WHAT IS A BARD?: The Myth & the History
al-Sayyid Amr ibn Majid al-Bakri al-Amra
copyright 1994, 1995 by Mike C. Baker
Revised 2003
Contact Information Updated June, 2004
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This paper was originally prepared for a presentation to the
Collegium Gradium, which meets in the Barony of the Steppes, and a
number of related audiences within the context of the Society for
Creative Anachronism. It will also be used as a resource in
introducing students to the materials when I am teaching in other
forums. Occasional revisions are expected to be made.
I owe a particular debt of gratitude to Ioseph of Locksley (MKA
W. J. "Joe" Bethancourt III) for his essay "ON BARDS, AND BARDIC
CIRCLES". I have appended the full text of his article as Appendix A
of the current work: please note the conditions under which Ioseph's
article is permitted to be reprinted or used elsewhere. I also used
the expanded documentation Ioseph prepared for a customized,
delightful computer program (distributed as 2DAYSCA.ZIP) as one of the
general resources for the brief discussion of historical dating and
the importance of oral-tradition genealogy.
In the current document, I have taken the unusual approach in
some places of quoting myself "speaking" as Kihe Blackeagle, the
DreamSinger Bard (which is the name by which I am best known within
the NeoPagan and on-line "alternative religion" communities,
originally via FidoNet / PODS -- see esp. Appendix B).
Ioseph's article includes one list of resources. Additional
print and electronic sources have also been noted in the attached
Bibliographical List (Appendix C.) Note that a fair portion of what is
presented in the main text here derives at least in part from oral
sources over many years of experience as a performer, as a student,
and as just a human being.
Date references are made primarily in reference to the Common Era
(CE), an increasingly popular yet somewhat controversial practice in
the historical community which is intended to preserve consistency
with the majority of the available sources with a minimal dependence
upon any specific culture. In general, year dates CE are the same as
Anno Domini, BCE equate with Before Christ. The system is predicated
upon placing the Christian Nativity in December of the Roman year 754
AUC (Anno Urbis Conditiae): 754 years after the founding of Rome.
More about dating systems will be seen within the body of this
work.... Where the date reference has been shown in lower case within
this manuscript, i.e. ce or bce, consider the date shown as an
APPROXIMATE date. A capitalized date reference has been verified in
some fashion, or is "generally accepted" as accurate for the condition
or event being described. (This usage has been adopted after the
model used by Peter Harbison in his book on pre-Christian Irish
archaeological investigations; the original was applied more to
variations between radiocarbon and other dating methods such as treeWhat *IS* A Bard?
Page 1
ring comparison within the archaeological community, but hopefully the
parallels to oral history and tradition are somewhat obvious....)
This document may be used in periodicals and other publications
of the SCA and its various branches without monetary cost. I do
request a copy of any publication where it might appear. I reserve
the right of withdrawing this permission at a future time.
In Service to the Ideals of the Society,
referred to often as "the Dream",
Amr ibn Majid al-Bakri al-Amra (formerly Amra M'Chib Bakerian)
House Dreamwind of the Shadowed Moon,
c/o Mike C. Baker
109 Sunset DR
Plano TX 75094
Cel (214) 402-8243
Email: KiheBard@hotmail.com
OR kihe@rocketmail.com
OR MCBaker216@cs.com
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 2
WHAT *IS* A BARD?: The Myth & the History
The word "bard" has been used in a great many ways throughout
history. Unfortunately for the purpose of the current discussion,
most such references are inaccurate, inappropriate, and / or just
plain wrong -- at the same time that they may be "right" for the
person speaking or writing. Among other issues, it is important to
consider the time-frame of the "voice" speaking, the culture from
which they come, and the origins of the person being spoken of. The
inexactitudes of English and other modern languages are further
compounded when even well-learn'd scholars have been known to muddy
the issue through loose applications of the term "bard". (Modern
authors are noted for their tendency to the reductio, often to the
point of in absurdio, in other matters -- why not in this as well?)
The equation of bard equal poet is often made, and is supportable
in certain specific contexts. The inverse, poet equal bard, can not
always be said to apply. The Welsh formalities, and the tightly
controlled style so lovingly summarized and portrayed by Robin of
Gilwell (Jay Rudin) within the structures of the same {1}, are the
strongest example I am familiar with. And even those strictures may
tend to confuse matters more thoroughly than they might explain them
(every Welsh bard after a certain point in time had to have composed
in each of twenty-four schemes to be accorded the title of bard, but
the term in general still transliterates as "poet").
Some authors within "modern" times make this verbal distinction
between bard and poet differently: Robert Graves (in his influential
work The White Goddess) distinguishes between Muse-poets, inspired by
"the Goddess" as personally experienced, and Apollonian poets,
praising the patriarchal kingdoms and related institutions. Geoffrey
Ashe (The Discovery of King Arthur) uses "bard" more loosely, but
echoes an important related theme:
The Druids were a close-knit, highly trained religious order, an
immensely influential elite. They were priests, scholars, bards,
royal counselors, and seers. They flourished in Ireland and Gaul
as well, but their advanced colleges were in Britain. {2}
Historical Variations & Terminologies
Professional storytellers among the ancient Greeks were called
_rhapsodes_, and were organized into at least loose organizations.
(One such band were in fact known as the Homeridae.) How often are we
subjected to characterizations of Homer himself as a bard, even when
later Greeks strove mightily to discredit the poets for their
departures from the rational (what we might call "the scientific")?
Who in the modern world would NOT accord Homer such a rank and title?
Poets and folk who were most likely "true" bards are found many places
throughout the surviving Greek and Roman sources. In the Odyssey, we
are told of at least two bards and a herald: Phemius, Demodocus, &
Medon. Orpheus, that great lyre-player of mythic fame who has been
advanced to the rank of demi-god by several "classical" sources, was
1
"The Four-and-Twenty", Black Star A&S issue, A.S.XXVII
2
_The Discovery of King Arthur_, pg. 27
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 3
noted as "a musician of such power and sweetness that even the wild
creatures would gather to listen to him".
Patrons of the bardic arts among the ancient "Classical" nonChristian deities included Dionysus, Apollo, the Muses {3}, Pan, the
Graces, Liber, and the old centaur Chiron. Indeed, special note
should be made of Chiron, considered "the source of the arts of
healing and music". At least one modern observer has made the
connection between this figure and the tribal traditions of horsenomad "medicine-men" or shamans among the ancestors of the Greek
culture (some one of the successive waves of invasion which served to
mold the Pelasgian [sea-people], Achaean, Argive, Doric, Ionian,
Mycenaean, and other Graician civilizations) {4}.
Non-GrecoRoman deities and related mythological figures which are
associated with bards, or poets, or similar professionals such as the
skalds and saga-men, include: (Norse / Germanic) Baldr, Suttung,
Odin/Wotan/Woden, Kvasir, Loki, Mimir, Hoenir; (Celtic) Brigid, Lugh,
Bran, Math, Ecne, and others; Coyote in the tribal lore of the
American Southwest is very recognizably a storytelling inspiration AND
patron; among the Botocudo of the Brazilian mountains "The master of
spirits was 'Father Whitehead', the owner of songs and lord of the
rain and the storm".
Lucan, a Latin author of the 5th century (449ce) {5}, used the
term "Bardi" in reference to the national poets & musicians of both
Gaul and Britain. In fact, among the old Gaelic / Celtic tribal
clans, each chieftain had a household bard. Even into the 18th
century CE, the house-bard sang the lineage and deeds of the clan IN
IRISH, or at the very least what we now call Gaelic, among the
Highlanders of Scotland. It has been observed by several sources that
"The most influential and conservative element of Celtic society was
that of the bards." {6}
In the redoubtable _Oxford English Dictionary_, on "pg. 667" of
the Compact Edition, we find reinforcement for the basic view of the
bard-as-poet/musician as already presented here, and also intimation
of his association with prophetic ability. The word "BARD" is derived
variously from Gaelic, Irish, Welsh, and Latin, in addition to Old
The separate fields of inspiration for each Muse are a Roman
invention. The Romans enumerate the Nine and assign their charges
as: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (History), Euterpe (flute
playing), Erato (lyric poetry & hymns), Terpsichore (dance),
Melpomene (tragedy), Thalia (comedy), Polyhymnia (mime), and
Urania (astronomy, or more anciently astrology).
They are thought by the Greeks to be daughters of Zeus and
Mnemosyne (memory).
3
Note that "Greek" is a name imposed by the later Roman
conquerors, derived from "Graicia".
4
In this paper, where a date qualifier is used and is shown
in lowercase, that date is only an approximation. Uppercase
indicates a "solid", documentable and verifiable date citation.
5
6
Nikolai Tolstoy, _The Quest for Merlin_, (c) 1985
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 4
Celtic (this last may be referred to in some other sources as
"Goi(d)delic" [?]). Definition One from the OED reads:
An ancient Celtic order of minstrel-poets, whose primary function
appears to have been to compose and sing (usually to the harp)
verses celebrating the achievements of chiefs and warriors, and
who committed to verse historical and traditional facts,
religious precepts, laws, genealogies, etc. Still the word for
"poet" in modern Celtic languages; and in Welsh _spec_: A poet or
versifier who has been recognized at the Eisteddfod.
Quoted from the sources cited in the OED as supporting this
definition:
from Powel writing in 1584CE _Lloyd's Cambria_ pg. 15: "This word
_Bardh_ signified such as had knowledge of things to come."
Shakespeare, _Richard III_, 4th Act: "A bard of Ireland told me
once, I should not live long after I saw Richmond."
The entry for "bard" in the OED also supports the view of the gleeman
as being the equal of both bard and scald.
Bards in Historical Celtic Society
There were definite cultural differences in the expectations
associated with the station of bards even within the longest-surviving
"pure Gaelic" civilizations. Welsh & Irish bards both developed into
distinct classes, with subtly differing yet well-defined views as to
the hereditary and other aspects of the transmission and accordance of
rights, responsibilities, and privileges granted to or reserved by the
recognized bards. Among the Welsh, the formal laws governing bards
are recorded as having been first codified / regularized by Howel Dda
and later substantially revised by Gruffyd ap Conan. {7} The Welsh are
also thought of as those primarily responsible for the concept of the
Eisteddfod, although it should be noted that the Irish training system
of twelve year's study culminating in the award of the title OLLAVE
was in its fashion much more rigorous. We will return to this
distinction shortly.
Within the SCA, we seem to think most often of the capital-B Bard
as found and defined within the Celtic, Gaelic-speaking, cultures.
There are at least related positions found in most so-called
"primitive" peoples. The shaman, "witch doctor", or "medicine man"
may or may not fill many of the same functions as the Celtic bard.
More than entertainer, the "true" bard was (and is) also an educator.
It was (and is) completely within his power to make or destroy
reputations -- and thereby whole lives. The concept of the bardic
"right of satire" is dealt with in more depth elsewhere in this study.
Even given his traditional protections, the bard was not always
In at least one notable case, this was because of apparent
safe.
It _should_ be noted that King Gruffyd was educated in
Ireland and may in fact have been making revisions intended to
either bring the practices of the Welsh college more into line
with what he had experienced, or (and this is certainly the less
likely premise) to have been attempting to avoid perceived
pitfalls of the Irish system. Failing written documentation of the
actual details of the structure of training and recognition in
Ireland, no reliable decision can be made.
7
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 5
vainglory: Taillefu, personal bard to William the Conqueror, became
famous not only for advancing into England from the beach while
juggling his sword and singing the tales of Charlemagne or Roland, but
also for being the first man killed at the Battle of Hastings. He had
previously begged for the privilege of being allowed to strike the
first blow... {8}
Cultural and Other Possible Bardic Equivalents
Other titular names which might be considered substantially
similar to "bard" in the European cultures with which we have the best
familiarity are the Norse "scop" (for the Anglo-Saxon, residents in
the hall of an *atheling*, or petty king), perhaps the jongleur
(France) and gaukler (in the Germanies); maybe the generally noble
troubadour (southern France, northern Spain, northern Italy) & the
trouve're (northern and central France, plus some penetration into
Norman England: poets similar to the troubadours); the Minnesingers of
Germany (associated also with the troubadour tradition, and
forerunners of the Meistersinger) *maybe* the ioculator (although this
is more often associated with a type of jester?), et cetera.
It has been observed by at least one student of Jewish rabbinical
history that the rabbi was, from the most ancient times, very much
similar to the bard as well: above all other things, bards and rabbis
are both teachers, both use parable and allegory, and both professions
use music as a method of presenting their teachings.
Frank Muir, writing in the last quarter of the 20th century CE,
notes that:
A certain amount of class distinction entered into music
during the Middle Ages. The Roman name for a professional
musician was JOCULATOR; this became "juggler" in English and was
the word used to describe the practitioners at the bottom end of
the entertainment world, the conjurers, acrobats, bear-leaders
and actors as well as the fiddlers. {9}
[Sources used in preparing this study disagree whether the
following related tidbit applies more probably to the troubadour or
the trouve`re: tunes used with their poems are believed by some to
have been written primarily by jongleurs, or possibly apprentices /
servants called "joglar", although the poetic words associated were
typically very much -- sometimes quite jealously! -- the troubadour's
own.]
Some more-specific bardic appellations within Celtic regions
include the filidh (seer: see Ioseph's article for the relation
between this and the word "druid"); ollave (master poet); and the
Gogynfeirdd or Prydydd (types of Welsh "Court Poets"). For all that
oral and recorded histories do not always agree, the names of some of
the most famous Celtic bards survive: Taliesin, Amergin mac Miled
(also accorded the place of first Druid in Ireland), Myrddin (who is
often equated with Merlin), Tuan mac Carell, Craftiny, etc. One Welsh
8
Muir, pg. 17, as well as other sources
pp 16-17, _An Irreverent and Thoroughly Incomplete Social
History of Almost Everything_, (c) 1976
9
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 6
source quotes a "prime bard of the Cymry" named Taliesin as saying
"Iddno and Heinin called me Merddin". Another source claims that
there were three class divisions of "bards among the Druids": Fe-Laoi
(Hymnists), Senachies (epic singers & historians), and Fer-Dan (the
more musical and secular wandering entertainers AND satirists). {10}
"Fellow-Travelers": Entertainment Specialists
Positions and titles which it is often believed would *not*
usually have been considered TRUE bards within at least the earlier
portion of the SCA "period" (600ce to 1600/1650ce) include: minstrel
or "menestriers" (see following paragraph for a dissenting view {11});
gleeman {12}, musician (or specific instrumentalist type such as the
harpist, piper, lutanists, or the trumpeteer), juggler, "ystriones"
(actors), "waits" (town pipers or bandsmen, after a fashion), goliards
(minor ecclesiaticals and students: "Their writings were often frothy,
sometimes obscene; their conduct was in accordance." {13}) and also
vagantes ("wanderers" related to the goliard); harlequins, and other
"players", etc.
Dissension Among the Experts
For some feel of just how greatly modern authorities differ in
reference to the terminology, I will note in passing that under the
listing for "minstrel" in the _Encyclopedia Britannica_, c. 1960ce,
are also listed many of the equivalents we generally account "true
bards". Minstrel derives from the same Latin roots as minister, which
originally meant particularly and specifically "servant". A minstrel,
by my own derivation, is therefore one who serves through music. {14}
pg. 81, W. Winwood Reade _The Veil of Isis, or Mysteries of
the Druids_, Newcastle Publishing reprint, 1992
10
consider also the last lines of, if not the full text of,
"So you wish to be a bard" by Rathflaed DuToutNoir, the Black Bard
of Meridies [mka Stephen R. Melvin], attached here as Appendix D
{PERMISSION FOR WIDER PUBLICATION PENDING}
11
Some sources make the title of gleeman out to be actually
wandering scops, not attached to a single patron, which would
return them to the company of "true bards" and equivalents.
12
Gustave Reese _Music in the Middle Ages_ (c) 1940. Chapter
7, "Secular Monody". The goliards primarily wrote songs in Latin.
As a group, their influence declined in the first half of the 13th
century, with the rise of the great permanent universities and the
growth of residential student life. In some ways, the "Animal
House" image of college fraternity life is a descendant of the
goliard life-style.
The mythical patron of the goliards was the "Bishop Golias".
Their disreputable conduct and satires against the Church led to
the denial of clergy privilege in the end. Goliards are considered
the primary source of most of that body of work we know today as
"Carmina burana".
13
Reese notes: "After the Norman Conquest, gleeman and scop
gave place to minstrels (the name changing more than the
function), both resident in the court of the feudal lord and
travelling on the highways." Chapter Eight.
14
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 7
Minstrel guilds date back to at least 1105ce at Arras, 1321ce Paris,
and 1469ce London (the London guild survives even today, as the
Corporation of Musicians of London). At least one guild (at Beverly)
restricted membership to those of "position" or of proven worth
(either through demonstrated skill or proof of employment by a noble
household).
In the late 15th century, at least according to _Britannica_, the
introduction of printing led to an increasing emphasis upon
instrumental performance by minstrels and a related decline in the
oral tradition. The "wandering minstrel" as a recognized type dates
generally to earlier times, and their activities are often associated
with at least two general revolts (Peasants' 1381ce, Jack Cade's
1450ce) as well as other, lesser, riots. Particularly following the
Black Death in 1349, wandering (i.e. non-aligned, un-associated,
non-guild) minstrels were at continual risk of penalties for vagrancy
and more serious charges.
One last nod to the _Britannica_:
"The term minstrel covered a great variety of performers."
Significantly, at least according to one modern authority:
"There is no real equivalent to the Celtic Bard
in Anglo-Saxon England..."
Refining the Scope of the Discussion: Pre-Christian Bardic Origins
For terms of a general discussion, serious consideration should
be given to the so-called "hedge-Bards", as those certainly seem to
have been responsible for carrying on the real "traditions of the
Bard" even after the formal ancient Pagan / Druidic schools were
disbanded or taken over by Christian influences. These were also the
folk who developed and preserved many of the most important poetic
cycles -- and most probably were instrumental in introducing the
troubadours of France to Arthur & all his band of gentlemen, and their
greatest achievements (and failures).
The "true" bards (those named Muse-poets by Graves), at least
within surviving manuscript sources, were almost invariably male in
Europe, the British Isles, and the majority of Old-World "contact
cultures" during the SCA "period" (fall of Rome to 1600CE). As with
most other professions, there were of course exceptions -- and some
traditions of "wise women" who entertained in a fashion, in addition
of course to the priestesses of pre-Christian times and non-Christian
cultures. There are significant survivals in ORAL tradition which
indicate that the woman as bard was in some places the norm rather
than the exception. Lineages can be particularly hard to trace for
another related reason: some bardic traditions also held that bards
were not permitted to marry.
Male & Female Bards: First Notes
As with other aspects of life, the "male-ness" of bards was most
noticeable in cultures that included patriarchal religious structures
and inheritance laws. (How much of this bias also revolves around the
nature of those who were making the written records -- the monks and
other Church-folk -- can only be conjectured at.) For all that the
bard was originally tightly associated with Goddess-worship, he also
represented the respect of men for the female principle. MUCH more
about this might be included were this principally a religious
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 8
discussion; as it is, some additional related comment will be found
later. As important as oral tradition has always been to bards,
scholars generally reject oral sources of information in favor of
permanent records such as manuscripts: in the manuscripts, where are
the women bards?
UPDATE (Summary):
Additional resources have been located which affirm the existence
and importance of women as fully-trained bards.
Among other items, a
woman was one of the seven harpers at an Irish gathering in the 18th
Century (Christian era) which attempted to preserve more of the
repertoire that had been passed hand-to-hand. Also collected but not
yet integrated are notes about the systematic destruction of records
by Church zealots and government officials charged with “correcting”
inheritance records (or otherwise suppressing previous claims).
The Essentials of Being a Bard
It should be reinforced here that the true-bard, the thoroughly
wonderful and honestly-complete original of which this study tries to
approach, survived historically well into SCA "period" BUT was very
much the child of earlier times. What are the essentials, then, which
form the quintessential bard? We may begin by noting the tradition of
oral histories, the role as religious teacher, the association with
"magick" such as prophecy or divination, and the incidental existence
as an entertainer. And no one aspect among these is more or less
important than any other. And the listing we start with here is by NO
means complete or definitive still. As observed by Rudyard Kipling in
reference to a hypothetical poet of still earlier ages:
There are nine and sixty ways of reciting tribal lays,
And every single one of them is right!
Bardic traditions span many variations of personal approach,
public conception, and historical context. From the earliest tribal
gatherings around the cook fire up through modern Neo-Pagan survivals
(we might even say with tongue only partly in cheek "revivals"), the
practitioner of the bardic arts has been a valued member of the
community. So much so, in fact, that poets have been blinded, strong
men deliberately lamed by hamstringing, and even fierce battles fought
over the "right" to keep a particular bard in residence. Competition,
and attendant danger for the targeted bards, became so fierce in some
times and places that it became necessary for bards to reserve to
themselves the right of free passage -- to come or go as they please
-- among other rights and defined responsibilities. As a group, bards
would enforce this by imposition of a ban against performances & other
bardic services, including their priestly functions, upon the lands
and holdings of any who violated this most basic of "bardic rights".
(For those not particularly familiar with religious history, note that
this method, often referred to simply as "the Ban", was also adopted
for use by the Catholic Church against the lands of excommunicated
nobles at more than one time and place.)
The application of the bard's power of satire as a retaliation
was a feared consequence of offending the great and the not-so-great.
In Welsh tradition, when Arawn is offended by Prince Pwyll of Dyfed,
the prince is threatened with being "satirized to the value of a
hundred stags". In one notable occasion, a bard greeted with less
than complete hospitality by an early King of Ireland composed such a
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 9
powerful satire that said King was forced to abdicate in favor of a
more generous man. {15}
Mighty bards were even said to be capable of raising blisters
selectively on a human target solely through the biting heat of their
performance. {16} Other aspects of the traditional bardic powers were
said to derive from non-worldly forces as well. Bards among the Welsh
were said to receive their inspiration and power from the _awen_, a
divine force raising the poet beyond his normal self and abilities.
In the resultant ecstasy-trance, the bard became something of a
prophet and occasionally a type of "spirit medium" as well.
In the poetic "Cad Goddeu" (Battle of the Forest), among other
sources, we find a record of the ability of the bard to change shape
into any beast, human, or natural feature (granted through
supernatural forces and also the power of personal will). The bard
was also believed to be able to send his spirit forth from his body,
in order to move through time and space "acquiring at first-hand all
knowledge". There certainly seems to be a close relationship between
bardic prophecy and shamanism (both as practiced in Siberia and
otherwise). The "Cad Goddeu" may also be one garbled record of the
Celtic cosmogony otherwise believed lost except for the version
recorded in the _Barddas_.
Assorted Notes Upon Bardic Tradition & Contributions
In his role of priest in the pre-Christian faiths, the bard was
also associated with the gods, just as "the shaman in his ecstasy in
any case [is] identified in part with the god". {17} It was believed
that in at least two locations, Cader Idris or under the Black Stone
of the Arddu on Mount Snowdon, an individual spending the night would
descend the next morning as either a madman or a bard.
The "triduan" is a ritual fast of three day's duration meant to
induce ecstatic trance and visions derived from usage by bards. It
was one aspect of Druidic and bardic existence that was particularly
absorbed into British and Irish Church practices, with very few
changes made to hide the guilty. (Fasts are associated with religious
practice in many ancient / "primitive" cultures, particularly those
with belief in seers and prophetic visions.)
The _Glossary of Cormac, dated to the 9th century ce, tells us of
the "tugen", or bard's clothing, made of the skins of both white &
many-coloured birds. This garment was also called the "enchennach",
and is believed to have included in particular the feathered hides of
the wild ducks that could be captured. Reade tells us:
Their ordinary dress was brown, but in religious ceremonies they
wore ecclesiastical ornaments called "Bardd-gwewll", which was an
The bard in question had been given sub-standard lodging,
bad food, and not even a mug of good ale. There are *reasons* why
the Irish believe in providing hospitality...
15
It is now known that the same effect can be reproduced
through modern hypnosis...
16
17
Tolstoy, pg. 142
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 10
azure robe with a cowl to it -- a costume afterwards adopted by
the lay monks of Bardsey Island (the burial place of Myrrddin or
Merlin) and was by them called "Cyliau Duorn", or black cowls; it
was the borrowed by the Gauls and is still worn by the Capuchin
friars. {18}
A great bard's income could be astounding indeed. One hundred
horses, cloaks, and bracelets, along with 50 brooches "and a
magnificent sword" were given to Taliesin by Cynan Garwyn at Pengwern.
Cattle, mead, oil, and even serfs were also included in rewards and
largesse.
Historical Resistance to Bardic Influence
An important side-note, a matter which I only recently become
aware of through the good graces of an electronic copy of Rosario di
Palermo's previous Collegium Gradium presentation concerning
"defenses" of Poetry within the Classical, Medieval, and Renaissance
timeframes: poets in general, of whatever type, were barely tolerated
by the Church and other authorities for many centuries. Before the
rise of the Church, philosophers since at least Classical Greek times
(Plato and Socrates in particular) objected to the inaccuracies of the
poet's language.
This was based primarily upon the imagery of the poet being
imitative while Philosophy was thought to be a direct revelation of
Truth; but there was also a lesser but still-strong argument based
upon morality (in the words chosen by Rosario: "...it can be dangerous
to the moral health of the state if poets discuss immoral acts.
They
may set a bad example by appealing to the baser instincts of man.")
Graves (_The White Goddess_) noted in reference to Socrates'
attitude a quotation from the philosopher himself, in which the man
rejected myth in favor of "everything as it is, not as it appears, and
to reject all opinions of which no account can be given". The modern
author further addressed the classical by noting that:
... by Socrates' time the sense of most myths belonging to the
previous epoch was either forgotten or kept a close religious
secret, though they were still preserved pictorially in religious
art and still current a fairy-tales from which the poets quoted.
Graves' claim is also that Socrates was turning his back on the
Goddess principle and religion in favor of "intellectual
homosexuality", even in the face of direct experience with the power
of magic within the philosopher's own lifetime (as evidenced by the
actions, and results, of the priestess Diotima Mantinice in stopping a
plague in Athens).
All of this led in part, later on, to one of the more humorous
paradoxes to face the organized Christian Church in Europe. While
bards, minstrels, and other notorious poetical sources wandered the
countryside spouting allegory and fable, and generally being denounced
for their heresies in doing so, the churchmen found that the (thanks
for the phrasing once again, Rosario!) "only way to teach large groups
of people the faith was by example, by allegory -- by stories.
Jesus
18
Reade, pg.83
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 11
himself taught by means of parables and stories..." Churchmen and
secular writers who used poetic forms both often resorted to the "it
was all a dream" claim in order to avoid sanctions, and often wrote
letters of general retraction to be released upon their deaths (Refer
to Rosario's paper for some interesting notes upon the Retraction
penned by Chaucer; consider also the apocryphal tale of Marco Polo's
deathbed refusal to issue any retraction: "Father, I only told the
*half* of what I saw!")
Nikolai Tolstoy comments: "With the establishment of
Christianity, the role of the bards was greatly reduced." Previously,
the telling of the genealogy of the new king or other great chief
included a prophecy as to his successors. Tolstoy's sources otherwise
also attribute this portion of the ritual of elevation variously to
druids, "a Highland sennachy", and "the Orator" at differing times and
places. As Churchmen took over the sacred portions of these rites,
the tradition of prophecy concerning the future succession was
abandoned.
BARDIC RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
As we have spoken of a few of the rights and responsibilities of
bards, this might be a good time to consider a brief &
still-incomplete list of some of the most commonly acknowledged duties
and abilities that should be considered the province of a bard.
Appendix B is one version of such a partial list (along with related
commentary).
An ancient British law held three classes of employment
("professions") to be free from slavery: smiths, scholars of
languages, and bards. "When once the smith had entered a smithy, the
scholar had been polled [?], or the bard had composed a song, they
could never more be deprived of their freedom." {19}
As an (expanded) extract, consider that a "true Bard" might have
been called upon to fulfill ANY of the task-names which are shown in
the following list at some point in his career: go-between, judge,
neutral party, arbitrator, law-keeper (NOT -- usually -- law-*giver*),
satirist, saga-singer, poet, musician, herald (particularly in some
cultures in the sense of "the voice of the King", or ambassador),
story-teller, composer of music, maker of riddles, teller of parables,
historian, herbalist / healer, newsman, news commentator, messenger,
teacher, student, priest, warrior, linguist, craftsman, record-keeper,
genealogist, military scout, spy, etc.
There is much else which is also considered to be in the province
of the Bard. Indeed, there is very little which is *not* to be
expected of a true Bard, in either lesser or greater degree, at some
time within his or her current lifetime on this plane. {20}
Indeed, and in both deeds and in fact, much that we associate
19
Reade, pg. 83
The vast bulk of evidence indicates that the "historical"
True Bard not only believed in reincarnation of some type, but
also believed himself one of the culminations of the cycle.
20
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 12
with the "typical" Code of Chivalry has a direct relationship to the
expected behaviour attributed to a bard. Consider this: perhaps the
greatest bards of all have no titles nor need for them, at least as
they go about their primary work. Bards use among other tools the
parable as a way to teach others, and are expected to interpret the
laws of the land (and the religion!) so that even the simplest farmer
can understand it readily. If one is willing to expand their worldview slightly, this makes one Yeshua bar Maryam the greatest bard to
ever walk the planet we call Earth. Yes, that is right: Jesus of
Nazareth was by all rights a shining example of what it is to *be* a
Bard (ignoring for the sake of THIS argument the significance of
events of a purely religious nature and interpretation within this
mortal life-frame -- I leave it to your personal discretion as to just
how this may be accomplished...)
Bards as Judges & Lawyers
As noted above, one particular duty of bards was that of "keeping
the Custom": remembering, interpreting, and sometimes even passing
judgement upon a basis of Customary Law. As a portion of this
responsibility, Bards would occasionally go to great lengths in order
to preserve their neutrality in the consideration of a particular
situation: relocating from the noble's comfortable tower & kitchens to
a village house or even a rude camp in the woods, refusing to listen
to any portion or word concerning the case in advance of the hearing,
and even leaving the region entirely once a judgement was rendered.
This is not to say that all called "Bard" were so conscientious: every
cellar has its dusty corners waiting to be swept, and money or the
promise of power has been known to speak more loudly than the
righteous...
Bards as Historians & Genealogists
A related function of the bard, one which was especially
important in determining the chronologies of the past and as a
reinforcement to the scanty formal written records of birth and death,
was the maintenance of the genealogical records. Whether in formal
rolls or chanted saga, knowledge of where one stood in relationship to
an ancestor also placed the individual as regards the great moments of
history. Well into the late Renaissance and even beyond, it was
common practice for the chroniclers of the European world (as well as
elsewhere) to record dates in reference to the ecclesiastical calendar
(how can we not remember St. Crispin's Day, with our perspective given
us courtesy of that playwright-fellow from Stratford-on-Avon; who
would not know the time of the year when All-Saints Day was to be
celebrated?) in combination with the time since the accession of the
local monarch, or in reference to some Great Event ("in the Third Year
of the Reign of Our Good and Righteous King Richard, Known to All the
Christian World as the Lion-Heart", "in the Fourth Year Following the
Great Siege of Our Duke Jean's City of Calais", and other similarly
flowery artifices were more common than we of the modern age often
acknowledge).
Keeping the genealogy was further exceptionally important due to
the importance of maintaining the lines of succession, particularly
for tribes and clans where political and religious power both were
matters reinforced by hereditary rights. And, to no particular
surprise for modern ears, where death due to disease was even more
common than death due to violent means a successor from collateral
lines of descent was needed a bit more often than we today find
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 13
comfortable or likely. The need to prove relationships to a currently
powerful ruling family was also important for other reasons: a man or
woman's starting place and opportunities within the social and
political structure was determined almost entirely by birth-rank.
Position at table, potential marriages, opportunity for service as a
military officer, and even suitability for consideration as a
clergyman OR as a "true" bard all could derive from nothing more than
one's relationship to the current chieftain, baron, jarl, or
what-have-ye. If you could not prove your parentage, there was even
the possibility of severe penalty for impersonation of a person of
true rank and privilege.
Bards as Peacemakers
Bards were also noted as restorers of the peace, as well as
inciters of heroic deeds. The old tales tell of more than one
instance where two armies in full array faced each other across the
field, only to be kept from the fight by the power of the bard's song
and reasoning of his arguments.
Language Drift as the Bard's Foe
All of this was made more difficult with succeeding waves of
migration, invasion, and conquest. Tracing back through the oral
records afterwards gives us some peculiar difficulties for the
occurrences of the remote past. Language changes with time, even
given the best efforts of well-intended historians, grammarians,
churchmen, and bards. So do systems of calculating relative position
in regards to some historical event. For example, three of the royal
figures associated with the supposed "historical Arthur" all have
names translating to some form of "king" and almost certainly were
titles before they were names (or were perhaps adopted when they
ascended the throne, after the manner of the Roman Emperor, and later
the Pope): Rigotamos (Riothamos) = "kingmost", Vortigern = "overking",
and Vortimer = "kingmost". {21} Instead of dating from the *birth* of
Christ, an earlier method created by a churchman named Victorius was
based upon the *death* of Christ, placing it in 28CE (784AUC). And,
unlike current practice, there was no consistent nomenclature used
which might otherwise distinguish between the several variations.
When combined with other inaccuracies, and even some proven blatant
distortions of the written record, ....
CULTURE AND BARDIC TRADITION
In the dawn of civilized history, tribes were small: it was a
time when everyone could sing the oldest or the latest songs or tell
any of the great tales with amazing accuracy. "In the old days,
pretty much everybody did a little bit of everything, and that
included music-making." [Bookbinder, pp60-75] "Songs and spoken tales
were the way the great mythological stories were carried from
generation to generation." [Bookbinder pg 51] The archaeological
record shows the use of buttons in Ireland at least as early as
1900bce; a rapier dated reliably to 1200BCE rests now in the National
Museum of Ireland; torcs of twisted gold have been found which are at
least as ancient as this blade. {22}
It also appears that Midas was a title in ancient Phrygia
and not on the whole a personal name.
21
22
See
Harbison,
What *IS* A Bard?
_Pre-Christian
Ireland_,
for
additional
Page 14
Even well into the modern age, traditions about the makers of
poetry and music as holding supernatural power (along with related
beliefs), survived among aboriginal peoples around the globe. A few
examples from the New World may be particularly illustrative of some
ways that proto-bardic manners and methods influence tribal life -and the importance of "bards" to that life, when they are present:
In several tribes, one measure of the passage into adulthood was
the creation of a personal song by the candidate. Particularly
among the Plains tribes in North America, the concept of the
death-song was also strongly embedded in the warrior mystique.
The medicine-man or shaman was responsible in most tribes for
educating the young people through story, song, and parable. His
(or her!) apprentices were required to pass through a long course
of memorization of lore, history, and genealogy.
Healing ceremonies typically include the use of chants, drums,
rattles, clappers, and herbal medicines. Divine intervention is
invoked by song and action.
Signal drummers in eastern Ecuador and Peru use both "male" and
"female" drums to reach more than twelve kilometers.
In much the same way that Celtic bards used satire, among the
Eskimo "... conflicts here are not settled by fighting, but in a
drumming contest by the persuasive power of the songs with which
the opponents mock each other and reveal their mutual weaknesses
and shortcomings." {23}
It is well known in our time that Europeans treated in-period
information returning from the Americas by European standards, and
ignored "the magical and ritualistic function of Indian music and the
special way it was bound up with their religion and their whole way of
looking at the universe". {24} Much was made of the fact that natives
of the America trained in the Spanish musical style were considered
creators of compositions that were indistinct from the Europeans' work
(an observation noted in a manuscript attributed to Juan de
Torquemada, Seville, 1615ce).
Today, late in the 20th century CE, we realize that for the
natives of the Americas, the so-called "Indians", as for most socalled "primitive" cultures:
[...] music is not an art, but an expression or manifestation of
life. Generally speaking, he would hardly describe it as
"beautiful", but rather as "powerful" or "effective".
Music for the individual represents a source of power and
for the tribal association a means of reaching an understanding
with the supernatural beings from whom they ask for all good
things.
The music of the Indians is essentially religious and is
related information.
23
_Music of the Americas_, through pg. 30
24
_Music of the Americas_, introductory material.
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 15
functionally bound up with worship [...] His music is an
expression of his beliefs and hopes and his fear of the gods.
{25}
In illustration, it should be noted that Mexico prior to the
arrival of the Spanish had an "Academy of Fine Arts" at least in
function, a school where singers, dancers, and musicians all met to
receive training and trade information; the Lenni Lenape maintained a
tribal chronicle in pictographs carved on wood said to trace back to
the Flood; in Tierra del Fuego "The harsh austerity of their
environment greatly developed a strong inclination toward magic and
religious conceptions. They had a rich store of myths". {26} At least
some Native American oral traditions speak of ancient inter-tribal
training centers attended by the medicine people of the tribe, both to
give and to receive knowledge.
Bards in Historical Record & Belief
In the particular context of this study, a good many people today
believe that TRUE bards were and have always been at least in some way
a part of the "Druidic" and other related religions, especially those
practiced by the pre-Christian Celtic tribes and clans. {27}
Particularly, bards are identified as possessing magical powers and a
history of at least partial accuracy as predictors of the future.
We have records, by way of the Greeks and Romans in particular,
of Celtic beliefs before the advent of the Christian faith: Celts
sacked Rome itself in 370bce, Delphi in 273BCE; they were allies of
the Etruscans in the Third Samnite War and later friendly with
Alexander of Macedonia (his agreements with the Celts maintained his
northern border during the great campaigns into Asia Minor and other
places); and the gathered tribes delivered one of the most stunning
Roman defeats in pre-Imperial times. {28} Herodotus knew of the Celts
in Spain, Aristotle knew that they "set great store by war-like
power"; Ephorus noted them as using "the same customs as the Greeks" &
being on friendliest terms with those who established guestfriendship; and the Celtic oath-formula as recorded by ancient sources
remained unchanged for a thousand years. (In paraphrase: If we fail,
may the sky fall on us, may the earth gape and swallow us, may the sea
burst out and drown us. {29}) Celtic place-names survive all across
25
_Music of the Americas_, pg. 31
26
_Music of the Americas_
I know from
which is evidenced
modern survivals of
prefer, "neo-Pagan"
Americans who still
27
personal experience the reverence for Bards
by those who perform their worships in the
the Wiccan and compatible Pagan -- or, if you
-- religious systems. And among those Native
revere tribal ways.
This was "dies Aliensis", July 18, 390BCE: in response to
Roman treachery the previous year at Clusium, the Celts attacked
into Italy and were met at the River Allia. The Roman defenders
were annihilated in one tremendous Celtic charge.
28
This oath was sworn to Alexander two centuries BCE, and was
recorded in the 1100's CE in the _Book of Leinster_ as part of the
Tain Bo Cuilgne {pronounced approximately as "tawn bow kwelgney",
29
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 16
Europe. Celtic dialect even survived among the "natives" of Galatia
in Asia Minor until the 4th century CE.
Practically all of the ancient European tribal peoples, Norse &
Cymri & Scotii & Angles & Saxons & Celts most especially included, had
no widespread written language before the spread of the Greek alphabet
BUT all had a mythological way of looking at the world and "... an
accompanying system of songs, tales, and rituals". These became
codified as the great epics, which were the particular province of the
bard. The labor of memorization and maintaining this information was
considered essential to the life of the tribe, clan, village, or other
similar social unit. This led in turn to many of the other privileges
and more importantly the responsibilities associated with bards.
Diodorus Siculus "mentions the great reverence paid to the bards".
{30}
Bards as Literate & Non-Literate
Although much effort has been expended by scholars through the
ages in reducing the oral tradition bard to an unlettered class, we
must note that the Celtic Ogham and the Norse Runes were both closely
related with bards, druids, priests, and skalds. For the Celtic Druid
and bards raised up in that tradition, there were in fact extreme
prohibitions AGAINST recording of certain parts of the "secret
knowledge" in written form. Even so, we know that learning in the
"classical" pen&paper sense was not only done, but was actively
encouraged. Gaius Julius Caesar, speaking of the Druids and their
doctrine, tells us: "They are said there to get by heart a great
number of verses; some continue twenty years in their education;
neither is it held lawful to commit these things to writing, though in
almost all public transactions and private accounts they use the Greek
characters." Caesar also commented upon the Druids as being general
teachers of the young, and the Celtic day starting at sunset (phrased
as "the coming of night"). Strabo, the geographer and traveller,
noted the Celts of Gaul to be eager for culture, with public education
in the towns and the spread of Grecian learning outward from Marsillia
(Marseilles) being encouraged.
Druidic & Celtic Origins of Bardic Tradition (and Tales)
The Druidic "sacerdotal" (priestly) authority controlled and
restricted both religious and secular learning according to some
sources. Professional poets, the "fili", are noted in the same
source: they "were a branch of the Druidic order". No reliable record
of the ancient Celtic creation myth is believed to exist, the earliest
manuscript directly describing and attempting to explain the Creation
is the _Barddas_ (detailed later). Otherwise, the *surviving* tale
cycles start with the Invasions of Ireland. There are five invasions
noted in what is also known as the Myth Cycle (or Cycle of the
Invasions): Partholan, Nemed, Firbolg, Tuatha de Danaan, and the first
purely human, the Milesian. (The preceding four groups are all
accorded status as supernatural in some manner, particularly as gods,
goddesses, and monsters. The other two cycles agreed upon by most
known better to most English-speaking audiences as "The CattleRaid of Cooley"}, which is believed to have been formalized in its
oral structure approximately 800CE.
30
quoted in _Celtic_, Rolleston, pg. 42
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 17
antiquarians studying Irish mythology, legends, manuscripts, and
poetry are:
the Ulster or Ultonian (Conorian), best known for the "Tain Bo
Cuilgne" with the great hero Cuchulain,
and the
Ossianic (Fenian), which dealt primarily with the Fianna (a
"King's Guard" originally intended to deal with external
invaders), whose chief captain was Finn mac Cumhal and which
served King Cormac mac Art and later Cormac's son Cairbry.
Finn's son Oisin (Ossian, pronounced Oooo-sheen) was acclaimed as
the "greatest poet of the Gael. "The Maxims of the Fianna" read
like the Rule of a chivalric order of knights, although the
membership was decidedly less genteel even than the band
associated with King Arthur...
In addition there is a great wealth of material which is largely
unconnected to any cycle other than by reference to the Tuatha and
other non-human powers or legendary heroes appearing as ancestors, or
spirits returned to impart knowledge to those still living. The most
consistent and best-known of the "non-aligned" tales are those
concerning miraculous voyages; by far, the most widely known of the
voyage tales that survive were typically associated with Christian
themes. St. Brendan is often cited as a possible pre-Columbus
discovery of North America, although other evidence indicates that the
record is much more that of a spiritual rather than a physical
odyssey. _The Book of the Dun Cow_ and other early sources give us
such entertainments as the tale of the "Voyage of Maeldun", attributed
to Aed Finn "chief sage of Ireland" (who is unfortunately not
otherwise recorded in modern records).
It was not until the two-volume _Barddas_ was compiled by
Llewellyn Sion of Glamorgan toward the end of the 16th century CE that
it is thought anywhere near a relatively full record of the material
previously prohibited from being taken down in writing was made in
manuscript form. {31} The attacks upon this work by modern scholars do
call it into question, and the work itself makes no pretense of being
PURELY Druidic/bardic, containing much Christian history and
biography. An independent strain of earlier, non-Christian thought is
still very evident and recognizable, however.
The Requirements of Acknowledgement
Among the Welsh (at least as we are told things in these later
times) the word "Bard" denoted a master-poet, and there were very
definite requirements which had to be met before the title was
granted. What is now considered the first major school, that of
Rheged "the Cumbrian kingdom", included the legendary bards Taliesin
and Aneirin (who are known to have been present at the fall of
Catraeth in 598ce). Welsh court feasts certainly included musical
accompaniment, but the bards in attendance served additional
functions:
My tertiary source named J.A. Williams ap Ithel from the
Welsh Manuscript Society as editor and translator of _Barddas_. I
have not yet managed to inspect a copy for myself and thus only
pass along the reports of others. The quoted portions which I have
seen have left me anxious to make a deeper inspection, though!
31
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 18
In times of peace the kings drew moral support from their
court bards. The bards were prominent figures -- entertainers
certainly, but a great deal more than that, inheriting some of
the Druid's functions. They were the authorities on customs,
precedents, pedigrees. Their poems, sung to music, extolled
their royal patrons and had what would today be called public
relations value, projecting the King's "image" as a man of august
descent, martial renown, bounty, and so forth. Praise of the
same sort was extended to his forebears and followers. {32}
The Bardic Triads
It is also noted that "Through the bards' poetry, their oral
storytelling and popularization, the Arthur of the Welsh took shape."
It is a humorous relic of the Welsh "Triads" (sets of three, and
sometimes more, related tales addressing a certain virtue or failing)
that Arthur of Britain is recorded as being one of the Three Frivolous
Bards. This appellation was earned when "he annoyed Cai by
extemporizing a verse about him". {33}
Another of the great bardic traditions described in Triad form is
specific to the harpist: to be acclaimed a master of the harp, the
harpist was expected to have full command of the "Three Noble
Strains", Lament, Laughter, and Lullaby (or Slumber).
Welsh vs. Irish Distinctions
If we follow the arguments of Rolleston, we see that the
objective of the Welsh bard, who had his duties fleshed out later than
the Irish, was less the preservation of sacred "text" (orally
transmitted, of course) and more the entertainment of the princely
court. Continental influences, particularly chivalric romance, enter
the Welsh tales early and "eventually [...] govern them completely".
The tales of the Mabinogion as we know them today derive mainly from a
14th century CE manuscript known as _The Red Book of Hergest_, the
earliest four segments having possibly been composed in the 10th or
11th centuries CE.
The romance of Taliesin (a different Taliesin than that
associated with the primary bardic school at Rhedeg, possibly) was not
placed in manuscript form until the very late 16th or perhaps the 17th
century CE. Another manuscript known as the "Hanes Taliesin" may have
been recorded in part from material *created* as much as 800 years
earlier, but still not reduced to written form until much later.
By comparison, the oldest extant Irish forms date to the 7th or
8th century CE ("Etain and Midir", "Death of Conary").
Arthur the King: Latter-day Bardic Material
The Arthurian tale cycle, although fed in part by the Welsh and
Breton sources as well as presumably older material from Britain
itself, were driven much more by the romances of the European
continent than by bardic sources generated before the conquest of the
Anglo-Saxons by the Normans. The earliest extant manuscript reference
32
Ashe, _The Discovery of King Arthur_, pg. 136ff
33
Ashe, _The Discovery of King Arthur_, pg. 141
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 19
to Arthur which the modern world is aware of dates to 800ce {Nennius,
_Historia Britonum_}, wherein he is accounted a "dux bellorum" or
"duke of war", less noble than many who answered to him. By the time
of Geoffrey of Monmouth, the legend had grown and Arthur was king by
right of birth AND also right of arms. And Modred was only a
nephew.... and more and more material was being integrated from a
variety of oral sources, notably from Breton France and Wales.
Note well that "the Matter of Britain" is no less an important
topic for bards both ancient and modern. However, just how much of
the whole is used in performance and which variation upon the given
story is presented can vary widely depending upon the origins and
nature of the specific bard who is performing.
Irish Bards: Students on the Road, Princes of the Land
For the Irish, "bard" was used to name poets who were not yet
advanced to the status of an Ollave, folk who were not fully trained
in the formalities (having not yet completed the full twelve year
course of studies and memorizations). These lower-status Irish Bards
seem to have been at least on the same general level of competence as
those given the full title amongst the Welsh, at least on the basis of
their education in poetry and other knowledge. The title appears to
have generally been accredited to their efforts after a seven year
course of study, in which they would have learned approximately onehalf of the required volume of material required to attain the full
rank of Ollave. These are the people sometimes referred to as
"hedge-bards", a term popular for its imagery at least among some
modern students (Ioseph of Locksley, "ye Whyte Bard", has particularly
defined and attempted to popularize this term for the SCA audience.)
Ollave were given status equal to the kings and queens of the
land, and along with them were the only folk allowed to wear more than
five colors at the same time. {34} Filidh, "seer", was a title that
was parallel to that of the Ollave and generally more associated with
spiritual matters, particularly those of the pre-Christian religion.
The Ollave were doctors and lawyers, diplomats, and otherwise
counselors in worldly matters. In fact, perhaps the most
distinguished of all Ollave was Ollav Fola, named in the traditional
lineages as 18th king of Ireland after the arrival of the Milesians
(living approximately 1000bce). He was responsible for the
codification of law, allotment of territory, and otherwise delineating
the rights and responsibilities of the provincial chiefs, and also
instituted the great triennial Fair at Tara "where the sub-kings and
chiefs, bards, historians, and musicians" all gathered to compile
genealogy, enact law, argue disputes, and decide succession. It
became an inviolate tradition that no one could attack another or even
begin legal proceedings while the Assembly at Tara was in session.
Bards as Conservators of the Old Paths; Irish Influence on the Church
A practice introduced by the fifth Milesian king, Tiernmas,
was control of "variegated colours in the clothings". Slaves were
allowed one color, peasants two, soldiers three, wealthy
landowners
four,
and
provincial
chiefs
five.
"It
is
a
characteristic trait that the Ollav is endowed with a distinction
equal to that of a king." Rolleston, _Celtic_, pg. 149.
34
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 20
"We know that certain chiefs and bards offered a long resistance
to the new [Christian] faith..." One result was a great battle at
Moyrath in the sixth century CE. Another was the modified form that
the Church took in the Celtic lands of Ireland and Scotland, including
some customs and superstitions that eventually were adopted or reintegrated into worship throughout the Christian world. Consider the
particularly the far more visible role of women within the Church, the
form of the ritual fast, and the importance accorded Mary the Mother
after the Irish were brought into the fold...
Passage of the Old Way
In roughly 800ce, the ascetic Aenghus recorded that almost all of
the most famous forts and cities from the great and storied past were
gone (only Armagh survived in a form recognizable from the epics):
Tara's mighty burgh perished at the death of her princess; with a
multitude of venerable champions, the great height of Machae
abides
Rathcroghan, it has vanished with Ailill, offspring of victory;
fair the sovranty over princes that there is in the monastery of
Clonmacnois.
Ailenn's proud burgh has perished with its warlike host; great is
victorious Brigit, fair is her multitudinous cemetery.
Emhain's burgh it hath vanished, save that the stones remain; the
cemetery of the west of the world is multitudinous Glendalough.
{35}
STYLE, MATERIAL, and FORM: TRACING THE BARD'S DESCENT
The scop, the skald, and the bard originated at least in part as
an outgrowth of the epic tales, or the closely-related Norse sagas. It
required special training to be able to repeat the many thousands of
lines which made up the great epic without error, and in an
entertaining fashion. Later, as the written word became more important
throughout society and an expanding body of work was available in
manuscript, sagas sung across several days fell out of favor. At least
one very important factor was also the rise of Christianity as the
dominant religion, remembering that most of the oldest sagas and epic
poems served also to preserve the former religions. Epics especially
were considered sacred, stories preserving the tribal and cultural
world-view from generation to generation by word-of-mouth. Both saga
and epic were often tied closely with particular ceremonies: between
hunts, before or after battle, during the depths of the winter-time, at
the spring fairs and harvest feasts, and whenever else. Life speeded
up, the old festivals fell into disuse, and the saga-singers' tales
passed out of fashion in favor of the new form: the ballad.
The earliest ballads (let us _loosely_ define the ballads to be
"songs which tell self-contained stories") not only date far back into
feudal times, but also preserved smaller episodes drawn from the great
long-winded epics.
They could be performed in minutes, not hours.
Over the course of time, they became more realistic, more personal, and
covered a greater variety of subjects. As the ballad became more and
more the most often requested style, it was also to drive the new
generations and developing "schools" that followed which were in some
way related to the ancient bardic traditions.
The Troubadours,
35
Harbison, pg. 194
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 21
Trouve`re, and general minstrels were but some of these.
The Troubdour: As Historically Acknowledged
It is generally accounted that there were but 400 acknowledged
troubadours across a time-span of approximately two centuries.
(The
last person considered a troubadour in all ways, Guiraut Riquier, died
in 1294CE at the age of 64.) Just as the Welsh are notorious for the
strictures
of
"The
Four-and-Twenty",
so
were
the
troubadours
particularly associated with a limited number of formal verse forms
(albeit they were less restricted overall in their structures).
The
"joc partit", "partimen", and "tenson" were all conversational lyrics:
some number of persons discussing general matters of love or even
religious and satirical themes. The "canzo" was the most common form
and consisted of five or six stanzas and an envoy ("coblas" &
"tornada").
The "sirventes" was a canzo with satirical or political
overtones (sometimes sirvente are spoken of as a precursor of the "filk
song").
"Balada", "pastorela", "alba", "dansa" (associated closely
with the balada, and both being dance tunes including a chorus), and
"serena" were the other primary forms.
The *RECOGNIZED* troubadours, and their close cousins the
trouve`re were all apparently of noble rank, or at least generally
accepted as such within their lifetimes. (At least one appears to have
begun his career in a kitchen scullery, but seems to have been a
partially acknowledged nobleman's bastard and was accorded rank to
match his achievements, as an accomplished poet within the formal
styles and also within other areas, later on.)
The Trouvere: Love As All
Trouve`re seem to have originated in the court of Louis the VII
and Eleanor of Aquitaine. There was really only one subject to which
they devoted themselves, and that was some variety of Love.
Eleanor
happened to be the granddaughter of one of the best-known of the
troubadours, lending credence to the timing and source of the initial
influences of the tradition.
Just as with the troubadour, these
rhymers were particularly associated with a limited number of verse
forms:
"estrabot"
(a
relation
of
the
Italian
"strambotto"),
"rotruenge", and "serventois" (MUCH more ribald than the sirventes from
the troubadour repertois). The great centers of trouve`res writing and
performance were Champagne, Paris, Blois, and at the last Arras. The
system seems to have disappeared for all practical purposes before
1281ce.
Beyond Chivalric France: Germany
German Minnesinger also grew out of the troubadour / trouve`re
tradition, and were succeeded in the course of time by the
Meistersingers. There are some authorities who consider this to have
been a stifling fossilization, and others that seem to treat the
transition as providing a continuity sorely lacking in previous times.
Minstrels: Poor Cousins & Peasants
Minstrels we have already considered at some length.
It is
reasonable in some ways to ignore them if we are trying to trace the
"true" bardic tradition, but it is most unwise not to consider their
impact upon their more formally-developed cousins. The minstrel had no
great store of tribal lore to preserve, seldom was entrusted with
special privilege other than the making of music, and answered to no
particular secular authority other than the ruling nobility where he
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 22
happened to be at the time. Few held positions for any great length of
time & many were relatively limited in their endeavors to a single
instrument or vocal repertory.
Some pedantic views maintain that it is precisely this new-fangled
insistence upon specialization which keeps us from considering
minstrels as bards in the "old sense".
The oral tradition was not
there, and the sense of responsibility was seldom recognizable in any
but the most conscientious. Naetheless, the minstrel presence in ways
did continue a general awareness of at least some of the most important
bardic customs and methods, even if it tended to the informal.
Minstrels also were more influential in their communities than is
generally apparent (note again the place of wandering performers in
beginning / inciting rebellion -- and the dangerous official view
connecting them with the spread of plague...).
Ending the Road: Printing as the Death of Wandering Minstrels
Printed broadside ballads date to the beginning of the 16th
century of the Common Era, and mark yet another decline in the fortunes
of wandering minstrels and struggling bards. Combined with the rapid
spread of the presses that produced them and the flood of histories,
commentaries, news-sheets, and other printed materials, the audience
for orally-transmitted news and history began to disappear rapidly.
The circle had spun again, and it was once more a time when everyone
had access to and could sing the latest songs, or tell the latest tale
with relatively great accuracy. {36}
Survivals and Revivals
Bardic tradition also survived in some ways in the form of the sea
chanteys. A Venetian friar recorded information about these workingsongs of the seafarer in the fifteenth century CE, but the examples
best known today date mostly to the period between 1830 and 1870CE -the time of the "tall ships", the Brito-American packets and clippers - or are even more recent creations.
One "last bastion" of the bardic style, and songs, may also be
found in the folksong revivals and Neo-Pagan movements of the mid-20th
century CE.
... or at least what was PERCEIVED as accuracy. There is
room for a large presentation upon the changing attitudes of
society to the written and the spoken word over the years....
36
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 23
THE BARDIC STEREOTYPES
A number of stereotypical attributes have been developed around
the image of the bard over the millennia which, taken all together,
might paint a rather un-moraled picture of the bard as a womanizing,
booze-hugging, ne'er-do-well, as likely to make off with the daughter
and silverwork of his host as to provide relief from the tedium of a
winter evening. Ever-reliable Frank Muir tells us in his book:
The Ancients were, as usual, suspicious of something
pleasant as music. A Greek historian warned:
Music was invented to deceive and delude mankind.
Ephorus (4th cent. BC) Preface to the _History_
as
And a distinguished Roman physician wrote:
Much musike marreth mennes maners.
Galen (c. AD129-199)
Women as Bards: Conjecture and Acknowledgement
Following the original presentations of this material, one lady in
particular commented upon the implication that the only bards who were
important historically were male. She did so in the most appropriate
of manners, through poetry, much to the enjoyment of many and my own
chagrin. There are several rationale upon which she was able to build
a case to the contrary, that there must have been women who were bard,
that in fairness should be noted and expanded upon here.37
Church decree wiped out much of the "custom" and imposed
patriarchal values upon the whole of Europe.
As the written records
were almost invariably preserved only at the sufferance of the Church,
it is expected that many manuscripts were lost utterly.
Bards were charged with maintaining the genealogies, and in some
cultures the children of bards were entitled to follow afterward. As
some of these societies were also matrilinear in determining the line
of descent, and it was well-known that the only absolute means of
tracing heritage was through the mother, bard-right would by necessity
have passed in likewise.
Surviving tales and poems that can be traced reliably through
manuscripts and other evidence to the bards of old are invariably
concerned with topics primarily of concern to men.
Are we to believe
that in Celtic societies that were so rich in oral tradition, that
accorded women so many other equalities, that gloried in every
expression of talent, that the women would not have insisted upon their
own tellings, and preservation of their own versions of the truth?
The great epics that have come down to us deal in
changing panorama. Surely there must have been those
intimacies and torments of everyday life, the joys of
well as the bitter tears and lamentations of smaller
untimely passing of a child.
sweeping, worldwho dealt in the
hearth & home as
losses like the
Llereth Wyddfa an Myrddin, untitled poem, 30
ASXXVIII. Lady Llereth has been known to perform the
regularly in Ansteorra, but has not authorized publication.
37
What *IS* A Bard?
April
piece
Page 24
Especially, it is impossible to believe that all the great wealth
of folk music preserved in the memories of the remote areas in the
British Isles could have come only from the voices and talents of men.
For what is folk music in this sense if it is NOT the truest survival
of the bardic gift of preserving knowledge?
Ill-said: Bad Press for the Bard
Many of the more negative general images come down to following
all the corruptions of the ages, and the inaccuracies of equating all
wandering entertainers with "BARD".
Considering the most notorious traits each in their own turn:
womanizing / promiscuous: in earliest times, bards would have been
expected to participate FULLY in the fertility rites.
The
promiscuity of the Beltane fires, the ritualized mating of the
Great Rite, and other practices associated with the magick of
ritual would all have involved sexual components.
Garbled
remembrances of these events were later made the basis of attacks
upon "pagan" ways by the developing Christian cult.
Beyond that time when Goddess-worship and bardcraft were
inextricably entwined, consider also the late medieval existence
in the time of the most notorious wandering minstrels.
Young
women of the castle or village were even more subject to boredom
than their male counterparts, and more likely to have "free time"
that could be spent with the wanderer from afar. In his turn, the
wandering entertainer would generally be more gently spoken, more
attentive to the young woman's spoken *and* unspoken words, and
also cleaner of body and clothing than some smelly squire just
returned from practice at arms or caring for horses, hawks, and
hounds. In pre-Christian cultures where bastardy was not so great
a stigma, it was also often the custom that travellers were
willingly "entertained" as a portion of the hospitality offered by
any hearth or hall -- and, naturally, as bards were among the most
regular way-farers of all... There is some reason to believe that
the male children born of such encounters were encouraged in their
turn to become bards as well. (In addition to all the speculation
above, it should be noted that many bard-trained men were faithful
beyond all expectations of the time -- and even more lived nearcelibate existences.)
drunken rowdiness: "Singing is thirsty work, m'lord!" Another
legacy of the less-principled wandering entertainer instead of the
trained and disciplined bard.
Although it should be noted for
completeness that in his role as priest, the bard would have
regularly ingested intoxicating and hallucinatory substances.
"fly-by-night" / untrustworthy: in this area in particular, the
vagabond minstrels of England and similar unsavory types on the
Continent did much harm to the bardic image. As examined earlier,
bards were responsible for "keeping the Custom" -- meaning
Customary Law, which I believe a definite pre-cursor of Common Law
-- and served often as arbiters and judges. The "true bards" held
guarantees of patronage in many cases, and would be foolish indeed
to run away from comfortable position (although actions of a
patron *could* make it safer and happier to do so after certain
provocations).
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 25
"MODERN" SCHOLARLY PERSPECTIVES ON THE BARD
As we advance into the modern age, what difference does the
seeming loss of the "true" bard hold for our society and civilization?
Robert Graves asked, by quotation, "'What is the use or function of
poetry nowadays?'", then answered:
[the] question [is] not the less poignant for being defiantly
asked by so many stupid people or apologetically answered by so
many silly people.
The function of poetry is religious
invocation of the Muse; its use is the experience of mixed
exaltation and horror that her presence excites. But 'nowadays'?
Function and use remain the same: only the application has
changed.
This was once a warning to man that he must keep in
harmony with the family of living creatures among which he was
born, by obedience to the wishes of the lady of the house; it is
now a reminder that he has disregarded the warning, turned the
house upside down by capricious experiments [. . ..] 'Nowadays'
is a civilization in which the prime emblems of poetry are
dishonoured.
In which serpent, lion, and eagle belong to the
circus-tent; ox, salmon, an boar to the cannery; racehorse and
greyhound to the betting ring; and the sacred grove to the sawmill. (The White Goddess, pg. 14)
Modern scholars in other disciplines continue to both pay homage
to and denigrate the old oral traditions. Peter Harbison, writing as
an archeologist studying pre-Christian Ireland, and as with so many
other archaeologists who discount orally transmitted history, states:
"But despite the strength of oral tradition in Ireland, the work of the
synthesizing historians who composed the Book [of Invasions] need not
be taken too literally, for the events they purported to describe are
alleged to have taken place 1000 years or more before they were written
down." {38} (Note that the quoted, single sentence both acknowledges
AND dismisses the importance of non-written records among the Irish...)
Harbison provides us with other interesting information as well.
Admitting the limits of physical archaeology: "...we try in vain to
fill out the political and social history in the 600 years from, say,
1400 to 1800 B.C.". {39} Considering the Ulster cycle of tales, which
deal in large part with the great hero Cu Chulainn (seen often spelled
Cuchulain), the archaeologist notes:
[the Ulster cycle] not written down before the seventh
century A.D. [...] mirroring a bygone heroic society [...] in
which the blacksmith, maker of weapons, was someone held in high
esteem, a world in which druids played a part as prophets and
soothsayers, and where an aristocracy of champions [...] spent
their time fighting one another in single combat.[...]
Such is the picture painted for us in the old Irish heroic
tales.
But an astonishingly similar state of affairs among the
[...] Celts of Gaul around or shortly after 100 B.C. has been
transmitted to us through [Posidonius, Athenaeus, Strabo, Diodorus
Siculus, Gaius Julius Caesar]
Here we find the bards, the soothsayers and the druid
38
_Pre-Christian Ireland..._, pp. 10-11
39
Ibid, pg. 133
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 26
philosophers, the decapitated heads of the enemy serving as a
trophy, and the champions portion being claimed at the feast. {40}
In other instances, the debt acknowledged to bardic tradition is
more completely admitted. Nowhere is this more true than in the field
of study arising out of consideration of "the Matter of Britain" as
embodied in Arthur and all his court and Age.
The long delay in running Arthur to earth has been due to the
nature of the problem he poses. [...] Arthur's legend itself must
be brought back into the investigation and taken seriously. [...]
If we line up the legend side by side with history, as we know it
today, the problem can be solved. It almost solves itself. {41}
This is not a recent development in the field, either:
... I have not been able to discover anything at all on the
kings who lived here before the Incarnation of Christ, or indeed
about Arthur and all the others who followed on after the
Incarnation.
Yet the deeds of these men were such that they
deserve to be praised for all time.
What is more, these deeds
were handed joyfully down in oral tradition, just as if they had
been committed to writing, by many peoples who had only their
memory to rely on. (Geoffrey of Monmouth, _History of the Kings
of Britain_ {42})
Ashe states the premise in another way as well: "I
apologize for the attention given to legends. Quite apart
own interest, they are a reflex and a reminder of the state
throughout the period [covering Brutus the Trojan through
Great]." {43}
shall not
from their
of Britain
Alfred the
The modern academic sources for views of the bard-as-priest &
bard-as-magician include particularly Frazer's seminal work _The Golden
Bough_, and _The White Goddess_ by Robert Graves.
Although Graves'
primary thesis insists upon the title of "poet" in that position which
we are referring to as "bard" instead (e.g., "Originally, the poet was
the leader of a totem-society of religious dancers." pg. 422, 1966
edition), his conclusions we can nonetheless adapt, if not necessarily
adopt, as well.
Graves proposes something else certainly less-accepted even than
this origin-myth for the definition of poet.
Namely, his view about
40
Harbison, pg. 166
_The
Discovery
Introduction: pg. x
41
of
King
Arthur_,
Geoffrey
Ashe,
quoted in Ashe, pp 63-64. G. of Mon. goes on to claim "a
certain very ancient book written in the British language" as one
of his sources. It is to be further noted that _History of the
Kings of Britain_ has long been faulted for inaccuracies by more
recent scholars. How many were introduced by the missing source
manuscript, how many by Geoffrey himself, and how many from his
oral source(s) is not known....
42
_Kings and Queens of Early Britain_, Geoffrey Ashe, pp. 78, (c) 1982, 1990
43
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 27
where to begin: "English poetic education should, really, begin [. . .]
with the _Song of Amergin_..." (pp. 12-13).
Amergin mac Miled is
generally accepted within the manuscripts transferred from oral history
as being the traditional "first" bard to set foot on Irish soil, and
the song is often considered a riddle to which the answer *is* "Bard" - if not God-the-Creator. (And, within this narrow context, is there
really a difference? Bards traditionally are given or at least accorded
"the powers of making and unmaking", after all.)
The
Thoughts
View
From
the
Hillsides:
Non-Academic
Modern
Sources
&
As much as anything else, bards are defined by their audiences and
their societies. This is as true today as it was to the north of the
Macedonians or at Emain Macha or Rathcroghan or on the slopes of
Snowdon. And still, it is most often the bard who records and gives
voice to some of the most objective views as to just what that
definition may be.
There are bards, or those who certainly seem to carry the mantle,
even in these modern days.
O'Carolan has been thought of for many
years as the last of the completely traditional Irish harpers, and he
was gone long before recording equipment could preserve his style with
accuracy.
Commercial music artists with widespread fame and current
within our lifetimes *may* approach the strength and power of the
ancients.
Think perhaps of flautist Ian Anderson ("Jethro Tull"),
balladeer Woody Guthrie (and his son Arlo), and figures from the "folk
song revival" such as Bob Dylan & banjo-playing Pete Seeger; even -- in
some ways -- educators and social commentators like Tom Lehrer, Mark
Russell, and, yes, EVEN Shel Silverstein & "Weird Al" Yankovic.
What of the lesser known performers, and their audiences? What of
the Neo-Pagan bard? The amateur entertainers within the SCA? The
following quotes were derived in response to a general request made
upon a computer-based "echo" (FidoNet FILK echo).
* * * * *
Well-known modern filk singer, and occasional SCA participant
(under the somewhat appropriate name "Leslie the Bard"), Leslie Fish
had the following to say on the topic we are considering here:
─ Area: FILK Echo Area
Msg#:84 03Feb94 23:59 From:Leslie Fish To:Kihe Blackeagle
Subj: REQUEST: What *is* a Bard?
Well, I can't quote any authority but my own experience.
Here goes, anyway.
A Bard is more than just a singer, or
performer, or songwriter; there's a psychic component to really
effective poetry, whether written or sung,and a Bard traditionally
is master of that aspect too. A Bard is part musician and part
magician, which is why Bards were held sacred in ancient Celtic
Europe.
The simplest answer is that a Bard is someone who can use music to
make magic.
Exactly how that's done is difficult to explain if
you haven't experienced it.
Perhaps you could get clearer
explanations on the Pagan echo. Robert Graves' THE WHITE GODDESS
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 28
explains it in long and intricate detail -- which is likewise
difficult to understand if you haven't read James Frazier's THE
GOLDEN BOUGH first. *Sigh* I warned you, this isn't easy.
Other responses, including additional indirect quotes from Leslie:
19Feb94 11:37 From:Maryanne Bartlett To:Leslie Fish
Subj:REQUEST: What *is* a Bard?
-=> Quoting Leslie Fish to Maryanne Bartlett <=LF> I think the problem is lack of general/common experience; you
LF> can't properly name a phenomenon unless enough people have
LF> experienced it to know what you mean when you describe it.
LF> First comes the experience,
LF> then the description, then the short-sweet-one-word name.
That's a good rendering of the sequence.
properly i.d.'d, in a paper that I'm writing?
Can I quote that,
LF> Not that many people have enough properly excercised psychic
LF> talent to recognize the "magic" in music,
"Recognize" they do, but they don't know what it is. They
attribute it to all kinds of things *other* than magic. The bad
part is that media hype can create a kind of hysteria that then is
recognized as the "magic".
However, park one of those people who've been "hysteria-ized"
(sorry, dunno what else to call it, "hyped" maybe?) in front of a
real bard and they are vaccinated against it's happening again. I
had a college friend cuss me out with tears in her eyes after I
had dragged her to a circle where there were two bards, a working
pair who were going to lead a ritual of all music.
She's a pagan, just hadn't ever been in a circle with a bard.
Their rituals were always a real treat. She went and then the
next night went to a concert of her favourite music group. The
concert was a flop for her and she figured it for my fault! I've
gotta admit, I've been careful [in making recommendations] since.
LF> and despite the wealth of recorded music
LF> in our culture most people don't often encounter live singing
Ho!
LF> so how likely is it that a lot of people will have the
LF> experience of "music/magic" often enough to be able to
describe
LF> it, let alone name it.
It's a problem, yes, but I believe that for those who *have*
experienced it, it is forever after a part of them.
[continuing in another message from Maryanne Bartlett: Maryanne cites a
source in contemporary fiction which I have not yet found inconsistent
with the image of bard-as-magician, although Lackey has obviously
exaggerated for story purposes]
Date:12Feb94 11:54 From:Maryanne Bartlett To:Kihe Blackeagle
Subj: REQUEST: What *is* a Bard?
I've been re-reading some of Mercedes Lackey's books
recently, and the Bards of her "Magic's Pawn" series are required
to have "the Gift, the ability to perform and the creative talent
to compose".* (or anyway 2 out of 3) The Gift is the part that is
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 29
impossible to define except by analogy, what Leslie calls "the
magic", but the part that is unmistakeable once you have heard a
real bard. Granted, that universe is not ours, but I think that
this is a good statement of what you're looking for.
I've only heard a couple of real bards, but a lot of
"wannabe's". When a bard performs, unless you've got a pressing
physical reason (bathroom call, somebody talking in your ear) you
can't help but listen. You get caught up in what s/he is doing.
You feel things more deeply than otherwise. You get stars in your
eyes, or tears. It feels a lot like being in love for the first
time. You are transported to heaven and don't want to come home
and it hurts when you do. See what I mean by you can't define it
except by analogy?
(Robert Osman is, within the SCA context, one of the early participants
in The Great Dark Horde; regrettably, he passed from this world himself
in the short years since he contributed his grandmother's wisdom to the
current work:)
Date: 07Feb94 18:46 From:Robert Osman To:Leslie Fish
Subj: REQUEST: What *is* a Bard
[quote of Leslie Fish's definition removed]
As my grandmother taught me 'a Bard works magic with his music and
music with his magic.'
Ozzie
#8-)##
[in response to an inquiry as to Mr. Osman's grandmother's identity]
Date:21Feb94 07:34 From:Robert Osman To:Kihe Blackeagle
Subj:Re:REQUEST: What *is* a Bard
Her name was Jane Evans, born in Inniskillin, Ireland 18??, died
Youngstown, Ohio in 1978.
Ozzie
#8-)##
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 30
* * * * * *
from an electronic message sent to
Blackeagle (the DreamSinger Bard)":
a
potential
student
by
"Kihe
Instruction in the CRAFT of the bard is at once relatively
straightforward and yet again amazingly complex. Desire to *BE*
and live as even a part-time bard is harder to find.
Willingness to study and to learn is the first requirement of
the student. Heart-deep desire is harder to gauge, and ultimately
is only resolved by the student themself.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
T. W. Rolleston, writing early in the 20th century:
The Past may be forgotten, but it never dies. The elements which
in the most remote times have entered into a nation's composition
endure through all its history, and help to mould that history,
and to stamp the character and the genius of the people. {44}
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
IN CONCLUSION
It is my belief that now, in this modern age, we who choose to
call ourselves Bards seek to re-gain at least a part of what was
generally considered "lost" to the vagaries of an indifferent
civilization and the on-rushing flood of history.
Our success in
fulfilling our role(s) is (are) a variable thing, measured not in the
hearts or minds of others so much as in our own innermost selves.
In the final analysis, a bard TODAY must be whatever he or she
believes is required to live as a bard.
Bards may be born, it is
possible that they may be trained, it is even probable that they just
happen. But they do have in common that undeniable pull at the strings
of their own hearts when they hear someone say, at least in some
variation:
"Uncle, tell us a *story*..."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
44
_Celtic_, Preface
What *IS* A Bard?
Page 31
Appendices:
Page 32
APPENDIX A: "On Bards"
---------------------ON BARDS, AND BARDIC CIRCLES:
(Excerpted and annotated from LOCKSLEY'S E-Z HARP METHOD)
-Ioseph of Locksley, OL, Pel, &c.
(c) 1989, 1990 W. J. Bethancourt III
[reformatted slightly for printing,
Amr ibn Majid al-Bakri al-Amra]
In the SCA, in written Fantasy, in too many instances the word
"bard" seems to be bandied about in a rather loose manner, being
applied indiscriminately to true Bards, trouveres, troubadours,
jongleurs,
poets,
playwrights,
actors...in
short,
anyone
who
entertains.
I hope to clear up this misconception, though to hope that the
usage of the word will be corrected may be a forlorn hope....
*
Bards are found in Celtic cultures (Ireland, Scotland, Wales,
Manx and Brittany) and a rough equivalent can be found in Norse
culture, too, where they were known as "scops."
There is no real equivalent to the Celtic Bard in Anglo-Saxon
England, however.
In Ireland and Scotland, the use of the word "Bard" apparently
fell into some disrepute, as the records we have show that the Bard was
simply a minor poet, while the "filidh" (seer) or the "ollave" (master
poet) occupied the former status and functions of the Bard.
In Wales, the Bard was not so lucky.
There, the traditions
ossified, and the Bards, after the advent of Christianity, became Court
Poets, known as "Gogynfeirdd," or "Prydydd," limited in subject matter
and form, and with rigidly structured rules.
The word that corresponds with the irish "filidh," in Welsh,
would be "derwydd," (oak-seer) the word from which "druid" is derived.
The "hedge-Bards" were the ones that carried on the real
traditions of the Bard.
These are the people that gave us the "Cad
Goddeu" and the "Hanes Taliesin," and who -may- have passed the "Matter
of Britain" on to the French troubadours and trouveres, thus giving us
Arthur and Camelot.
The word "Bard," in Wales, denoted a master-poet. In Ireland
it meant a poet who was not an Ollave, one who had not taken all the
formal training. Apparently even the lower-status Irish Bard was on a
level with the Welsh Bard in knowledge and poetic education, however,
and these were what I have termed "hedge-bards," above.
In the Celtic cultures, the Bard/Filidh/Ollave was inviolate.
He could travel anywhere, say anything, and perform when and where he
pleased. The reason for this was, of course, that he was the bearer of
news and the carrier of messages, and, if he was harmed, then nobody
found out what was happening over the next hill.
In addition, he
carried the Custom of the country as memorized verses...he could be
consulted in cases of Customary (Common) Law. He was, therefore, quite
a valuable repository of cultural information, news, and entertainment.
Appendices:
Page 33
Bards were part of the Druidic hierarchy, though this may or may
not (depending on who you talk to!) be period for the SCA.
A true Bard must know the following: music (and the playing of a
period instrument, preferably Harp), poetry (original, and other
people's), song (original and other people's), the History, Law and
Custom of his/her Kingdom and of the SCA, as much knowledge of mundane
medieval history, Law, and custom as they can possibly learn, and at
least a very basic knowledge of linguistics and alphabet/cyphers. Some
training in Folklore, and in the arts of Sociology and Semantics would
help, too. A reasonable amount of heraldic knowledge would not be out
of place, either. See the list of suggested College courses at the end
of this article.
The Bard should investigate the "Matter of Britain" very
thoroughly, paying special attention to Sir Gawain, and to Arthur's
Queen. Do a little reading in the Robin Hood cycle, too, with special
attention to the village festivals in Britain that mention him.
Bards do -not- just sing songs! They recite, and write poetry,
stories, tell myths (both historical and SCA...), but the operative
word here is that they -speak-. Just playing music does not entitle
you to be called a Bard.
Some Bards are "titled," that is, someone, be it another Bard,
or whoever, or sometimes (very seldom) the Bard himself, has given them
a bardic "name" or "title," that serves to identify them. Thusly, I am
known as "y bardd Gwyn," "Bard Ban," or "the Whyte Bard." Another was
known as "Derwydd Prydain," while even another has no title at all, and
does not want one. Be wary of taking such a title yourself. Allow the
giving of such to happen on its own, and do NOT take it from a King of
any kind, unless you wish to be the "King's Bard" in the Welsh sense of
the word.
Each individual Bard will have certain perogatives that they have
developed over the years.
I, myself, tend to interrupt a Coronation
court, or other Courts, at any time with a poem, or a song, relating to
the event. Other Bards will have other perogatives. Don't try to set
yourself up with these; let them happen naturally.
A Bard should remain as neutral as possible in matters of SCA
politics, though the expressing of his/her opinion -in verse- about
such
things
is
quite
acceptable,
and
is
traditionally
"non-challengeable," but may be answered -in verse,- and ONLY in verse.
The other classes of period musical entertainers include
Minstrels, Troubadours, Trouveres, Jongleurs....and, believe it or not,
Heralds!
Appendices:
Page 34
ON MUSIC AND SONGWRITING:
Every so often, one hears a self-important "scholar" say
something along the lines of: "Well, you have only written new words,
or parodied the words, to a common tune....this is NOT real
songwriting, but simply "filk" (as termed in the Science Fiction
sub-culture) songs."
Tell them to sit on it. This is, and was, an accepted thing to
do, is quite legitimate, and very authentic. The period name for this
technique is called the "siervente."
Just try to keep the general "sound" as Medieval/Renaissance as
possible...admittedly a bit difficult when you are stealing ** er **
adapting a rock and roll melody, but it CAN be done....and please
encourage others to do the same.
If you -must- use a familiar mundane tune that is blatantly
out-of-period, be -clever- with your adaptation. Otherwise, the song
becomes just another boring "filk." About the cleverest I have heard is
the use of the "Agincourt Carole" to the tune of "The Banana Boat
Song...." This is one of the most God-awful, and funniest, things I
have heard in years.
ON BARDIC CIRCLES:
A Bardic Circle, at least in an SCA context, is simply a
setting for the listeners to entertain each other. This can be with
poetry, song, and stories.
All should participate, though it is not
necessary for all to contribute to make it a fun thing to do. What IS
necessary is that the number of things done by each person at any one
time be limited, to keep the inevitable "stage-hog" from monopolizing
the evening, and to keep the "Awful No-Talent Stage Hog" from running
everyone off.
I recommend that each person be limited to TWO songs, poems or
whatever at a time, and then pass on to the next singer. This keeps it
varigated, and interesting, and gives EVERYONE a chance to contribute.
Try to keep discussion to a minimum, but, should it be
interesting, let it go on for a while, as a break in the music. In any
event, try to do something different about every hour or so, to allow
your listeners to stretch, use the bathroom, get refreshments, and
gossip for a while. This will keep them there longer, and add more fun
to the occasion.
Appendices:
Page 35
SUGGESTED COLLEGE LEVEL COURSES
Basic and Advanced Folklore of the Appalachian
and Ozark mountains of the USA
Basic and Advanced Folklore of the British Isles
Music History (100 and 200 levels)
Anything else in the Music curriculum that relates to Medieval music
Basic Sociology (100 and 200 levels at least) (watch out here!
This is an "art," not a "science!")
Medieval History (100 thru Graduate levels)
Medieval Law (100 thru 400 levels)
The Literature of England (Ireland, Wales, Britanny, Scotland etc.)
English Writing
Poetry
Theater
Fencing or other formal Martial Art
Linguistics/Semantics
Comparative Religions
And ANYTHING else that might possibly relate and/or help.
Reading list:
OGHAM: THE POET'S SECRET Sean O Boyle; Gilbert Dalton, Dublin, 1980
THE ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH POPULAR BALLADS
Francis James Child; (five volumes) Dover, 1965
THE SINGING TRADITION OF CHILD'S POPULAR BALLADS
Bertrand Harris Bronson; Princeton University Press 1976
THE VIKING BOOK OF FOLK BALLADS OF THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD
Albert B. Friedman; Viking, 1956, 1982
TRADITIONAL BALLADS: THE COMPLEAT ANACHRONIST #11
Tsvia bas Tamara v'Amberview (pseud.);
Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc, 1984
FOLK SONGS OF ENGLAND, IRELAND, SCOTLAND AND WALES
William Cole; Cornerstone, 1961, 1969
FOLKSINGER'S WORDBOOK
101 SCOTTISH SONGS
RISE UP SINGING
Fred and Irwin Silber; Oak, 1973
Norman Buchan; Collins, 1974
Peter Blood-Patterson; Sing Out! 1988
THE TROUBADOURS: THE COMPLEAT ANACHRONIST #44
Leah di Estera (pseud.) Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc, 1989
CAIDAN BARDIC CIRCLE SONGBOOK (5 Vols.) Caidan Bardic Consortium, 1988
THE WHITE GODDESS Robert Graves; Farrar, Straus and Giroux, NY
1966 (LCCCN: 48-8257)
THE GOLDEN BOUGH James G. Frazer; Avenel Books, 1981
CONTRARYWISE Zohra Greenhalgh, Ace (paperback) April 1989
0-441-117112-2
Permission is given for this paper to be used in publications of the
SCA or related groups. If you use it, send a copy of the publication
to:
Joe Bethancourt - PO Box 35190 - Phoenix, AZ - 85069
Appendices:
Page 36
"Appendix B is one version of such a list."
(extracted from "The Duties of a Bard", by Kihe Blackeagle: this
material originally appeared on the FidoNet NEW_AGE_ECHO, in slightly
different form, 14 Jan 94.
It will also be found as part of THE
HOUSE-BOOKE OF DREAMWIND.)
A part of the charge I was given when I accepted a bard-name was
to take on the responsibilities associated since ancient times with the
"true" Bards. It is one part of my place and responsibility to tell /
sing these to others.
SOME of the attendant responsibilities of a Bard are:
to act as a go-between in disputes, and even serve at times as
judge / arbitrator (see below as concerns the preservation of the
Laws).
Bards were expected to remain as neutral as possible in all
disputes, and were expected / encouraged to depart from the court of
any noble who did not keep the Law or was found to willingly violate
the unwritten rules of Courtesy. (The bardic Right of Satire depends
in part upon these responsibilities ...)
to recite the Laws (In ancient days particularly, to be a "full"
Bard required perfect memory of many THOUSANDS of lines of poetry &
other material, at least in Celtic-related cultures.)
to entertain with song, story, and instrument (even w/other arts)
whenever and wherever asked -- except when this would place an untoward
burden upon the Bard, and (almost) always with the expectation of
reasonable recompense, food, drink, and comfortable lodgings.
to maintain high standards of personal cleanliness
to relay the news as it is received from far-off places, and help
the Bard's audience to understand what that news might mean for them
personally
to transmit messages of more friendly nature, both confidentially
and accurately
to teach any who might ask it (Particularly the traditions and
skills associated with musical bard-craft but also any other knowledge
known to the Bard that will be of service to the questioner *at least
as understood by the Bard being questioned*. If the questioner holds
no particular beliefs in the Powers of a particular Path, the Bard
often will try to attempt & help them find an appropriate relationship
with the Divine through a query & response process.)
Appendices:
Page 37
Appendix B, Duties of a Bard, continued...
to maintain the greatest possible accuracy in information as it is
passed to others through song & story
to always study and expand personal knowledge of bard-craft,
"Craft", handicraft, war-craft, language, and religion
(Knowledge of ALL kinds and origins, so long as it is accurate, or
if false has been plainly labelled as such: even in false stories there
may be important lessons which can be more readily learned due to the
improbability of the tale.)
("True" Bards are in some ways the prototypical "Renaissance Man",
and most would generally agree with Heinlein's Observation -- in the
words given Lazarus Long to speak:
"Specialization is for insects.")
If Bards as described here sound much like either the common
public image maintained by the more civilized of the medieval orders of
Knighthood or perhaps even the modern Boy Scouts, think
about it:
where do you think the Knights got some of their ideas?
(And Baden-Powell was always very straightforward in admitting
the relationship between the tenets of Scouting and the knightly
Codes.)
There is much else which is also considered to be in the province
of the Bard.
Indeed, there is very little which is *not* to be
expected of a true Bard, in either lesser or greater degree, at some
time within his or her life on this plane.
Kihe Blackeagle, the DreamSinger Bard
Appendices:
Page 38
APPENDIX C: Bibliographic Data
ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTATIONS
(Not all references shown here were actually used in creation of the
current paper, but all are related in *some* way to the subject at hand
or are cited in sources that WERE used.
Attributions are in no
particular order!)
rec.arts.sca (Internet "newsgroup" better known by a nickname: "the
Rialto", so called after the bridge in Italy where folk gathered to
hear the latest news and trade opinions, or discuss whatever other
matter came to mind.)
FidoNet "FILK" Echo
_The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles_ (several excellent translations exist;
there are 7 manuscripts and 2 fragments which have been preserved into
the modern era)
Chambers, E. K. _The Mediaeval Stage_
Jusserand, J.
_English Wayfaring Life_
Gies, Joseph & Frances _Life in a Medieval Castle_
_Encyclopedia Britannica_, particularly
"Minstrel"; "Troubadours", "Trouve`re"
the
entries
for
"Bard";
_Music of the Americas: An Illustrated Music Ethnology of the Eskimo
and American Indian Peoples_ [ed. Paul Collaer, English Translation by
Irene R. Gibbons (c) 1970 London England: Curzon Press Ltd.]
Bookbinder, David _What is Folk Music All About_ (c) 1979
Poole, R.L. _Medieval Reckonings of Time_
"Some Medieval and Renaissance Defenses of Poetry", Rosario di Palermo,
copyright 1992 by Jeff Verona. (found in prior Proceedings of the
Collegium Gradium, originally presented 23 March AS XXVI)
Stapleton, Michael
Mythology_ (c) 1978
_The
Illustrated
Dictionary
of
Greek
&
Roman
Harbison, Peter _Pre-Christian Ireland: From the First Settlers to the
Early Celts_, (c) 1988
Ashe, Geoffrey _The Discovery of King Arthur_, (c) 1985
Ashe, Geoffrey _Kings and Queens of Early Britain_ (c) 1985
Lackey, Mercedes _Magic's Price_, DAW books, Inc.
New York, 1990
Rolleston, T.W. _Celtic_ (Myths and Legends Series) Bracken Books,
London England (c) 1986, 1992 reprint [probable facsimile edition of an
earlier work, prior to 1920ce based upon internal evidence]
Rolleston, T.W. _High Deeds of Finn and Other Bardic Romances_, Harrap
Appendices:
Page 39
& Company
Hull, Eleanor _Cuchulain_, Harrap & Co.
Nikolai Tolstoy, _The Quest for Merlin_, (c) 1985
Gustave Reese _Music in the Middle Ages_ (c) 1940
Jones, Edward _Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards_ (the
4th edition was produced in 1825)
O'Curry, Eugene _On the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish_
edited by W. K. O'Sullivan in 1873
T. Gwynn Jones _Welsh National Music and Dance_, 1933
T. Gwynn Jones "Bardism & Romance", _Transactions of the Honorable
Society of Cymmrodorion_, 1913-14, pg 205 (?)
Richard H. Hoppin, _Medieval Music_, (c) 1978
Frank Muir _An Irreverent and Thoroughly Incomplete Social History of
Almost Everything_, (c) 1976
W. Winwood Reade _The Veil of Isis, or Mysteries of the Druids_,
Newcastle Publishing reprint, 1992
* * * * *
For possible further research, consider particularly "Dewey Decimal"
classifications 809.1, 780.902 / 780.903 and the documents / class
materials referenced in Master Ioseph's article (Appendix A).
Appendices:
Page 40
Appendix D: So You Wish To Be A Bard
SO YOU WISH TO BE A BARD
By Rathflaed DuToutNoir
The Black Bard of Meridies
mka: Stephen R Melvin
So you wish to be a bard young one, well listen to my tale,
A tale that's riddled with success,
and yet the times that I have failed.
A storyteller tells his tales until the morning light,
Each line and verse the one that you'll remember through the night.
A troubadour will sing and play to make the people laugh or weep,
And feel the feelings he does feel, until they go to sleep.
A musician has the talent to make music with his art,
And let his songs reverberate to touch the mind and heart.
A minstrel must do all these things and do them very well,
But a bard must also do them, and between, tis hard to tell.
For a minstrel and bard could be the same in word and voice,
But the difference between the two is a matter of their choice.
A minstrel's job to entertain, a bard's to educate,
To urge the men on for honour and love, and not for malice or hate.
A minstrel will sing only songs to please his audience well,
A bard must choose most carefully, the tales that he will tell.
For in your words you have the pow'r, to make or break a man,
And all his good and evil deeds are yours to praise or damn.
So use your power carefully, and wisely use your art,
For though they might prefer a minstrel's voice,
tis you must touch their heart.
And if the talent is not yours, to move the souls of men,
Then call yourself a minstrel, and no dishonor do intend.
For when a bard does sing a song, the story they do hear,
And yet the choice is for a minstrel when the song must please the ear.
So entertain, young minstrel, or educate, young bard,
But either path of either life, you'll find may be too hard.
For when the storm is blowing and the rain comes down in sheets,
Tis ten more leagues that you must go to sing for bread and meat.
And when the road is lonely, and you have no place called home,
Remember that it was your choice to travel and to roam,
And when you think of lady loves and all the things you lack,
Remember sir, the one you always carry on your back,
And remember too, this one last thing, when your journey you begin,
A minstrel does not scream or shout to carry o'er the din,
A bard is not a storyteller or harper playing long,
A minstrel's job it is to sing, a bard's to be the song.
30 Jul 92