The Archpoet ( 1130 – c. 1165), or (in Latin and German), Jeep 2001: 21. is the name given to an anonymous

12th-century The 12th century is the period from 1101 to 1200 in accordance with the Julian calendar. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages and overlaps with what is often called the Golden Age' of th ...

author of ten

medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

poems, the most famous being his "Confession" found in the manuscript (under CB 191). Along with Hugh Primas of Orléans (with whom he has sometimes been confused),Various sources (for example, see Lejay 1913: 33) have erroneously taken "Archipoeta" to be an alias or pen name of Hugh of Orléans while in fact there are numerous indications establishing their being two different individuals. Peter Dronke goes even as far as to call the Archpoet Hugh's "''brillante discepolo e successore''" ( Dronke 2007: 137), brilliant disciple and successor. he is cited as the best exemplar of Goliardic poetry and one of the stellar

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

s of the Latin

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Knowledge about him comes essentially from his poems found in

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

s: his

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

birth in an unspecified region of

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

, his respectable and classical education, his association with

Archchancellor An archchancellor (, ) or chief chancellor was a title given to the highest dignitary of the Holy Roman Empire, and also used occasionally during the Middle Ages to denote an official who supervised the work of chancellors or notaries. The Car ...

Rainald of Dassel Rainald of Dassel (c. 1120 – 14 August 1167) was Archbishop of Cologne and Archchancellor of Italy from 1159 until his death. A close advisor to the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick Barbarossa, he had an important influence on Imperial p ...

's court, and his poetic activity linked to it in both content and purpose. As such, it has been speculated that the bibulous, extravagant personality emanating from his work could be only serving as a

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

despite its apparent

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

trend.

Biography

Identity and nickname

His existence has been elaborated upon the authorial superscription "" appearing with the poems now ascribed to him in a small number of manuscripts. Adcock 1994: xxii; Jeep 2001: 21. While some recent—and so far inconclusive—attempts have been made to identify the Archpoet as either one of two Rodulfuses from the Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

's entourage, his real identity has never been found and is most likely lost for good. It has been suggested by W. H. T. Jackson and others Whicher 1949: 102. that his nickname could be a play on his

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

's title of Archchancellor ( in Latin), even if its exact origins are ultimately left open to speculation. Moreover, it is not known how he came to earn the nickname or who bestowed it to him: whether as a mark of esteem from the audiences, other poets, Rainald himself; as a satirical jest on his patron's title; or as an ironical mock self-attribution. There has been report of at least two other "", itinerant clerics, bearing the "" pseudonym or title around that time: one Nicholas who briefly resided with the

Cistercians The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

at their

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

, and

Henry of Avranches Henry of Avranches (died 1260) was a poet of the first half of the 13th century, writing in Latin. He is sometimes assumed to have been born in Avranches, but is otherwise said to have been of German birth with a Norman father. He is described as a ...

(around 1250); yet both are distinct from the "" of Barbarossa's reigning period (1155–1190).

Conjectured life

The Archpoet's living circumstances have been surmised from the indicative content of his poems but mostly from the life of Rainald of Dassel. Adcock 1994: xii, xvii. Because he designates Rainald as

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

,Keeping in line with the hypothesis that his nickname or pseudonym was inspired by the titles of his patron, it explains why he is sometimes referred to as the "Archpoet of Cologne"; for example, see Whicher 1949: 102–103 and Curtius 1990: 29. it shows that he must have been alive and active for at least some time between 1159 (when Rainald became

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

) and 1167 (when he died); furthermore, all of his datable poems fall within 1162 and 1164. With the passing of his patron in 1167, no more is heard from the Archpoet. Also, in poem X,

Peter Dronke Ernst Peter Michael Dronke FBA (30 May 1934 – 19 April 2020) was a scholar specialising in Medieval Latin literature. He was one of the 20th century's leading scholars of medieval Latin lyric, and his book ''The Medieval Lyric'' (1968) is con ...

writes, "he counts himself among the : while technically a can be any age between twenty-one and fifty, it would seem plausible to imagine the Archpoet as thirty or thirty-five at the time of this composition, and to set his birth not too far from 1130." Several indications concur as to establish that the Archpoet came from a place north of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

,The main evidence being his using the word "" (meaning "which lives or comes from beyond the mountains" in Latin) in line 14 of poem III, when it is made clear that he is writing from within

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and thus south of the Alps. although no solid claim can be made as to which country, Adcock 1994: xxi–xxii. even though

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

has repeatedly and traditionally being taken as his birthplace. Harrington and Pucci 1997: 567. He refers to himself as "",See poem IV, line 70 (CB 220, line 10). of

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ly birth, and, coming from such a high class, was most certainly well-educated in the

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

, Haskins 1971: 181; Harrington and Pucci 1997: 567; Adcock 1994: xix; Emmerson 2006: 44.

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and the

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

. Adcock 1994: xii. In poem IV, he states that he chose the pursuit of

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

(as symbolized by the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

poet

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

) over a career in the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

(as symbolized by the

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * '' Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 18 ...

warrior

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) as his birth permitted and disposed him to. It has been deduced from the same poem that he first traveled to

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

in order to pursue

medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

studies but that due to ill health, he had to abandon this project. Haskins 1971: 181; Adcock 1994: xix. It was probably then that he began working—possibly as a "", a "master of the art of writing letters"—at the court of

, the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of t ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and Archchancellor to

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

, about which he wrote, according to

Ernst Robert Curtius Ernst Robert Curtius (; 14 April 1886 – 19 April 1956) was a German literary scholar, philologist, and Romance languages literary critic, best known for his 1948 study ''Europäische Literatur und Lateinisches Mittelalter'', translated in E ...

, " e most brilliant stanzas" among the many written about and/or for him during the 35 years of his reign. His references to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, and

in his poems, as well as several details gleaned from the Archchancellor's court displacements, suggest that he did travel around

northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

during his life. It is known that the Archpoet lived for some time—possibly the last years of his life—at the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

of St. Martin in

. As is the case with many medieval and/or anonymous authors, very little else can be said with certainty about his life.

Modern critical reassessment

While it is still commonly assumed that the Archpoet was a follower of the Goliard tradition—writing student

drinking song A drinking song is a song that is sung before or during Alcoholic beverage, alcohol consumption. Most drinking songs are Folk music, folk songs or commercium songs, and may be varied from person to person and region to region, in both the lyri ...

parodies A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satirical or ironic imitation. Often its subject is an original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, etc), but a parody can als ...

critical of the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

and

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

s on the life of itinerant

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

in the

—, the noted scholar

proposed a very different portrait in his 1968 book ''The Medieval Lyric'': This view of the Archpoet and his milieu, severely contrasting with that of the previous generations of researchers and writers such as J. A. Symonds and

Helen Waddell Helen Jane Waddell (31 May 1889 – 5 March 1965) was an Irish poet, scholar, theological novelist, translator, publisher's reader and playwright. She was a recipient of the Benson Medal. A biography of her by the Benedictine nun Dame Fel ...

, created a break in modern

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

scholarship about the Goliards and, in spite of not creating consensus within the academic community, has since been embraced by many scholars. Summarizing Dronke's view by using English writer

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

as an example of differentiation between actual (historical) self and poetic (fictional)

persona A persona (plural personae or personas) is a strategic mask of identity in public, the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. It is also considered "an intermediary ...

, Jan Ziolkowski wrote that the Archpoet's shenanigans "may be little more than a stance struck by the poet to entertain his audience; the persona could be as far from the reality as that of Chaucer the character was from Chaucer the poet or man." Dronke further argued that the Archpoet could well have been

Hugh Primas Hugh Primas of Orléans was a Latin lyric poet of the 12th century, a scholar from Orléans who was jokingly called ''Primas'', "the Primate", by his friends at the University of Paris. He was probably born in the 1090s and may have died about 1160. ...

's student in

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and getting acquainted through him with various rare Classical poets and also with his personal style (themes and techniques).

Works

Overview

The Archpoet is known to us today through ten Latin poems or (plural form of ''

carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'', Latin equivalent of "

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

" or "

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of no ...

") found in various

s dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries. Listed here are the poems, identified, as is customary, by their

incipit The incipit ( ) of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of Musical note, notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin an ...

: * I: "" * II: "" * III: "" * IV: "" * V: "" * VI: "" * VII: "" * VIII: "" * IX: "" * X: """" is also found as a variant to "" since medieval manuscripts do not always use the same spelling for the same texts. ("Confession") The works of the Archpoet have been found and preserved in the following manuscripts, among others: * Univ. Bibl. Göttingen Codex philol. 170 (12th century): I-VII; first stanza of VIII. * Brussels Bibliothèque Royale 2071 (13th century): IX and X; stanzas 1–5 of VII. * Codex Buranus: München Bayer. Staatsbibl. Clm 4660/4660a (13th century): X; 4 stanzas of IV. The thus contains the 25-stanza "" (X) under the reference number CB 191While CB 191 is sometimes presented as having 30 stanzas, the last 5 (often put under CB 191a) are believed not to be the Archpoet's own work. See Wolff 1995: 529. as well as 4 stanzas from "" (IV) under CB 220,As with the other poem, CB 220a (or sometimes CB 221) is believed to be another anonymous author's work. See Wolff 1995: 533. Both the Bibliotheca Augustana's and David Stampe's (reproducing Bischoff's) versions display these poems of contested origin as 191a and 220a. starting with "" in the collection.

Presentation

Despite being quite dissimilar from one another in terms of tone and intent, the ten poems are all " occasional" Jeep 2001: 21; Emmerson 2006: 44. in the sense that they have been written for a specific purpose under precise circumstances, whether to celebrate an event or respond to a request; in the Archpoet's case, concerning the court of his patron: eight of them are directed to Rainald of Dassel, while the two others are addressed to Frederick Barbarossa himself. Sidwell 2002: 347. For example, the fourth poem, "", was most probably written as a plaintive answer to what he felt was the unreasonable demand from Rainald that he write within one week an

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

recounting the Emperor's campaign in Italy. The Archpoet's poems are known for appearing "intensely personal": Jackson 1976: 320. he features in almost all of them, and deals in an outspoken manner with intimate subjects such as his material (e.g. poverty, wandering) and spiritual (e.g. distress, anger, love) condition, his flawed and sinful nature, his wishes and aspirations. Many of his poems, whether

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of - ' ...

or not, amount to very elaborate pleas to obtain food, drink, clothing, and money from his powerful patron. Yet far from falling into mere

lyricism Lyricism is a term used to describe a piece of art considered to have deep emotions. Its origin is found in the word ''lyric'', derived via Latin ' from the Greek ('), the adjectival form of ''lyre''. It is often employed to relate to the capab ...

or honest confidence, they are often undermined by subtle

sarcasm Sarcasm is the caustic use of words, often in a humorous way, to mock someone or something. Sarcasm may employ ambivalence, although it is not necessarily ironic. Most noticeable in spoken word, sarcasm is mainly distinguished by the inflectio ...

and disguised

mockery Mockery or mocking is the act of insulting or making light of a person or other thing, sometimes merely by taunting, but often by making a caricature, purporting to engage in imitation in a way that highlights unflattering characteristics. Mocke ...

, fitting with the persona the Archpoet seems to have created for himself as a free-spirited, vagabond

hedonist Hedonism is a family of philosophical views that prioritize pleasure. Psychological hedonism is the theory that all human behavior is motivated by the desire to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. As a form of egoism, it suggests that people ...

, unrepentant in his propensity to overindulge and unblushing in the judgment of his self-worth. Aside from their recognized technical merits, the poems are imbued with a strong and pervading

sense of humor Humour (Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in t ...

manifested in the consummate use and manipulation of classical and biblical sources for parodic, sarcastic and ironic purposes.

"Confession"

Described as "the prototype of the goliardic songs" as well as "the masterpiece of the oliardicschool", the best known poem of the Archpoet is his tenth, "", commonly called the Goliardic "Confession" (sometimes "", "" or "Confession of Golias"), a metrical composition of ironical tone wherein he confesses his love of women, gambling, and drinking. It is purported to have been written in

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

around the year 1163 for his patron as a

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...

and defense of his sins after a rival of the Archpoet witnessed and subsequently reported his reprobate behavior. For example, the oft-cited twelfth stanzaThere are numerous and significant variants in the different versions of the Latin text depending on the source manuscripts and the editorial choices of scholars, as is often the case with the bulk of medieval literature. The one chosen here is in no way the sole, authoritative form. goes: The parodic and satirical effect is mainly produced by the replacement of ("sinner") by ("drunkard"), a reference to the

Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

: ""(Luke 18:13)
/sup> Whicher 1949: 103. The poem relies heavily on

ambiguity Ambiguity is the type of meaning (linguistics), meaning in which a phrase, statement, or resolution is not explicitly defined, making for several interpretations; others describe it as a concept or statement that has no real reference. A com ...

for its overall effect: on one hand, the narrator poses as a penitent dissolute, while on the other he is not being apologetic at all. The "Confession" was very famous in the Archpoet's time: compared to his other poems, which are mostly found in only one manuscript, "" has been copied in more than thirty, and it almost single-handedly accounts for his enduring appeal as the writer of one of the most popular medieval Latin poems.

Interpretation and appraisal

* In her influential study '' The Wandering Scholars of the Middle Ages'',

laudingly writes of the poem, stating that "''Confessio Goliae'' is something more than the arch-type of a generation of vagabond scholars, or the greatest drinking song in the world: it is the first defiance by the artist of that society which it is his thankless business to amuse: the first cry from the House of the Potter, "Why hast thou made me thus?"." * Reading the medieval "Confession" with the perspective of a modern cultural critic, philosopher

Herbert Marcuse Herbert Marcuse ( ; ; July 19, 1898 – July 29, 1979) was a German–American philosopher, social critic, and Political philosophy, political theorist, associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. Born in Berlin, Marcuse studied at ...

wrote of the Archpoet's artistic posture and keen sense of his particular situation: "Archipoeta is perhaps the first artist with the artist's genuine awareness of himself, who comprehended and openly emphasized that his vagabond life and his opposition to the surrounding world were an artistic necessity... The splendid strophes of his vagabond's confession resonate with the elevated consciousness of the authentic lifestyle of the freelance artist".

In popular culture

* A section of the "Confession" supplies the text for the

aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

("Burning with inner rage") that was set to music by

Carl Orff Carl Heinrich Maria Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, who composed the cantata ''Carmina Burana (Orff), Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Orff Schulwerk, Schulwerk were influential for ...

in his

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

–

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

Carmina Burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreveren ...

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

. * John Myers Myers's

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

novel ''

Silverlock ''Silverlock'' is a novel by John Myers Myers published in 1949. The novel's settings and characters, aside from the protagonist, are all drawn from history, mythology, and other works of literature. In 1981, ''The Moon's Fire-Eating Daughte ...

'' features Golias, the mythical

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of the Goliardic , as one of the main characters, drawing heavily on the Archpoet's "Confession" for his portrayal. * An old commercium song title
""
() is composed from stanzas 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, and 18 of the "Confession".The song has been published in the German (152nd edition, 1956, p. 381). * The Archpoet is a character in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

novel ''

Baudolino ''Baudolino'' is a 2000 in literature, 2000 novel by Umberto Eco about the adventures of a man named Baudolino in the known and mythical Christianity, Christian world of the 12th century. ''Baudolino'' was translated into English in 2001 by Wil ...

''. * ''Mystics, Spirit, Voices'', the

debut album of the German musical project Lesiëm, features a song titled "" () which contains a fragment of the "Confession". * The

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

darkwave Dark wave, or darkwave, is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as being dark, ro ...

band Helium Vola recorded versions of "" (II) on their

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

studio album ''Helium Vola'' (track 7, ), and of "" (X) on their

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

studio album ''Liod'' (track 10, ).Artist page
on MusicBrainz.org.

Notes

References

Works cited

* * * *

External links

from the ''

Dictionary of Literary Biography The ''Dictionary of Biography in literature, Literary Biography'' is a specialist biographical dictionary dedicated to literature. Published by Gale (Cengage), Gale, the 375-volume setRogers, 106. covers a wide variety of literary topics, periods ...

''. * J. A. Symonds' English translation o
"The Confession of Golias"
at the

Internet Medieval Sourcebook The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the Fordham University History Department and Center for Medieval Studies. It is a web site with modern, medieval and ancient primary source documents, maps, secondary sources, bibliographies, ...

. * Helen Waddell's English translation o
"His Confession"
at TheHyperTexts. * F. J. E. Raby's English translation o
""
posted on the FETUSVENERIS blog. * * Th

at

The Latin Library The Latin Library is a website that collects public domain Latin texts. It is run by William L. Carey, adjunct professor of Latin and Roman Law at George Mason University. The texts have been drawn from different sources, are not intended for rese ...

. * Th
Archpoet's page
at the Bibliotheca Augustana. * The Archpoet'

(CB 191) in the at the Bibliotheca Augustana. * The Archpoet'

(CB 220) in the at the Bibliotheca Augustana. * The Archpoet'

with some notes at

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

by Professor Rand Johnson. * The complet

collection at (retired)

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

Associate Professor David Stampe's website. * Recitation of by Claudia Sperlich. {{DEFAULTSORT:Archpoet 1130s births 1160s deaths 12th-century writers in Latin 12th-century poets Goliardic poetry Medieval Latin-language poets Occasional poets Anonymous poets Unidentified people