goliard
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈɡoʊliˌɑrd/
- Archaic
- In medieval Europe, a goliard would often travel from town to town, sharing his poetry and living a carefree lifestyle.
Examples
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"If everything were out in the open and commercially feasible, they'd give their eyeballs for possessions, and every one of them would think himself cheated," says a skinny vagabond goliard to a young oaf who had recently joined the pilgrimage.
Fiction book (2000) -
The goliard climbed up, and it was as if he had found his own pulpit.
Fiction book (2000) -
Or the great poems of the so-called goliards, the gluttonous ones, the belly worship.
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The wandering goliard performed his satirical verses in the taverns, entertaining the crowd with tales of excess and indulgence.
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Many goliards wrote about their hedonistic adventures, capturing the spirit of freedom and revelry in their Latin compositions.
Surface Forms
Etymology
Goliard probably comes from medieval Latin goliardus or Old French gouliard, both meaning a 'merry fellow', and one popular idea links it to Goliath used as a joking name for loud young men. That's why a goliard was a wandering scholar known for singing songs that mocked people and for a life of drinking and fun.