bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise ...

is a minstrel in medieval Scottish, Irish, and Welsh societies; and later re-used by romantic writers. Bard, BARD, The Bard or Bård may also refer to:

People

* Bard (surname) * Bård, Norwegian given name and surname *

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

(died 1616), the Bard of Avon or the Bard * Robert Burns (1759–1796), the Bard of Ayrshire or the Bard

Fictional characters

Bard the Bowman Bard the Bowman is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Hobbit''. A Man of Laketown and a descendant of the ancient Lords of Dale, Bard manages to kill Smaug, the dragon, after which he becomes king of Dale. Tolkien created the character specifi ...

, a character from J. R. R. Tolkien's novel ''The Hobbit'' *

Beedle the Bard ''The Tales of Beedle the Bard'' is a book of children's stories by the author J. K. Rowling. There is a storybook of the same name mentioned in '' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'', the last book of the '' Harry Potter'' series. The boo ...

, an author of fairy tales in the ''Harry Potter'' series

Places

In the United States

Bard Peak (Alaska) Bard Peak is a mountain summit located in the Kenai Mountains, in the U.S. state of Alaska. The peak is situated in Chugach National Forest, southwest of Whittier, Alaska, at the isthmus of the Kenai Peninsula, where the Kenai Mountains meet t ...

, a summit in the Kenai Mountains *

Bard, California Bard is an unincorporated community in Imperial County, California, United States, located along County Route S24. It lies at an elevation of 138 feet (42 m). Bard is home to the Imperial Date Gardens. Bard was created in 1910 after the east ...

, an unincorporated community * Bard, Nevada, a ghost town * Bard, New Mexico, an unincorporated community *

Bard Peak Bard Peak is a high and prominent mountain summit in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The thirteener is located in Arapaho National Forest, west-northwest ( bearing 293°) of the Town of Silver Plume in Clear Cre ...

, Colorado, United States

In Iran

* Bard, Ardabil, in Ardabil Province, Iran *

Bard, Iran Bard ( fa, برد) is a village in Poshtkuh Rural District, Chahardangeh District, Sari County Sari County ( fa, شهرستان ساری) is in Mazandaran province, Iran. The capital of the county is the city of Sari A sari (someti ...

, in Mazandaran Province, a village

Elsewhere

* Bard Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada *

Bard, Loire Bard () is a commune in the Loire department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Loire department The following is a list of the 323 communes of the Loire department of France. The communes cooperate in the following ...

, France * Bard, Aosta Valley, Italy **

Fort Bard Fort Bard, also known as Bard Fort ( it, Forte di Bard; french: Fort de Bard), is a fortified complex built in the 19th century by the House of Savoy on a rocky prominence above Bard, a town and ''comune'' in the Aosta Valley region of northweste ...

Music

* Bard (Soviet Union), genre of music in Russia consisting of singers-songwriters with guitar accompaniment * ''The Bard'' (Sibelius), a tone poem by Jean Sibelius * ''Bard'' (album), an album by Big Big Train * Blind Guardian or the Bards, a power metal/speed metal band * Bardcore, medievalised remakes of hit pop songs

Literature

*'' Bard: The Odyssey of the Irish'', a novel by Morgan Llywelyn *''Bard'', a series of novels by Keith Taylor *'' The Bard'', a poem by Thomas Gray

In role-playing and video games

* Bard (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a character class in ''Dungeons & Dragons'' and the ''

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game The ''Pathfinder Roleplaying Game'' is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) that was published in 2009 by Paizo Publishing. The first edition extends and modifies the System Reference Document (SRD) based on the revised 3rd edition ''Dungeo ...

'' *Bard, a character class in the ''Final Fantasy'' series *Bard, a class in '' Vanguard: Saga of Heroes'' *Bard, the Wandering Caretaker, a champion in '' League of Legends'' *The Bard, a playable character class in ''Everquest''

Schools

* Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, United States *

Bard College at Simon's Rock Bard College at Simon's Rock (more commonly known as Simon's Rock) is a private residential liberal arts college in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It is a unit of Bard College, which is located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The school ...

, an "early college" in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, United States *

Bard High School Early College Bard High School Early College (BHSEC) is an early college school, with multiple campuses in the United States. The school allows students to begin their college studies two years early, graduating with a Bard College Associate in Arts degree in ...

, an alternative public secondary school in New York City, United States *

Bard College Berlin Bard College Berlin (formerly known as ECLA or European College of Liberal Arts) is a private, non-profit institution of higher education in Berlin, Germany. It was founded as a non-profit association in 1999. Courses are taught in the English l ...

, Germany, a private, non-profit institution of higher education

Other uses

Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ পল্লী উন্নয়ন একাডেমী (বার্ড)) Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) started its journey on 27 May 1959 as a ...

, Comilla, Bangladesh * BARD Offshore 1, a wind farm by BARD Engineering Gmbh * Barding or bard, armour for horses * The Bard (American horse), a racehorse * The Bard (British horse), a racehorse * "The Bard" (''The Twilight Zone''), an episode