u/Enzoooooooo2004

"Non é gran cousa se sabe bon joízo dar" ("It's no great thing that she knows how to give good judgment") is Cantiga 26 from the Cantigas de Santa Maria, the massive 13th-century collection of over 400 songs in Galician-Portuguese compiled under the patronage of Alfonso X "the Wise," King of Castile. Like most of the cantigas de miragres (miracle songs) in the collection, it tells a devotional story praising the Virgin Mary's power to intervene and save souls.

Story: The song narrates a miracle in which Santa María judged the soul of a pilgrim on his way to Santiago who killed himself along the road through the devil's deception, and she ordered that he return to his body and do penance. Other summaries of the tale identify the pilgrim as a devout young furrier named Giraldo who made annual pilgrimages to the shrine of the Apostle James, but who slept with a woman outside his marriage before setting out and left without confessing — the devil then exploits that unconfessed sin, disguising himself and tricking the pilgrim into mutilating himself and dying in despair, before Mary intervenes to save his soul and send it back to his body for repentance.

Musical notes: The melody is written in D Aeolian mode and follows the typical cantiga form — a refrain alternating with narrative verses, meant for communal or courtly performance rather than solo song. It's also one of the more mainstream-recognizable cantiga melodies today, since Loreena McKennitt popularized it under the title "Santiago."

Context: As with the rest of the Cantigas de Santa Maria, the piece blends devotional storytelling with folk-tale elements — this "miracle of self-mutilation" motif was already circulating across 12th-century Europe, appearing in sources like the Codex Calixtinus and the works of Gonzalo de Berceo.

"In taberna quando sumus" ("When we are in the tavern") is a Middle Latin goliardic poem from the Carmina Burana, a large manuscript collection of secular medieval songs and poems compiled around the 13th century, likely by clerics or wandering scholars (goliards) known for satirical, irreverent verse. It's one of the most famous entries in the whole collection, largely thanks to Carl Orff's 20th-century cantata setting, though the original medieval text and melody predate that by centuries.

Theme: It's an unapologetic ode to tavern life and drinking culture, describing what people actually do in the tavern (drink, gamble, get roasted by their peers) rather than moralizing about it. It mocks clerical hypocrisy and pokes fun at the drinking habits of literally every social class and profession — the pope, the bishop, the lord, the lady, the old, the young, the healthy, the sick — culminating in the famous long catalog verse where the song lists every kind of person who drinks: "bibit hera, bibit herus..." ("the mistress drinks, the master drinks...") and so on through soldiers, exiles, sinners, the just, and beyond.

Structure/style: Comic, list-heavy, and rhythmically driving — built to be chanted or sung communally, likely with a drink in hand. Its tone stands in sharp contrast to the more pious or courtly material found elsewhere in the Carmina Burana, which is part of why it's remembered as one of the collection's most vivid, "human" pieces — a rare unfiltered look at medieval tavern culture and clerical counterculture.

Authorship: Anonymous, like most of the Carmina Burana — attributed broadly to the goliard tradition rather than any single named poet.

"Ai vist lo lop" (I saw the wolf) is a medieval Occitan folk song (circa 13th century). It has a French variant titled "I saw the wolf, the fox, and the hare." It is sung in several European languages, including French, German, and Danish.

History: The first mention of the song dates back to the 12th-14th centuries in Provence. It has been transmitted as a bourrée in triple meter since the 16th century and has been part of the traditional musical repertoire of the Massif Central region of France since the beginning of the 19th century. With its duple meter structure, it was primarily disseminated as a children's song in Occitan-speaking areas. With the folk music revival of the 1970s, the song continues to be performed by numerous musical groups, in both triple and duple meter. It is still performed in France today by the duo Brotto Lopez (triple meter version). In Germany, it has been performed in concert by the German folk-metal group In Extremo in its binary version.

According to some sources, the wolf, the fox, and the hare/weasel represent the king, the lord, and the Church—authorities with the power to collect taxes while the peasant was left penniless.

"A l'entrada del temps clar" ("At the entrance of the bright season") is an anonymous Old Occitan song from around the 13th century, generally classified as a balada or carola — a type of song meant to accompany a round dance. It's preserved in a small number of manuscripts and is one of the more famous surviving examples of secular medieval song from southern France, often performed today by early-music ensembles (Clemencic Consort, Gerard Zuchetto, Ensemble Alcatraz, etc.).

The song celebrates the arrival of spring ("the clear/bright season") and takes the form of a springtime dance-song, a genre closely tied to May Day and Beltane-like seasonal celebrations. It features a jealous husband (a gilos) trying to keep his wife from joining the other young women in the springtime dance/celebration, while the women mock him and reaffirm their intent to dance and enjoy the season regardless. The refrain, built around the exclamation "Eya!", is characteristic of the carola form and mimics the rhythmic calls used to drive the round dance.

It alternates narrative verses with a repeated dance refrain, typical of the balada genre — designed for communal performance rather than solo courtly love expression like a canso. Because of that, it's often discussed alongside other "reverdie" (spring-awakening) songs in the wider trouvère/troubadour tradition, even though technically it sits closer to popular dance-song than to high troubadour lyric poetry.

It's anonymous — no author is credited in the manuscripts, which is part of what marks it as a "popular" or communal song rather than a courtly composition tied to a named troubadour.

In 1192, Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart) was returning from the Third Crusade when he was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria, and then handed over to the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VI, who held him captive for over a year awaiting a ransom while the English nobility tried to raise the necessary funds.

During his imprisonment, Richard—who was not only king but also a troubadour, raised at the court of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and educated in French and Occitan—composed this song, addressed to his half-sister, Marie de France, Countess of Champagne. This is no coincidence: Richard was the great-grandson of the first known Occitan troubadour, William IX of Aquitaine, and the son of Eleanor of Aquitaine, patron of troubadours like Bernart de Ventadorn.

The lyrics are essentially a heartfelt plea: Richard reproaches his nobles and vassals for not hastening to pay his ransom despite all he had done for them. It is a personal lament, a mixture of wounded pride, sadness, and a king's resignation.

An interesting fact about the title and language: the song is primarily known in its Old French version, although an Occitan version also exists, and therefore circulates under slightly different names ("Ja Nus Hons Pris," "Ja nuns hons pris ne dira sa raison," etc.), which translates roughly as "No man imprisoned..."

There is also some doubt about the authorship of the melody: some sources maintain that Richard himself composed it, while others attribute it to a contemporary minstrel, Blondel de Nesle.

The "Cantiga de Maio" (whose real title is "O que da guerra levou cavaleiros") is a famous satirical song written by King Alfonso X the Wise. Unlike his famous religious works, this secular piece in Galician-Portuguese satirically criticizes the cowardly knights and nobles who fled from war or invented excuses to avoid attending the "mayo" (the military review and troop conscription held at that time of year). Through his verses, the monarch ironically rebukes the lesser nobles for their lack of courage and loyalty. The work describes how these knights feigned devotion or military preparedness, but when it came to combat, they presented incomplete shields or fled in terror at the first sign of conflict.

"L'autrier avint en cel autre païs" is the famous opening line of a 12th-century song (a tenson) written by the troubadour and crusader Conon de Béthune. It deals with a love debate between a knight and his lady, and its title in English translates as "The other day it happened in that other country."

Historical Context: The author actively participated in the Third and Fourth Crusades. His constant military travels and political exchanges in Constantinople influenced his views on duty and distance.

Literary Movement: It belongs to the trouvère movement (troubadours of northern France) and is written in langue d'oïl (Old French with Picard features).

Innovation in the Genre: It is a tenson (debate poem) that parodies courtly love. Instead of portraying the knight's eternal submission, it presents a realistic and rough dialogue where the man ultimately rejects the lady for having aged, breaking with the romantic ideals of the time.

It is one of the best-known compositions of the Cantigas de Santa María, compiled by King Alfonso X "the Wise" in the 13th century. Its refrain narrates that, just as human beings can suffer for their sins, they can be healed through the intercession of the Virgin.

The Cantiga tells the story of a man who, because of his sins, became paralyzed, his limbs twisted in pain. After suffering this condition for five years, he vowed to bring a pound of wax to the Virgin at the sanctuary in Salas every year if he were cured. Instantly, he regained his mobility and was able to walk without pain, fulfilling his promise.

Fun fact taken from a YouTube comment: Starting at minute 3:27, this song is played in the film CONAN THE BARBARIAN (in the scene where Conan meets Valeria for the first time and they enter the tower until the giant snake dies).