Ictus (neume)

Ictus under a punctum

The ictus ( Latin ictus , blow ') is in the square notation of the Gregorian chant an accent, which was invented by the Benedictines of the Abbey of Saint Peter in Solesmes , and in the choral books they edited as a vertical line under or above the corresponding square neume was set.

Icts were used to structure the melodies rhythmically and appear particularly in Liber Usualis . In the meantime they have become obsolete due to the more recent results of Gregorian semiology and were only partially retained in the Graduale Romanum for reasons of compatibility with the older editions, especially in the chants of the Ordinarium . Today icts are usually no longer considered when interpreting the chants.

Sometimes icts are also called vertical Episeme referred.