goliard

[ gohl-yerd ]

noun

, (sometimes initial capital letter)

1. one of a class of wandering scholar-poets in Germany, France, and England, chiefly in the 12th and 13th centuries, noted as the authors of satirical Latin verse written in celebration of conviviality, sensual pleasures, etc.

goliard

/ ˈɡəʊljəd; ɡəʊlˈjɑːdɪk /

noun

1. one of a number of wandering scholars in 12th- and 13th-century Europe famed for their riotous behaviour, intemperance, and composition of satirical and ribald Latin verse

Derived Forms

• goliardic, adjective

Other Words From

• gol·iar·der·y [gohl-, yahr, -d, uh, -ree], noun
• gol·iardic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of goliard¹

1275–1325; Middle English < Old French goliart, goliard drunkard, glutton, equivalent to gole throat ( French geule )+ -ard -ard ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of goliard¹

C15: from Old French goliart glutton, from Latin gula gluttony

Example Sentences

Those historians who regard the middle ages as completely dominated by ascetic ideals, regard the goliard movement as a protest against the spirit of the time.

From Project Gutenberg

Many may have been the work of goliards or wandering scholars, and a common feature is the interweaving of Latin with English words.

From Project Gutenberg

The goliard poems are as truly “medieval” as the monastic life which they despised; they merely voice another section of humanity.

From Project Gutenberg

It is thus used in Piers Plowman, where, however, the goliard still rhymes in Latin, and in Chaucer.

From Project Gutenberg

This legislation was only effective when the “privileges of clergy” were withdrawn from the goliards.

From Project Gutenberg