minstrel

1. A medieval entertainer who traveled from place to place, especially to sing and recite poetry.
2. 1. A lyric poet.
   2. A musician.
3. A performer in a minstrel show.

[Middle English minstral, from Old French menestrel, servant, entertainer, from Late Latin ministeriālis, official in the imperial household, from Latin ministerium, ministry. See ministry.]

A professional entertainer of any kind from the 12th century to the 17th, with particular reference to a professional secular musician, usually an instrumentalist (the term also covered jugglers, acrobats, story tellers etc). The Middle Ages witnessed the heyday of minstrelsy, but it is often difficult to establish the exact nature of their music-making, not least because of the varied use of terminology in sources from the period. The term ‘minstrel’ seems to have disappeared from common usage by the end of the 16th century. In the early part of the period it was applied to the poet-composer, and clearly embraced the singer as well as the instrumentalist. Most documentary evidence gathered so far relates to court minstrels, a necessary adjunct to court life throughout the Middle Ages, whether salaried (common later in the period) or itinerant. Hardly any minstrel music has survived - most was transmitted orally - but dance music undoubtedly formed a large part of the repertory. In the 14th century the distinction between haut and bas groups emerged, and the alta capella (a trio or quartet of shawms and sackbuts) appeared in the 15th. During this time there were annual assemblies of minstrels in the Low Countries, at which instrumentalists gathered from all over Europe; the last recorded was in 1447. The disappearance of the minstrel would seem to have coincided with the shift to written instrumental styles from the later 15th century. The tradition was however continued in some measure by the town musicians, waits and Stadtpfeifer of the 16th-18th centuries.

minstrel, a professional entertainer of late medieval Europe, either itinerant or settled at a noble court. Minstrels of the 13th and 14th centuries, the descendants of the jongleurs, sang and recited lyrics and narrative poems including chansons de geste and ballads. Their art, sometimes called minstrelsy, declined with the advent of printing. They are distinguished from the troubadours, who were educated amateur poets of higher social rank. In the USA, the minstrel show was a 19th‐century form of entertainment with white performers in blackface presenting stereotyped impressions of black American folk culture, and playing banjos.

For more information on minstrel, visit Britannica.com.

In the Middle Ages, the general term for a performer who subsisted by reciting verse and singing, usually accompanied by a harp. Some minstrels were travelling entertainers; others were permanently employed by nobles.

adj.

Formerly a poet, singer or musician; now a nigger with a color less than skin deep and a humor more than flesh and blood can bear.

This article is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please help add inline citations to guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (February 2009)

This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. WikiProject Middle Ages or the Middle Ages Portal may be able to help recruit one. (April 2007)

For the 19th century American form of music and performance known as minstrelsy, see minstrel show.

For the chocolate sweets sold in the UK, see Minstrels (chocolate).

For the Irish patriotic song, see The Minstrel Boy.

"Jongleur" redirects here. For the chain of UK comedy clubs, see Jongleurs.

Owain Phyfe, a modern-day minstrel plays for an audience at a Renaissance fair in 2003.

A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories about distant places or about real or imaginary historical events. Though minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty and high society. As the courts became more sophisticated, minstrels were eventually replaced at court by the troubadours, and many became wandering minstrels, performing in the streets and became well liked until the middle of the Renaissance, despite a decline beginning in the late 15th century. Minstrelsy fed into later traditions of traveling entertainers, which continued to be moderately strong into the early 20th century, and which has some continuity down to today's buskers or street musicians.

Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 External links

History

Initially, minstrels were simply servants at Court (the name means literally "little servant"), and entertained the lord and courtiers with chansons de geste or their local equivalent. The term minstrel derives from Old French ménestrel, menesterel, menestral, French, which is similar to ménestral, Italian ministrello, menestrello, from Middle Latin ministralis, ministrel, "retainer," Latin minister, "attendant," "retainer," "minister," from minor, "less."

In Anglo-Saxon England before the Norman Conquest, the professional poet was known as a scop ("shaper" or "maker"), who composed his own poems, and sang them to the accompaniment of a crude harp. in a rank much beneath the scop, were the gleemen, who had no settled abode, but roamed about from place to place, earning what they could from their performances. Late in the 13th century, the term minstrel began to be used to designate a performer who amused his lord with music and song.

In a complex way involving invasions, wars, conquests, etc., two categories of composers originated. Poets like Chaucer and John Gower appeared in one category wherein music was not a part. Minstrels, on the other hand, swarmed at feasts and festivals in great numbers with harps, fiddles, bagpipes, flutes, flageolets, citterns, and kettledrums.

As early as 1321, the minstrels of Paris were formed into a guild. A guild of royal minstrels was organized in England in 1469. Minstrels were required to either join the guild or to abstain from practicing their craft. Some minstrels were retained by lords as jesters who, in some cases, also practiced the art of juggling. Some were women, or women who followed minstrels in their travels. Minstrels throughout Europe also employed trained animals, such as bears. Minstrelsy in Europe died out slowly, having gone nearly extinct by about 1700, though isolated individuals working in the tradition existed even into the early 19th century.

See also

• Minstrel show
• Thomas Ercildoun
• James Beattie, author of the poem The Minstrel.
• Minstrels' gallery (also found in wind)
• Owain Phyfe, considered to be a modern-day troubador

References

External links

• Stella Fortuna: Medieval Minstrels (1370), from Ye Compaynye of Cheualrye Re-enactment Society. Photos and Audio Download.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - sanger, troubadour, menestrel

Nederlands (Dutch)
minstreel

Français (French)
n. - ménestrel

Deutsch (German)
n. - Minstrel, Spielmann, fahrender Sänger

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ιστ.) τροβαδούρος, τραγουδιστής, μενεστρέλος

Italiano (Italian)
menestrello, giullare

Português (Portuguese)
n. - menestrel (m)

Русский (Russian)
менестрель

Español (Spanish)
n. - juglar, trovador, poeta, músico

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - trubadur, gycklare, skald, sångare

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
吟游诗人

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 吟遊詩人

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 음유시인

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 吟遊詩人, 芸人

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مطرب, مغني‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮בדרן, בדחן, זמר נודד‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.