Itinerant poet
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An itinerant poet or strolling minstrel (also known variously as a gleeman, circler, or cantabank) was a wandering minstrel, bard, musician, or other poet common in medieval Europe but extinct today. From a lower class than jesters or jongleurs because he did not have steady work, he instead roamed about to make his living.[1]
Medieval performers
In Medieval England, a gleeman was a reciter of poetry. Like the scop, the gleeman performed poetry to the accompaniment of the harp or "glee wood".[1] The gleeman occasionally attached himself to a single/particular court but was most often a wandering entertainer, unlike the scop, who was more static. A gleeman was also less likely to compose or perform his own poetry and relied on the work of others for his material.[1]
A source cited that the number of itinerant poets were augmented by disgraced courtiers, the deformed, clairvoyants, and even the deformed as these entertainers formed troupes and catered to the whims of individual patrons.[2] An example of notable itinerant poet was Till Eulenspiegel, a fictional character famous in the 12th century.[2] These, however, do indicate that the itinerant poet is merely a fool working to elicit laughter with his acts. There are those considered geniuses such as the Scottish bards and performers of the harp who were credited for composing and preserving "many fine old songs".[3]
Ancient strolling songsters
Prior to the emergence of medieval itinerant poets, there were already strolling minstrels in ancient Greece and these were more than entertainers, with an account describing them as men who recorded honorable feats and aristocratic genealogies.[4] They were thus supported by a culture of patronage.
See also
References
- ^ a b c Bahn, Eugene; Bahn, Margaret (1970). "Medieval Period". A History of Oral Interpretation. Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing Co. pp. 56–57.
- ^ a b Cornwell, Neil (2006). The Absurd in Literature. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 38. ISBN 0719074096.
- ^ Gelbart, Matthew (2007). The Invention of 'Folk Music' and 'Art Music': Emerging Categories from Ossian to Wagner. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 83. ISBN 9781139466080.
- ^ Guerrini, Anita (2017-05-15). Ballads and Broadsides in Britain, 1500-1800. Routledge. ISBN 9781317176374.
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