Check out this monk, sneaking extra wine . . . Well, it’s five o’clock somewhere, right? This miniature was painted in the late 13th century and suggests that not all Medieval clergy lived up to their avowed profession that emphasized denial of worldly pleasures. Similar conclusions can be drawn by examining a genre of music composed in the 12th century that ridicules religious institutions: this is the goliard poetry.
Made famous by Carl Orff’s musical composition _Carmina Burana_, which set several of these songs to modern orchestral pieces, the songs frequently highlight sexual pleasure, drunken revelry, and often they are sung from the perspective of licentious clergy. Here is a quote from “The Confession of Golias” (c. 1160) or “Estuans Intrinsecus,” by one of the most famous writers of such songs, known as “the Archpoet”:. “‘Tis most arduous to make/ nature’s self surrender/ Seeing girls, and blush to be/ Purity’s defender./ We young men our longings ne’er/ Shall to stern law render./ Or preserve our fancies from/ Bodies smooth and tender.”. In other words, he is sorry/not sorry for being super turned on by sexy young female bodies.
Source(s): Poem available on the Internet Medieval Sourcebook, trans. John Addington Symons, _Dune_, Women, and Song_ (London, Chatto and Windus, 1884), pp. 55-62. Image _li livre du sante_, Aldobrandino of Sienna, BL MS Sloane 2435, f. 44v.
