In the Middle Ages, the king came to Notre Dame twice a year. During the advent or pre-Christmas season, he came to give the church a gift, but on Easter, he came with his court and celebrated the Easter liturgy with the clergy of Notre Dame. In the eighth century, a short service known as the Laudes regiae was established in the Frankish kingdom, consisting of brief acclamations which honored the king. At Notre Dame, these were sung during the Mass on Easter Sunday. They were performed by three canons, who sang acclamations to honor the king, bishop, clergy, queen, judges, and the army. The canons also asked for the intercession of saints, while choirboys alternated with responses asking for help for each ruler named. The laudes demonstrated to the people that the king was ruler on earth as Christ was the ruler of heaven. Eventually, the laudes were sung after each Mass that followed royal coronations.

In the thirteenth century, a motet was sung at Easter, whose tenor, or bottom voice was based on an Easter chant, the gradual Haec dies (This day). It may have been sung as the three canons processed from their stalls to begin the Laudes regiae, directly after the collect of the Mass.

Dominus glorie

This is a composition with two voices based on a plainchant melody; the added words allow it to be called a motet. The tenor (bottom) voice, sings a fragment from an Easter chant (Haec dies), while the top voice moves in faster notes with a text. During the twelfth and thirteenth century , motets were compositions based on a chant which was sung by a tenor voice, with one or more added voices singing an additional text or texts that commented or elaborated on the original chant. These compositions acquired their name from the word ‘mot’ which means ‘word’, when composers added words to existing chant-based compositions.