Wednesday, April 2, 2014

The Bard - An Early Muscian





This is the second day of the A to Z Challenge held throughout the month of April. Participants post every day except Sundays in this blog hop and meet with any number of over a thousand bloggers. To go to the main web page, click HERE and you'll find the list of bloggers. Have fun!



The Bard was a musician or minstrel in the middle ages, who usually sang only of heroic deeds They carried their instrument, usually a lute and/or a wooden flute, and like acrobats, traveled from place to place in search of donations to live on.

Many bards and minstrels recited the news of the day set to rhyming music. Since the news wasn't written down, they were popular in the courts of the rich, where they learned of what deeds were being sung about. A knight could possibly hear of his own deeds being sung, sometimes with embellishment to the deeds.

Many bards and minstrels were nobles who either dropped out or were forced out of their noble status.

In the Celtic and Druidic traditions an individual followed the Bardic Path. Devotees would travel from place to place reciting mystical poetry, song and mythology.

(A page from the tale of Beowulf. One of the few tales that was put down in writing)

8 comments:

  1. Bards feature predominantly in many fantasy novels, especially the Pern stories by Anne McCaffery which, by the look of your stories, I am sure you must have read.

    JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE

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    1. Jo: Yes, I'm familiar with Anne McCaffery's work. I want to write a bard in my current series. One of the things I forgot in the first two books. Oops!

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  2. It must have been a great job in those times. They'd have a lot more freedom and changes to travel than most people.

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    1. Having been a musician in my early years, I have to agree. Your time is more limited now to where you are. That is, unless you choose to travel with a band.

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  3. Your site is gorgeous! I don't know if I have seen one with more vivid colors! Wow! I am impressed!
    Thanks for visiting me, and I'm glad I came over.
    Sharon
    idaretobehappy.com

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    1. Thank you! Loretta Stephenson at artbyretta.com set it up for me. She also did the header for me. A very gifted individual.

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  4. I'd love to be a bard! Great post.

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  5. Dint know the origin of bardism, learning new things each day through this A-Z challenge :)

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