Page 253 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

Goliardic Poetry: The Archpoet
The Goliards (GOHL-yurds or GOHL-yards) were a group of Latin writers who wrote poems satirizing the hypocrisy of the church while celebrating the joys of wine, women, and song. Although it was once thought that the Goliards were “wandering scholars”—vagabond students and teachers—many historians today believe that they were established poets living at courts or in monasteries. One of these poets was a German known only as the Archpoet, who was probably in service at the court of the archbishop of Cologne. This selection is from his most famous work, The Confession of Golias.
The Archpoet, The Confession of Golias
Down the primrose path I post Straight to Satan’s grotto,
Shunning virtue, doing most Things that I ought not to;
Little hope of heaven I boast,
Charmed by pleasure’s otto [fragrance]:
Since the soul is bound to roast Save the skin’s my motto. . . .
Much too hard it is, I find, So to change my essence
As to keep a virgin mind In a virgin’s presence.
Rigid laws can never bind Youth to acquiescence;
Light o’ loves must seek their kind, Bodies take their pleasance. . . .
Next, I’m called in terms precise Monstrous fond of gaming;
Losing all my clothes at dice Gains me this worth naming:
While outside I’m cool as ice, Inwardly I’m flaming,
Then with daintiest device
Poems and songs I’m framing. . . .
My intention is to die
In the tavern drinking;
Wine must be at hand, for I Want it when I’m sinking.
Angels when they come shall cry, At my frailties winking:
“Spare this drunkard, God, he’s high, Absolutely stinking!”
Q What groups of people in medieval society would be attracted to Goliardic poetry? Why?
Source: George Whicher, The Goliard Poets: Medieval Songs and Satires in New Verse Translations (New Directions, 1949), pp. 107–111.
Aquinas’s reputation derives from his masterful attempt to reconcile faith and reason. He took it for granted that there were truths derived by reason and truths derived by faith. He was certain, however, that the two truths could not be in conflict:
The light of faith that is freely infused into us does not destroy the light of natural knowledge [reason] implanted in us naturally. For although the natural light of the human mind is insufficient to show us these things made manifest by faith, it is nevertheless impossible that these things which the divine principle gives us by faith are contrary to these implanted in us by nature [reason]. Indeed, were that the case, one or the other would have to be false, and, since both are given to us by God, God would have to be the author of untruth, which is impossible. . . . It is impossi- ble that those things which are of philosophy can be con- trary to those things which are of faith.5
The natural mind, unaided by faith, could arrive at truths concerning the physical universe. Without the help of God’s grace, however, reason alone could not grasp spiritual truths, such as the Trinity (the belief that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are three manifestations of the same unique deity) or the Incarnation (the belief that Jesus in his lifetime was God in human form).
LITERATURE IN THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES Latin was the universal language of medieval civilization. Used in the church and the schools, it enabled learned people to communi- cate anywhere in Europe. The intellectual revival of the High Middle Ages included an outpouring of Latin lit- erature, including a large body of Latin verse dedicated to themes of love and nature. Many of these poems constitute the so-called Goliardic (gohl-YAR-dik) poetry (see the box above).
The Intellectual and Artistic World of the High Middle Ages 215
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