Minstrels

**Minstrels and Ballads**


In the medieval times there were a people called minstrels.Minstrels are professional musicians. They were around in the late 1100's. They were not your normal wondering entertainment people. They usually stayed in on place and played many different instruments. Minstrels were played in public markets, festivals, processions and at some celebrations.Depending on what instrument was played determined how much you got paid. On special occasions, for example, weddings and dances. They were secular or connected to everyday life. Since they played music, they most likely sang songs that tell a story or a ballad. A ballad is a type of traditional song that tells a story and many are still written today. Each time period had a different topic. In the 1200's, it was a dance song. 1300's, they were a type of solo art music. And it was a form of love poem in 1400's. Some were linked to genuine folk music. In the book, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, by Francis J. Child he put over 305 ballads and some of them might go back to the origin on the late Middle Ages.Some ballads were meant to be read instead of sung. Many ballads were memorized. That is a reason why many are not familiar because they were memorized and if the person did not pass it on to someone else, it would be lost, after they died.

Works Cited
 * “Ballads.” The Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia for Students. Ed. William Chester Jordon. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1996. 63. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 Mar. 2010.
 * “File:The Minstrel Group, by Julia Margaret Cameron.jpg.” Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Feb. 2010. Web. 6 Apr. 2010. .
 * “Minstrels.” The Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia for Students. Ed. Willian Chester Jordon. Vol. 3. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1996. 143-44. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 Mar. 2010.