Whoever thinks the Middle Ages are a bulwark of devote
religiosity is utterly erring. Take for instance
the following song: it is in praise of good wine, but it is also criticizing social
circumstances. Moreover, it is cast in the form of a religious song, namely verbum bonum et suave. There are many
such parodies and more than one begins with vinum
bonum et suave. The religious parody is a very interesting subject as the
writers of such parodies can hardly be critics of religion and atheists in the
modern sense. It could be that such verses acted as a kind of comic relief and/or
as an outlet of frustration and were seen as rather harmless. Besides, the
poets were mostly clerics themselves and so some self-mockery must also be
considered. As for parallels, the Götterkomödien
in Homer are of course well-known and the Rig Veda has also some comic hymns. With
the same perspective we must consider mockeries of the mass and crowning of children
as mock kings at certain mediaeval festivals. Such rituals are known as rituals
of reversal. At such rituals social tensions are canalized by a reversal of
social structures: masters become slaves and slaves become masters, like at the
Roman Saturnalia or the Hindu Divali. Such rituals are especially found
in societies with rigid social divisions. Seen from this perspective, such songs endorse
social structures rather than threaten them.
The book in which I found this texts does not assign a
date to this hymn, but the 12th century seems to me a safe guess.
Vinum bonum et suave
bibit abbas cum priore
et conventus
de peiore
bibit cum tristitia.
Ave felix
creatura,
quam produxit
vitis pura :
omnis mensa
fit secura
in tua presentia.
Felix venter
cum intrabis,
felix os quod
tu rigabis,
felix lingua quam lavabis,
et beata labia.
O quam felix in colore,
O quam flagrans in odoro,
O quam placans es in ore
dulce lingue
vinculum.
Supplicamus,
hic abunda,
omnis turba
sit facunda,
ut cum voce
nos iocunda
personemus gaudia.
Monachorum
grex devotus,
clerus omnis,
mundus totus,
bibunt adequales
potus,
et nunc et in secula.
prior: religious
rank, mostly lower than an abbot, but higher than a monk
conventus (monachorum)
de peiore (vino)
vitis vitis (f.) vine
securus : free from care
venter ventris (m.): belly
rigo: to wet,
moisten
vinculum:
fetter
supplico: to pray
beseech
abundo: to
abound
turba: crowd
facundus: eloquent
ut cum voce nos
iocunda personemus gaudia: So that with delightful voice we may loudly
express (persono) joyful things.
grex grecis (m.):
flock, herd
adequales potus:
the same drinks
Here is a musical setting. Cheers!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWkdiMgQsxs
No comments:
Post a Comment