Pennae Atrae

A Study of the Goliardic Poetry of Thirteenth Century Europe

Pennae Atrae I Close your eyes for a moment, and imagine…

The year is 1244, and you are in a small tavern in southern

France. It's dark, and the air in the room reeks of cheap wine, as

do most of the patrons. The countryside is littered with

vagabonds and vagrants, students and priests who have given up

their lives of devotion and study for lives of drinking, gambling,

and debauchery.

And standing in the center of the room is a young man,

dressed in the manner of a monk, but without home or church to

call his own. He's an unofficial member of the Ordo Vagorum,

who follow the fictitious Bishop Golias, faithful to no creed or

law except for their own choices. As you watch, he starts to recite

a poem in praise of his decadent lifestyle, and of his cohorts, the

infamous Black Feathers...

Pennae Atrae II Table of Contents

Cover Page I

Introduction II

Table of Contents III

Mission Statement IV

Pennae Atrae (Black Feathers) V

In Taberna (In The Tavern) VI

“Wheel of Fortune” from Carmina Burana VII

“Drinking Party” from Carmina Burana VIII

“Chess Game” from Carmina Burana IX

“Illuminated Flora and Fauna” from Carmina Burana X

Various Pages from Carmina Burana XI

The Origins of Goliardic Poetry XII

“In Taberna” from “Carmina Burana” XIV

About Pennae Atrae XVI

Notes in Translation XVII

Latin Verbs Used in Pennae Atrae XVIII

Bibliography XIX

Reference Photocopies

Pennae Atrae III Mission Statement The purpose of this poem is to recreate the Goliardic style of poetry from 11th to 13th century Europe. Of the main types of Goliardic poetry, I chose to recreate a tavern poem, envisioning a gathering of friends and revelers, enjoying the luxuries that life has to offer, praising the joys of sin and decadence. These same sins are the prime goals of my household, House Blackfeather, so I decided to make the poem a tribute to my household and our hedonistic interests. While we are willing and able to work and represent our kingdom with honor, we don’t go out of our way to do so, or call attention to ourselves when we’ve worked for others. We exist for the enjoyment of the moment, the little pleasures of life, and I believe that this coincided with the desires of the vagabond priests.

I believe that the ultimate purpose of an Arts & Sciences presentation is to create a reproduction so authentic that, if the subject should find itself in the same setting as the original piece, a person from that time period would not think anything was amiss. In this case, I have styled my work from the piece "In Taberna" from the Carmina Burana in the 12th and 13th centuries. I would hope that, if a 13th century goliard had turned the page from "In Taberna", and found "Pennae Atrae" on the next page, he would find nothing unusual, and believe that my work was exactly the same as the others. In the Society, this is called "Non-Pareil", a piece of work indistinguishable from the original source. I have attempted to achieve that level of accuracy, and hope that I have succeeded.

It is with satisfaction and pride that I present this poem as a tribute to my household, my friends and family, within the Society, and I hope this piece of work does them justice.

Pennae Atrae IV Pennae Atrae… Black Feathers… By Dmitri Skomorochov By Dmitri Skomorochov

Pennae Atrae sumus fidelae, We are loyal Black Feathers, Familiae sumus fidelae, We are a loyal family,

Nos devoramus, nos potamus, We devour, we drink, Nos canemus, nos saltamus, We sing, we dance, Nos modulamus, nos perpetramus, We play instruments, we perform, Nos vivamus, nos amamus, We live, we love, Nos rideamus, nos bacchamus, We laugh, we revel, Nos certamus, nos praestamus, We compete, we excel, Nos lasciviamus, nos amplectamus, We frolic, we embrace, Nos adamamus, nos laetamus, We fall in love, we are happy,

Nos pugnamus, sed non sumus preliatori, We fight, but we are not fighters, Nos adiutamus, sed non sumus adiutori, We create, but we are not craftsmen, Nos creamus, sed non sumus artificis, We help, but we are not helpers, Nos operamus, sed non sumus opificis, We work, but we are not workers, Nos modulamus, sumus modulatori, We play instruments, we are musicians, Nos copulamus, sumus copulatori, We drink, we are drinkers, Nos bibimus, sumus potatori, We copulate, we are copulaters, Nos amamus, sumus amatori, We love, we are lovers,

Non sumus mali, sumus boni, We are not bad, we are good, Non sumus feri, sumus amici, We are not wild, we are friendly, Non sumus miseri, sumus hilari, We are not unhappy, we are joyous, Non sumus deformi, sumus pulchri, We are not ugly, we are beautiful, Nos fruamos praelium, We enjoy battle, Nos fruamos connubiam, We enjoy sexual intercourse, Nos fruamos ama bona, We enjoy good love, Nos fruamos vita bona, We enjoy good life,

Pennae Atrae sumus fidelae, We are loyal Black Feathers, Familiae sumus fidelae. We are a loyal family,

Pennae Atrae V In Taberna… In The Tavern… ”Carmina Burana” (ca 1300) ”Songs of Beuren” (ca 1300)

In taberna quando sumus, When we are in the tavern, Non curamus quid sit humus, We do not think how we will go to dust, Sed ad ludum properamus, But we hurry to gamble, Cui semper insudamus. Which always makes us sweat. Quid agatur in taberna, What happens in the tavern, Ubi nummus est pincerna, Where money is host, Hoc est opus ut queratur, You may well ask, Si quid loquar, audiatur. And hear what I say.

Quidam ludunt, quidam bibunt, Some gamble, some drink, Quidam indiscrete vivunt. Some behave loosely. Sed in ludo qui morantur, But of those who gamble, Ex his quidam denudantur, Some are stripped bare, Quidam ibi vestiuntur, Some win their clothes here, Quidam saccis induuntur. Some are dressed in sacks. Ibi nullus timet mortem, Here no-one fears death, Sed pro Baccho mittunt sortem: But they throw dice in the name of Bacchus.

Primo pro nummata vini, First of all it is to the wine-merchant Ex hac bibunt libertini; The the libertines drink, Semel bibunt pro captivis, One for the prisoners, Post hec bibunt ter pro vivis, Three for the living, Quater pro Christianis cunctis, Four for all Christians, Quinquies pro fidelibus defunctis, Five for the faithful dead, Sexies pro sororibus vanis, Six for the loose sisters, Septies pro militibus silvanis. Seven for the footpads in the wood,

Octies pro fratribus perversis, Eight for the errant brethren, Nonies pro monachis dispersis, Nine for the dispersed monks, Decies pro navigantibus, Ten for the seamen, Undecies pro discordaniibus, Eleven for the squabblers, Duodecies pro penitentibus, Twelve for the penitent, Tredecies pro iter agentibus. Thirteen for the wayfarers. Tam pro papa quam pro rege, To the Pope as to the king Bibunt omnes sine lege. They all drink without restraint.

Bibit hera, bibit herus, The mistress drinks, the master drinks, Bibit miles, bibit clerus, The soldier drinks, the priest drinks, Bibit ille, bibit illa, The man drinks, the woman drinks, Bibit servis cum ancilla, The servant drinks with the maid, Bibit velox, bibit piger, The swift man drinks, the lazy man drinks, Bibit albus, bibit niger, The white man drinks, the black man drinks, Bibit constans, bibit vagus, The settled man drinks, the wanderer drinks, Bibit rudis, bibit magnus. The stupid man drinks, the wise man drinks,

Bibit pauper et egrotus, The poor man drinks, the sick man drinks, Bibit exul et ignotus, The exile drinks, and the stranger, Bibit puer, bibit canus, The boy drinks, the old man drinks, Bibit presul et decanus, The bishop drinks, and the deacon, Bibit soror, bibit frater, The sister drinks, the brother drinks, Bibit anus, bibit mater, The old lady drinks, the mother drinks, Bibit ista, bibit ille, This man drinks, that man drinks, Bibunt centum, bibunt mille. A hundred drink, a thousand drink.

Parum sexcente nummate, Six hundred pennies would hardly Durant, cum immoderate, Suffice, if everyone Bibunt omnes sine meta. Drinks immoderately and immeasurably. Quamvis bibant mente leta, However much they cheerfully drink Sic nos rodunt omnes gentes, We are the ones whom everyone scolds, Et sic erimus egentes. And thus we are destitute. Qui nos rodunt confundantur May those who slander us be cursed Et cum iustis non scribantur. And may their names not be written in the book of the just.

Pennae Atrae VI

“Wheel of Fortune”

This image is a copy of the cover page from the “Carmina Burana” manuscript discovered at the Benediktbeuern Benedictine Abbey in Germany. This image represents the Wheel of Fortune, and fortune is the main theme of the poem “O Fortuna”, made famous by 18th century composer Carl Orff.

Pennae Atrae VII

“Drinking Party”

Here is a typical page from the “Carmina Burana” manuscript, which has the calligraphed Latin text, and an illuminated image of a group of men drinking, presumably alcoholic beverages, in a tavern. This image and others help support the idea of goliards gambing and drinking instead of more serious tasks like work and prayer.

Pennae Atrae VIII

“Chess Game”

Here is a typical page from the “Carmina Burana” manuscript, which has the calligraphed Latin text, and an illuminated image of two young men playing a game of chess, while another man watches. This image and others help support the idea of goliards gambing and drinking instead of more serious tasks like work and prayer.

Pennae Atrae IX

“Illuminated Flora and Fauna”

This image shows a page of illumination without text. It appears to be purely decorative, and is included in the “Carmina Burana” as what seems to be filler art. The images show a wide collection of wildlife and plantlife in illuminated style.

Pennae Atrae X

These three pages are showing various combinations of text and illumination, and two of the images are showing gambling games being played, a very popular theme for goliardic poetry.

Pennae Atrae XI The Origins of Goliardic Poetry

History is based on rebellion. Of course. Without rebellion, there would be no change, and we would all live exactly as did people thousands of years ago. Rebelling against the rich, rebelling against the government, rebelling against authority. If you didn’t like the way things were, you fought against it any way you had, be it by sword, by money, or by words. The vagabond poets and Goliards of the middle ages were rebels against the church, rebels against wealth and authority, rebels against moral and decency itself. And their weapons were the words and rhymes learned from the church itself. The origins of Goliardic poetry are unknown, as is the term “Goliard” itself. Encyclopedia Brittanica describes goliards as “any of the wandering students and clerics in medieval England, France, and Germany, remembered for their satirical verses and poems in praise of drinking and debauchery.” The vagabonds poets were self-professed followers of the mythical Saint Golias, whose origin has never been fully determined. One writer suggests that the name Golias “is a variant of Goliath, who is pictures as representing the devil” (Zeydel, pg. 17). Other possible origins of the term as galliards, referring to a gay, jolly fellow; Bishop Golias, a supposed religious figure from the tenth century; and gula, pertaining to gluttony. Overall, a Goliard was roughly in the same social level as a minstrel or a performer, the primary difference being the Goliards religious background and upbringing. As Brittain puts it, “…the Goliard can be regarded as a sub-species of the jongleur, and evidence exists that the personnel of the two classes was to some extent interchangeable.” (Brittain, pg. 16). This assumption stands up to logical analysis, since many vagabond poems were about begging for assistance. When you consider the combination of begging for food and clothing, mixed with performing poetry, it automatically brings to mind a minstrel singing for his supper. Occuring roughly between 1000 and 1250 A.D., the vagabond poets and Goliards were, for the most part, scholars, priests, and monks who were expressing themselves poetically outside of church practice. Most of the poetry was written to be different than church themes, ranging from pagan religion to romantic, from satires to tavern songs, from divine to obscene. Goliards wrote in the styles that they knew, originally in the form of ecclesiastical chanting, then progressing towards secular and independent themes completely removed from the Christian origins. Vagabond poetry was thus used as a creative outlet by wandering scholars and religious outcasts to express their interests, their desires, and their lifestyles to anyone who would listen.

Pennae Atrae XII Sometimes religious, but more often blaspheming the church and all of its traditional values, Goliards would write poetry and stories about everything they regularly did, including romance, drinking, gambling, whoring, and even begging. They would describe their interests in explicit detail, going into elaborate descriptions of women, wine, and the finer things in life. The character of the Goliards was fairly standard, most of them being “errant students and clerics”, “often penniless” (Zeydel, pg. 15), or “restless clerks who lived on the fringe of ecclesiastical society.” (Brittain, pg. 16). Goliards were generally depicted as vagrants, disillusioned students and monks who wandered about Europe, spreading tales of love, of ancient gods, of debauchery, and creative drinking. No moral standard was too high for them to break. One of the most noteworthy things about Goliardic poetry that makes it stand out as unique is that, while usually written about satire and sin, was written by those who had studied religion, and was therefore usually written very similar to church style and prose, the type of writing that the Goliards were most familiar with. In fact, most Goliardic poetry was even written in classical Latin, the specific grammar that most religious experts at the time knew as well as they knew they’re own tongue. The church style blended with obscene content creates a marvelous irony. Just as there are unknown origins of the poetry and the title, also is little known about the writers of the poetry itself, since most poems are written under a pseudonym, if any author credit is given at all. This anonymity had the double blessing of both giving more power to an unknown author, and disguising the true rank of the more privileged writers of the defamation and obscenity that was so popular in Goliardic verse. One specific poet, very well read but not truly known, was only known as the Archpoet. The Archpoet (ca 1130 – 1165) is probably the closest thing to a personification that Goliardic poetry has, and it is in his writings (ten survivings pieces have been found that are definitely his) that the Goliardic metre is defined, containing “…monorhymed quatrains with trochaic lines of thirteen syllables each and a caesura after the seventh syllable…” (Brittain, pg 118). As for his character, he was known to be a noble who wrote scalding and ribald poetry, often for wealthy patrons who took fame in sponsoring his works, but little of the blame. He was “…of knightly rank but devoted to learning as well…”, and he was “…expected not only to provide entertainment, but to support his patron in his political ambitions…” (Zeydel, pgs. 28-29). In the case of the Archpoet, politics entered his work as often as decadence and immorality.

Pennae Atrae XIII “In Taberna” from “Carmina Burana”

The largest collection of Goliardic poetry to date is the Benedictbeuern Manuscript, also known as the Codex Buranus, or modernly as Carmina Burana. The manuscript, instead of being an individual book, was actually a collection of at least three different collections of poetry, and was discovered at the Benedictine Monastary in Upper Bavaria in the early 19th century. The manuscript, filled with immoral and sacriligous thought “…seems to have lived in a kind of stowaway existence, hidden to save it from the censor’s gall…” (Waddell, MLL, pg. 330-31). At the time, such text would have been destroyed, but fortunately for us, some clever monks had the foresight to hide the illegal manuscripts, where they remained forgotten until two hundred years ago. Based on the evidence found, the collection is thought to have been written near the end of the thirteenth century, probably in the Bavarian region. The monastery of Benedictbeuern itself can be found today in Germany, the state of Bavaria, region of Oberbayern, in the Bad Tölz district. During the thirteenth century, this area was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Inside of the Carmina Burana, there are more than two-hundred poems and songs, including approximately forty-three that are meant to be sung (Waddell, MLL, pg. 331), “…but the melodies – have unfortunately been lost…” (Zeydel, pg. 34). Those poems, which also included about fifty lyrics in German (Waddell, WS, pg. 236), have been divided up by the scholars over the years into different categories of work. The first type is the moral and satirical poetry. These consist of poems about decaying morality and social problems, especially within the church, and lessons about how to improve upon these problems. Next there came religious dramas, more serious and acceptable stories written with the consent and approval of the church. Third is the largest selection, the love songs, something that the average churchman should have no knowledge of. Finally, and most well known of the series, is the drinking and gambling songs, celebrating drunken debauchery and decadence. These last two form the bulk, and the infamous reputation, of the manuscript. “…the immortality of the Carmina is in the love songs and the drinking songs…” (Waddell, WS, pg. 233).

Pennae Atrae XIV The drinking songs specifically are what makes the Carmina Burana legendary, and describes the spirit of the goliards most closely. “…nowhere does the spirit of vagabondage emerge more patently than in the songs of the tavern…” (Zeydel, pg. 19). These songs not only embody the rebellious nature of the vagabonds, in their urge to practice hedonism against the will of the church, but they also give the authors a chance to mock the very same church. “…Bacchus, the ‘lofty deity’, is addressed with all the reverance due an omnipotent god…” (Zeydel, pg. 83). Even the last line of In Taberna, “…et cum iustis non scribantur…” (may their names not be written in the book the just), this is a verbatim quote from common clerical prayers, and is used in this reference to blasphemy those beliefs. For the specific basis of my study, I examined the tavern song called In Taberna. In Taberna was a drinking song, meant to put into words what everyone was feeling and experiencing while they were at the bar drinking. The sin of gambling was very often associated with drinking, so they two activities were often placed together in the eyes of the vagabonds. “…hand in hand with the bibulousness of the tavern goes worship of another god, Decius, the deity of gambling…” (Zeydel, pg. 19). The worship of ancient and forsaken gods was a slap in the face of the Catholic Church, treating their sanctity as something to laugh at and emulate. “…gods like Bacchus and Decius celebrated as though they were truly divine…” (Zeydel, pg. 25). The poetic form of In Taberna appears to be iambic quadrameter, lines containing eight syllables, with the odd-numbered syllables being accented over the even-numbered. The poem contains fifty-six lines, which are divided into seven verses of eight lines each, with each verse following an A-A-B-B-C-C-D-D pattern. The third and fourth verses are counting off drinks to different groups, and verses five and six follow a simple formula of describing different people drinking. These verses start to sound repetitious when read as a regular poem, but if you were actually reciting names of people and groups around you, it would make the performance nice and personal.

Pennae Atrae XV About Pennae Atrae

There were three important parts to recreating the thirteenth century poem, In Taberna. The first part was having a working knowledge of Latin; the second part was understanding the poetry; the third part was creating the theme and feeling of the tavern song. For understanding Latin, I had the fortune of having studied Latin in my senior year of high school, and with the help of some Latin-English dictionaries, in books and online, I was able to recreate a basic sentence structure in this ancient language. As an interesting detail, the poem is written in classical Latin, as opposed to medieval Latin. Most goliards were classically trained, either in monasteries and churches, or in fine families of nobility. They wrote copying ecclesiastic style, and therefore, so did I. The Latin used is fairly simplistic, basic grammar using one speaking tense. In understanding the poetry, I examined In Taberna for rhythm, meter, and rhyme. In Taberna consists of fifty-six lines, divided into seven verses of eight lines each. Each verse follows the rhyme pattern of A-A-B-B-C-C-D-D. Each line within the poem contains eight syllables, in an iambic quadrameter pattern, though some lines contain more syllables. In my own poem, Pennae Atrae, I also use the eight-line verse with the eight syllable lines, and follow the same rhyme scheme. Some few of my lines exceed the eight syllable limit, like in In Taberna, as well. Where In Taberna is seven full verses long, my Pennae Atrae is four full verses, with a couplet at the top and bottom. Many of the verses in the middle repeat the same word or pattern of words in several lines, which would seem redundant to read, but would create a flowing atmosphere in spoken verse. In Pennae Atrae, the sentence structure also repeats word patterns. When spoken, Pennae Atrae also repeats key phrases and builds up a steady flow meant to make the listeners feel caught up in the repetition. Finally, I attempted to recreate the theme and feeling of In Taberna, imagining myself sitting in the same environment as a vagabond would have several hundred years ago; in a tavern, surrounded by friends, diving in the deepest pit of depravity they could afford with their meager purses. I also made certain that the setting, which would be appropriate for a traditional Goliardic poem, would also fit the theme of mine. Pennae Atrae is is all about the enjoyments of life, the hedonism and pleasure-seeking that marked the goliardic style of poetry. Also true to the ‘tavern song’ idea, Pennae Atrae is intended to be recited in a group of friends, in a festive setting, celebrating the joys of life.

Pennae Atrae XVI Notes in Translation From Latin to English and English to Latin

• I was fairly picky about choosing a proper translation to use as a basis for my research. Many translations, specifically of obscene material, attempt to “clean up” the translation by softening the tone. This not only provides a faulty result, but also ruins the intended spirit of the piece. • Any rhyming original piece that was translated into English still rhyming was almost immediately disregarded. The odds of the historical piece coincidentally translating into perfect English rhyming patterns are astronomically low. • In In Taberna, the anonymous writer mentions throwing dice “…in the name of Bacchus…”, whereas Decius is the god who should be invoked on behalf of gambling. • In Pennae Atrae, the piece doesn’t really go any further than basic “noun verb present-tense” format. With greater time and effort, I could have produced a piece more intense and complicated, but for the intent of my research, this was sufficient. • The title, ‘Pennae Atrae’, meaing ‘Black Feathers’, would more coloquially translate to ‘Dark Feathers’. I chose to use the word ‘atra’ as the adjective ‘black’, rather than the more common ‘niger’. ‘Niger’ refers primarily to the color itself, while ‘atra’ refers to black as in darkness or gloom. Since the imagery I’m going for is sinfulness and departure from holiness, I used ‘atra’ for the dark symbolism. • Many meanings of words have colloquial definitions in addition to their literal translations. For example, copulare means to unite or to join, but is the root of the modern word “copulate”, meaning to have sex. It’s hard to tell if this verb was used to suggest the same thing in the past. Coire, the root of the modern word “coitus” (intercourse), means to assemble in Latin. Conversely, a more exact term, fornicare, means literally to have sex with prostitutes. I chose not to use that meaning.

Pennae Atrae XVII Latin Verbs Used in Pennae Atrae

Adamare – to fall in love Adiutare – to help Amare – to love Amplector – to embrace Bacchor – to celebrate Bibere – to drink Canere – to sing Certare – to compete Copulare – to unite Creare – to create Devorare – to devour Fruor – to enjoy Ir – to be Laetor – to be joyful Lascivire – to frolic Modulari – to play an instrument Operari – to work Perpetrare – to accomplish Potare – to drink heavily Praestare – to excel Pugnare – to fight Ridere – to laugh Saltare – to dance Vivere – to live

Pennae Atrae XVIII Bibliography

Pennae Atrae XIX