Guillaume de Machaut also Machau (c. 1300 – 1377) was a French poet and composer of late Medieval music who was the central figure of the ars nova style. Immensely influential, Machaut is regarded as the most important composer and poet of the 14th century and is the first significant composer whose name is known. He was considered by some to be “the last great poet who was also a composer”. Well into the 15th century Machaut’s poetry was greatly admired and imitated by other poets, including Geoffrey Chaucer.

Guillaume de Machaut was born about 1300, and educated in the region around Reims.  His surname most likely derives from the nearby town of Machault, in the Ardennes region.

He survived the Black Death that devastated Europe, and spent his later years living in Reims composing and supervising the creation of his complete-works manuscripts.

When he died in 1377, other composers such as François Andrieu wrote elegies lamenting his death.