Medieval poetry Medieval poetry Poetry took numerous forms in medieval Europe, for example, lyric and epic poetry. The troubadours and the minnesänger are known for their lyric poetry about courtly love. Among the most famous of secular poetry is "Carmina Burana", a manuscript collection of 254 poems. Twenty-four poems of "Carmina Burana" were later set to music by German composer Carl Orff in 1936. Old English religious poetry includes the poem "Christ" by Cynewulf and the poem "The Dream of the Rood", preserved in both manuscript form and on the Ruthwell Cross. We do have some secular poetry; in fact a great
Carmina Burana (Orff) movement, the wheel of fortune turns, joy turning to bitterness, and hope turning to grief. "O Fortuna", the first poem in the Schmeller edition, completes this circle, forming a compositional frame for the work through being both the opening and closing movements. Orff developed a dramatic concept he called "Theatrum Mundi" in which music, movement, and speech were inseparable. Babcock writes that "Orff's artistic formula limited the music in that every musical moment was to be connected with an action on stage. It is here that modern performances of "Carmina Burana" fall short of Orff's intentions." Although "Carmina Burana" was