CARMINA BURANA. - A collection of poems, mostly in Latin (some in German, others in a mixture of the two languages), compiled in the 12th–13th centuries, discovered at Benediktbeuren, from which it takes its name.
Frequent reminiscences and parodies of biblical passages, of classical authors known in the Middle Ages, and of grammatical tradition, along with subtle rhetorical and rhythmic forms (v. HYMNOGRAPHY), the few names of authors preserved, Augustinianism, and anti-Roman satire point to the milieu of the great universities and monasteries in the French and German regions where this poetry flourished, through many revisions, at the hands of wandering scholars (v. GOLIARDS) and lesser cultural spheres. The themes are those typical of the era and environment; more than in "moralizing" works and satire—generally directed against clerical corruption, bitter rather than profound—personal and warm accents are found in the delicate sentiment toward nature, partially akin to the tone of the Minnesingers—also represented in the collection—in non-turbid though often violent love poetry, and in bacchic songs.