Essay On Medieval Bards

Medieval Bard (Intro)

The word Bard was used chiefly to signify a Celtic musician or poet. Although several equivalent words were used to denote musicians and poets in other cultures as well. Medieval bards have greatly influenced the history, music and culture of the Celts and were chiefly responsible for the rise of secular music in the middle ages.

Medieval Bard - Definition and Description

Bard is a word derived from the Celtic words Gaelic baird or Cymric bardh. It was after the Renaissance period that the word ‘bard’ was adopted. In the 16th century, a bard represented great and serious poets comparable to the likes of William Shakespeare. In Lowland Scotland however, the word bard was used to describe a class of beggars and wanderers.

According to historians, there were three different types of medieval bards. The first one sang songs of praises and victories, the second one sang about the laws of the nation, while the third kind sang about family histories as well as poetic genealogies.

Daily Life of a Medieval Bard

Medieval bards maintained such high esteem all throughout Ireland and the Wales. Throughout the middle ages, kings and chieftains acquired services from medieval bards and bestowed gifts to them in exchange of their services. On some occasions, monasteries also maintained bards to serve them as genealogists and historians as early medieval literature were not yet written.

Bards were generally considered as repository of stories, songs, poetry of the people, legends and songs. They were honored and often awarded certain diplomatic freedom. During the middle ages, bards travelled to places to bring news from the king’s court. Because of their education and oral tradition, and because it was very expensive to acquire the services of scribes, most bards were commonly relied upon. Bards were considered the only reliable source of information at the