Medieval literature is a phenomenon that almost no one is interested in. They do not study it in schools, and yet it is as rich and diverse as literature of a later time. In the Middle Ages, there were such genres as a chivalric novel, graceful verses of the troubadours, singing the love of a beautiful lady, or a heroic epic. There were sagas that retold folk legends and myths. There was an acute language of urban literature, which gave rise to fables and jokes.
And there were verses of vagantas - sometimes impudent and cheeky, then just funny, and sometimes dreary. In these verses, the authors sang free life and its charms, ridiculed greed and hypocrisy. The most famous of their work is the drinking song Gaudeamus, which over time has turned into a student anthem.
We begin the story about this layer of medieval culture with a brief description of what vagantas are and the meaning of the word by which they were called.
Learned tramps
Translated from Latin, “vagant” is “vagrant”. The first vagantas were representatives of the clergy: priests without a parish and monks without a monastery. Later they began to call itinerant students. With no profession or roof over their head, such students traveled in large groups around Europe. They moved from university to university to study the sciences they needed.
Vagantas are not only students, but also poets. Being literate people, educated, well knowing Latin, they clearly stood out against the background of the ignorance that reigned everywhere in the Middle Ages.
The church of vagantas did not like, since they often ridiculed it in their poems. Priests threatened poets with afterlife punishment, called blasphemers and libertines. The neutral or even positive connotation of the meaning of the word “vagantas” did not suit them, and therefore they came up with another nickname - goliards (from Goliath - Satan, or gula - a huge throat, which meant drunkards and gorlopans).
However, even such a name the poets were able to reorder in their favor. They stated that the biblical Goliath was not Satan, but a giant whom David defeated. What is a “vagant” in this case? Descendant of Goliath. He is as powerful as Goliath, and the same as he is a glutton and a master in composing poetry (some authors attributed these qualities to Goliath).
How European Universities Have Been Arranged
In the Middle Ages, science was not divided into humanitarian and natural. There was science "in general" and scientists "in general." But the specialization of universities was narrower than now. For example, in Bologna they studied law, in the Sorbonne - theology, in Salerno - medicine. And what was left for a student who was eager for knowledge, who wanted to study medicine and law? Just go to the university he needed - and go on your own, because there was no public transport then.
The task was facilitated by the fact that all of Europe had an international language - Latin. All literate people had to know her. At that time, ordinary European languages were looked upon with slight contempt, like the common languages of rude people. But thanks to Latin, a student from Swabia and a student from England easily understood each other and could, in difficult times, share clothes and a crust of bread with each other.
How did vagantas live?
Such a wandering life was not uncommon in medieval Europe, especially in the 11-13th centuries. Then many fell off their homes and went to conquer Palestine from the “unfaithful Saracens” or became pilgrims to worship Christian shrines. So the vagant is a pilgrim, only from science.
The vagantas always traveled in large companies - it would have been more difficult for them to survive alone. In such an environment, almost fraternal relations developed, based on mutual revenue and selfless help.
As a rule, vagrant students lived poorly, had no roof over their heads, and could not have a hearty lunch. When they got to the desired goal - the university, began many years of hard cramming. At the end of the training, those few who stood it waited for the exam - a twelve-hour debate with twenty different professors. But they did not like to sit quietly and cram vagantas. They faithfully served Bacchus - the god of winemaking - and glorified the joys of life - drinks, taverns, grains (dice). For many students, the learning process never ended, stretching for life.
Ordinary people did not like vagantas, because they believed that these violent types of trouble. They were not always allowed to sleep, and sometimes they drove away from home, fearing that they would not steal something from the property.
Table Poems
Vagants of definitions like “booze” or “tramp” were not afraid, but, on the contrary, were proud of them. Among their poems are a lot of fun, reckless, singing wine, Bacchus, drinking, gambling. The most famous work of this kind is “The Most Drunk Liturgy”. This is a parody of church mass. In it, poetic hymns alternate with prayers written in prose.
Anticlerical Satire
The "Most Drunk Liturgy" is also an example of anticlerical satire. Vagant poetry often ridiculed the church and priests, especially to the Pope and other higher clergy. In their poems, vagantas condemned their greed, cruelty, depravity and hypocrisy. There was even a parody of the Gospel, which was called the "Gospel of the Mark of Silver."
About love and about life
Vagantas composed many poems on love and philosophical themes. Love in their view is far from sublime romance, from the chanting of "the most beautiful lady in the world." Women in such poetry are one of the joys of life, like wine, and most beautiful of all is carnal love.
Vagantas are philosophers, but of a special kind. On the one hand, their philosophy was close to Epicurean: to avoid suffering, to enjoy life. On the other hand, a dark note is often heard in their poetry: life is perishable, life is full of vices, fate is ruthless ...
Here is an excerpt from the most famous vagant poem on a philosophical theme:
Oh fortune
Your moon face
Forever changing:
Arriving
Is decreasing
The day is not saved.
You're evil
Thats good
Whimsical will;
And the nobles
And insignificant
You change the share. (Translation by M. Gasparov)
In 1936, this poem was put to music by the German composer Karl Orff. With this powerful, dramatic performance, the cantata of “Carmina Burana” began and ended with it. “Oh Fortune” is one of the most popular musical works in history, it sounds in films, television shows and even in advertising. Everyone has heard it at least once in a lifetime.
But what is this strange name - “Carmina Burana”?
"Carmina Burana"
In 1803, in a Bavarian monastery, a 13th-century manuscript was found containing more than three hundred poems. She received the name Carmina Burana ("Buran songs"). This manuscript is the largest and most famous collection of vagant poetry. It is divided into four parts: satirical songs, love lyrics, table songs, theatrical performances. There is a section "Additions", which contains everything that was not included in the previous ones, for example, songs in German (the main language of the collection is Latin).
The beginning of the manuscript, which also contained church hymns, has been lost.
In addition to “Oh Fortune”, there are other works from the collection of Carmina Burana that have become popular. For example, the feast song In Taberna ("In the Tavern"), which many folk and rock musicians rehearsed. Another famous poem is Hospita in Gallia (“On the French Side”), in a free translation of Leo Ginzburg - “Farewell to Swabia”. In 1976, David Tukhmanov took it for the album “On the Wave of My Memory” and put it on music. It turned out the song "From the Vagant", which was performed by Igor Ivanov.
Gaudeamus
The famous song Gaudeamus was not always a student anthem. This vagant feast song appeared around the 13th century. Her homeland is either the University of Paris or the University of Heidelberg in Germany. For several centuries, Gaudeamus has not been recorded; the lyrics were transmitted orally. It was first printed in 1776. Five years later, in 1781, the writer Kindleben creatively edited the text of the Gaudeamus, giving it the form in which it exists to this day.
Gaudeamus is a work in which there is little solemnity. On the contrary, it is typical of vagant lyrics. This song calls for fun until life ends, which is so short and fleeting.
Famous vagantas
Most of the poems in collections such as Carmina Burana or the lesser-known Cambridge Manuscript were written by anonymous authors. But still, the names of several poets-vagantas have survived for centuries and have survived to this day.
The most famous vagantas are Primas Orleans (Hugo), Arkhipita of Cologne and Walter of Chatillon.
Little is known about the life of Primate of Orleans - he lived in the 11th century, studied in Orleans, and the word "primate" in Latin means "elder". He wrote his poems underlined by a rude, common language, described the life of a tramp and beater, talked about walking on brothels.
Arkhipiita is a pseudonym meaning "great poet." The real name of the author is not known. Only a few poems have been preserved from his work - for example, “On the French Side”, and also “Confession”.
The work of Walter of Chatillon, who lived in the 12th century, is diverse - this is love poems, and anti-church satire, and the poem "Alexandreida", telling about Alexander of Macedon. After him, dozens of poems remained. They can be found in collections such as Carmina Burana or The Saint-Omer Manuscript.