Carmina Burana (;
Latin for "Songs from Beuern" ("Beuern" is short for
Benediktbeuern) is the name given to a
manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreverent, and satirical. They were written principally in
Medieval Latin; a few in
Middle High German, and some with traces of
Old French or
Provençal. Some are
macaronic, a mixture of Latin and German or French vernacular.