Marbod was renowned for his Latin writing during his lifetime.
Sigebert of Gembloux, writing c. 1110–1125, praised Marbod's clever verse style. He composed works in verse and prose on both sacred and secular subjects: saints' lives, examples of rhetorical figures (De ornamentis verborum), a work of Christian advice (Liber decem capitulorum) hymns, lyric poetry on many subjects, and at least six prose letters. His style of poetry was part of a group of poets that were from French Cathedral Schools. Their poetry was marked by its revival of the classical style, writing in Latin and specific verse. He commonly wrote in Leonine hexameter. A poem written this way would consist of six metrical feet per line. This style of verse was popular in the Middle Ages and was distinguishable from verse in antiquity by its use of rhyme within the feet of the poem. Marbod's subject matter was diverse, dealing with both secular and religious topics. He wrote mainly didactic poetry; poetry that gave instruction or lessons to its readers. The most popular of Marbod's works was the Liber de lapidibus, a verse
lapidary or compendium of mythological gem-lore; by the fourteenth century it had been translated into French, Provençal, Italian, Irish, and Danish, and it was the first of Marbod's works to be printed. The first collection of Marbod's works was published at Rennes in 1524 (In collectione prima operum Marbodi). Today the most widely accessible edition of Marbod's collected works is that in
Migne's
Patrologiae cursus completus Series Latina, vol. 171, edited by Jean-Jacques Bourassé (Paris, 1854); this was based on the edition of Antoine Beaugendre, Venerabilis Hildeberti primo Cenomannensis Accesserunt Marbodi Redonensis (Paris, 1708). Both contain numerous errors and omissions and should be used with caution. Modern editions of Marbod's works include Antonella Degl’Innocenti, ed. Marbodo di Rennes: Vita beati Roberti (Florence, 1995) and Maria Esthera Herrera, ed., Marbodo de Rennes Lapidario (Liber lapidum) (Paris, 2005). Marbod produced lyric poetry on a wide variety of subjects, including frankly erotic love lyrics concerning male and female love interests. Many of his shorter poems circulated primarily in florilegia, collections assembled for the use of students. The most radical of Marbod's poems, while printed in the earliest collections, were omitted by Beaugendre and Bourassé; they were reprinted by Walther Bulst in "Liebesbriefgedichte Marbods," in Liber floridus: Mittellateinische Studien Paul Lehmann, zum 65 Geburtstaag am 13. Juli 1949, ed. Bernhard Bischoff and Suso Brechter (St. Ottilien, 1950), p. 287–301, and Lateinisches Mittelalter: Gesammelte Beitraege (Heidelberg, 1984), 182–196.
Sexuality Several of his poems speak of handsome boys and homosexual desires but reject physical relationships (An Argument Against Copulation Between People of Only One Sex). This exemplifies a tradition of medieval poetry which celebrated same-sex friendship while denouncing the wickedness of sexual relations. This accounted for the disapproval of homosexual relationships; homosexuality went against the categories of the sacredness of the flesh and distinct categories of male and female. It is evident in other French didactic writing, such as that from
Robert de Blois, that sexuality was largely complex. Writers argued against sexualizing a person while simultaneously describing them in an erotic manner. There is no evidence that Marbod participated in homosexual acts. His friendships with
Baudry of Bourgeuil, his junior, and
Hildebart of Lavardin suggest this as well. Marbod dedicated much of his later works to Hildebart. All three of the men authored some poems about homosexual desire. These poems reflected other communities of poets in Europe. Jewish communities in Spain similarly wrote about pederasty and the beauty and allure of young men. The similarities in these communities of men writing about homosexuality implies a larger subculture of Medieval literature outside of individual men. ==Translations and adaptations==