CARMINA BURANA. - A collection of poems, for the most part in Latin (some German, others mixed in the two languages), compiled in the 12th–13th centuries, discovered at Benediktbeuren, whence the name.
Frequent reminiscences and parodies of biblical passages, of classics known in the Middle Ages, and of the grammatical tradition; subtle rhetorical and rhythmic forms (v. INNOGRAFIA); the few names of authors handed down; Augustinianism and anti-Roman satire—all point back to the milieu of the great universities and monasteries in the French and German regions, where this poetry flourished, through many reworkings, at the hands of « clerici vagantes » (v. GOLIARDI) and of lesser cultural circles. The subjects are those characteristic of the age and milieu; more than in the “moralities” and in satire, generally directed against the corruption of the clergy and more often bitter than profound, personal and warm accents are found in the delicate feeling for nature, partly akin to the tone of the Minnesinger—also represented in the collection—in love poetry, not impure although often vehement, and in Bacchic songs.