A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The term originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer who sang songs and played musical instruments.

Description

Minstrels performed songs which told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty and high society. As the courts became more sophisticated, minstrels were eventually replaced at court by the troubadours, and many became wandering minstrels, performing in the streets; a decline in their popularity began in the late 15th century. Minstrels fed into later traditions of travelling entertainers, which continued to be moderately strong into the early 20th century, and which has some continuity in the form of today's buskers or street musicians. Initially, minstrels were simply treats at court, and entertained the lord and courtiers with '' chansons de geste'' or their local equivalent. The term ''minstrel'' derives from

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th Middle Latin ''ministralis'' "retainer", an adjective form of Medieval Latin">Middle Latin ''ministralis'' "retainer", an adjective form of Anglo-Saxon England before the Norman Conquest">Latin ''minister'', "attendant" from ''minus'', "lesser". In History of Anglo-Saxon England">Anglo-Saxon England before the Norman Conquest, the professional poet was known as a ''scop'' ("shaper" or "maker"), who composed his own poems, and sang them to the accompaniment of a harp. In a rank much beneath the ''scop'' were the ''gleemen'', who had no settled abode, but roamed about from place to place, earning what they could from their performances. Late in the 13th century, the term ''minstrel'' began to be used to designate a performer who amused his lord with music and song. Following a series of invasions, wars, conquests, etc., two categories of composers developed. Poets like Chaucer and John Gower appeared in one category, wherein music was not a part. Minstrels, on the other hand, gathered at feasts and festivals in great numbers with harps,

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

s, bagpipes, flutes, flageolets, citterns and kettledrums. Additionally, minstrels were known for their involvement in political commentary and engaged in propaganda. They often reported news with bias to sway opinion and revised works to encourage action in favor of equality. The ''Heege Manuscript'', transcribed in the English Midlands around 1480 by Richard Heege, may offer a sample of the humor favored by some medieval minstrels at festivals. The music of the

troubadours A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tro ...

and trouvères was performed by minstrels called ''joglars'' (Occitan) or ''jongleurs'' (French). As early as 1321, the minstrels of Paris were formed into a

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

. A guild of royal minstrels was organized in England in 1469. Minstrels were required to either join the guild or abstain from practising their craft. Some minstrels were retained by lords as jesters who, in some cases, also practised the art of

juggling Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object o ...

. Some were women or women who followed minstrels in their travels. Minstrels throughout Europe also employed trained animals, such as bears. Minstrels in Europe died out slowly, having gone nearly extinct by about 1700, although isolated individuals working in the tradition existed even into the early 19th century.

In literature

Minstrelsy became a central concern in English literature in the Romantic period and has remained so intermittently.See, for example, Maureen N. McLane: ''Balladeering, Minstrelsy'', ''and the Making of British Romantic Poetry'' (Cambridge, UK: CUP, 2011). In poetry, '' The Lay of the Last Minstrel'' (1805) by Sir Walter Scott, '' Lalla Rookh'' (1817) by

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852), was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist who was widely regarded as Ireland's "National poet, national bard" during the late Georgian era. The acclaim rested primarily on the popularity of his ''I ...

, and ''The Village Minstrel'' (1821) by John Clare were three of many. Novels centring on minstrelsy have included Helen Craik's ''Henry of Northumberland'' (1800), Sydney Owenson's ''The Novice of St Dominick's'' (a girl using a minstrel disguise, 1805), Christabel Rose Coleridge's ''Minstrel Dick'' (a choirboy turned minstrel becomes a courtier, 1891), Rhoda Power's ''Redcap Runs Away'' (a boy of ten joins wandering minstrels, 1952), and A. J. Cronin's ''The Minstrel Boy'' (priesthood to minstrelsy and back, 1975).

References

External links

''Stella Fortuna: Medieval Minstrels (1370)''
from Ye Compaynye of Cheualrye Re-enactment Society. Photos and Audio Download.
''Essays on the Origin of Western Music''
Word Document Download.

Edward II Blog.
''Terry Jones' Medieval Lives (2004)''
Series 1, Episode 6. {{Authority control Entertainment occupations Medieval occupations Medieval performers Occupations in music Juggling Acrobats Singing Jesters

Description

In literature

See also

References

External links