th century that such-and-such a song had suddenly become popular in a particular year:

"Item, around... [1350] ...one sang a new song in the German lands, which was played on shawms and trumpets everywhere, and made everyone joyful: Wysset wer den synen y vurkoys . . . ."

That is, perhaps the date of the new song was memorable because it was each year at Easter that the musicians would return from the minstrel school with something new - in the same way we now tend to associate the 'Christmas #1' with its year and vice versa. 

Also notable is that it seems these 'songs' were equally well known and propagated in instrumental arrangements, for loud bands.