Johannes de Hauvilla: Architrenius in Bloomington, MN

Architrenius is a vivacious and influential Latin satirical poem dating from 1184. It describes the journey of a young man (the "Arch-Weeper") on the threshold of maturity, confronting the ills of the church, court, and schools of late twelfth-century Europe. The directness with which the poem engages social, psychological, and sexual problems anticipates the work of great vernacular writers such as Chaucer. Winthrop Wetherbee's prose translation is presented alongside the original Latin, and augmented by an introduction and extensive notes.