bard
As Barden (Old-Celtic Bardos , Irish and Scottish Gaelic Bard , Welsh Bardd , Breton Barzh ) referred to in the narrower sense poet and singer of the Celtic culture. In a broader sense, singing poets from other cultures or, in figurative use, modern singers can also be called that. The earliest mention of Celtic bards can be found with Diodorus Siculus and Strabo , who mention them together with the Druids and Fates . The bard Ossian from James Macpherson 's poem of the same name and the bard Troubadix as a comic figure in the Asterix series by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo became known from literature .
Antiquity
Poseidonios sees the bards as courtiers of the Celtic princes and compares them to the Greek rhapsodes . The bards appear mainly as poets, singers, musicians (on the "krotta" or lyre) and worshipers, their exact relationship with druids and fathers remains in the dark. However, the authors agree that the bards did not have the right to sacrifice to the gods, which is why they do not belong to the priestly class. The Greek philologist Hesychios of Alexandria writes Βαρδοί ἀοιδοί παρά Γαλάταις ( Bardoí aoidoì parà Galátais “The bards are the singers of the Galatians” [ i.e. Celts]) and the Roman grammarian Sextus Pompeius Festus says of them:
- Bardus Gallice cantor appellantur, qui virorum fortium laudes canit.
- ("The Gauls call bards the singer who sings the praises of brave men.")
Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages
Reports of Celtic bards are lost in late antiquity; it is not clear to what extent they played an important role in the Gallo-Roman and Romano-British epochs. It is partly assumed that the bards had an influence on the poets of the Migration Period ; however, written sources fail to provide an exact explanation. The early Irish legend mentions bards as musicians and poets at the courts of the Irish kings, but their reputation is less than that of the members of the Filid or both job titles are partly blurred. It is not clear whether the traditional court professions such as the Cainte (“singer”), Cruitire (“ harper ”), Scélaige (“storyteller”) or Corrguinecht (“satirist”) denote members of the bards or filidh or entirely other professions . However, the Críth Gablach ("The forked purchase") knows the distinction between unfree and free bards ( Doebaird and Soerbaird ) as well as a degree system that corresponds to the seven degrees of wisdom among the Filidh :
| sóerbaird | doebáird |
| rigbárd ("royal bard") | culbárd ("guardian bard") |
| anruth báirdne ("master of bardism") | sruthbárd ("river bard") |
| sruth di aill ("flood of the rock") | bárd lorge ("branch bard") |
| tigernbárd ("Prince's Bard") | driseoc or drisbárd ("sting bard") |
| admall ("very slower") | cromluatha ("fast circle") |
| túathbárd ("tribal bard") | sirti ui ("traveling poet") |
| bóbárd ("cattle bard") | rindaid ("hurtful") |
| bárd áne ("noble bard") | longbárd ("vessel bard") |
In the written tradition the bards step back in the British early Middle Ages, when the bard becomes a court official. In Wales, where the bards were organized as an order under the name of Bardd Teulu , any pencerdd (learned poet) who had studied for nine years was allowed to train a bard.
High Middle Ages
The high Middle Ages are considered to be the marriage of bardism, which has been handed down in writing. The bard became the title of court official in Wales and other parts of Britain. Numerous bard schools were founded in Ireland, which gave a great boost to Celtic poetry and music. From the 12th century there were large poets' meetings, the so-called Eisteddfoddau ; the bards of that time were known as gogynfeirdd ("early poets").
Early modern age
The Welsh Eisteddfod , a major annual music and literature festival, goes back to the medieval bard schools and renaissance bard competitions. In modern times, Bard associations ( Gorsedd ) were formed in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany to maintain traditions of poetry and music and to revive the Celtic language . Furthermore, modern Druidism adopted the term "bard" to designate their first degree (° 1) before the ovate (° 2) and druid (° 3).
Archaeological evidence
The archaeological evidence of the bards is difficult. Situlas have survived from the Hallstatt period showing musicians playing single and double horn pipes on lyre , panpipes (syrinx). However, it is not completely clear whether they are already Celtic musicians and thus bards. The La Tène period knows some depictions of people with stringed instruments, such as the sculpture by Paule-Saint-Symphorien in Brittany , which could be musical deities or bards. Other Celtic instruments that have been proven include bone flutes , bone pipes and horns (made of horn, clay or bronze) as well as the "war trumpet " known as " Carnyx ". From Celtic times, bells , rattles , bells and rattle plates were also found. In France, in Malemort (Corrèze), fragments of an Iron Age clay drum from the period between the 1st century BC were found. And the 1st century AD.
On the other hand, numerous beautiful harps and other instruments have been preserved from the Middle Ages. Different types of instruments include the Cruith (or Chrotta ), different forms of the Croth or Harp (or " Rotte ") such as the Clairseach (a wooden variant of the Trigonon ) and the Telyn (a Welsh Dreichor harp). Furthermore, different variants of flutes such as double and triple flute, the Buinne (a reed flute related to the Greek aulos ) and a form of the recorder and the Stoc or Sturgan , a form of the trumpet . Other sources also mention instruments that may have been similar to the oboe and the kithara . In the Middle Ages, the tinne or bagpipe was introduced from the mainland for the first time , which quickly spread in various variants and probably replaced the old horn pipes and the Karnyx in their function.
Also worth mentioning is the timpan (Tiompán), a 3–8 string plucked and bowed instrument that could have resembled a lyre, possibly even a banjo .
Music and poetry
From antiquity and late antiquity no traditions have been preserved about Bardic music and poetry. Based on the representations on situles and stone sculptures, the bard of antiquity would have been above all a soloist who accompanied his own singing on the stringed instrument. But show Hallstatt Situlae the interplay of various instruments such. B. Syrinx, Lyra and horn pipes. On the basis of found flutes that are tuned in diatonic intervals, Doric ( pentatonic ) and comparisons with popular music of modern times, it is assumed that pentatonic melodies were the predominant tone system. On the basis of various etymological names for singing such as "Galan" and "Barditus", different singing styles are assumed, ranging from voices from baritone to falsetto . An interpretation of ancient Celtic music is carried out by the Viennese group Imbraxton and the follow-up project Cantlon . The British John Kenny is the first modern interpreter to use the old Celtic Carnyx again.
According to the Irish legend, different musical genres and Bardic poetry styles are named, which differ from each other by increasing 'darkness'.
Many bardic songs and poems from Britain and Ireland have been preserved from the Middle Ages, the sophisticated seal with various challenging rhyme - and alliteration testify schemas. Since medieval scores were not preserved, the description of the musical style is dependent on historical sources. According to contemporaries, Irish harp music in the Middle Ages was characterized by rapid tempos, powerful, great precision and sophisticated composition. A remnant of old Celtic chants may be the sean nós chant . In the Alpine region, yodelling is also associated with Celtic culture.
Bards in contemporary culture
The cartoon character Troubadix from the French Asterix comics by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo is a caricatured embodiment of the historical Celtic bard. In a figurative sense - and in some languages like Russian - songwriters are also called bards. An open air music festival in Nuremberg is also called a bard meeting . Occasionally, singing comedians like Otto Waalkes are also referred to as "dumb bards". The Potsdam band Hasenscheisse sings about the bards in a song Die Waden einer Bard on the album For a Handful of Köttel .
Famous bards
Ireland
- Owen Roe O'Sullivan (1748–1782)
- Dallán Forgaill
- Dómhnall Mac Mhuirich (around 1745)
- Fearflatha Ó Gnímh (around 1540-1640)
- Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738)
Scotland
- Rob. Mackay (1714-78)
Wales
- Blwchbardd (6th century)
- Cadwallon (6th century)
- Cian (Gwenith Gwawd) (6th century)
- Dafydd from Gwilym (around 1320–1370)
- Talhearn Tad Awen (6th century)
Pseudo- and semi-historical bards
- Amergin
- Aneirin (around 6th century)
- Myrddin (also: Merlin, um 540)
- Taliesin (around 534 - around 599)
Fabled, mythical and fictional bards
- Abhcan (bard and stoner of Dagda from the Irish legend)
- Belenus (Celtic god of the Gauls , as god of kithara players, he is nicknamed "Cithareus")
- Coirpre (bard and satirist of the Tuatha de Danaan from the Irish legend)
- Gentraiges, Goltraiges and Suatraiges (three brothers, sons of Nechtan , representing three forms of Irish poetry)
- Grannus (Celtic god of healing and hot springs who was portrayed as a singer with a lyre)
- Uaithne (bard of Tuathe de Danaan and singer of Dagda)
- Beedle (Bard from Joanne K Rowling's book The Fairy Tales of Beedle the Bard )
- Troubadix (bard from the comic series Asterix the Gauls)
- Delphinium (Bard from Andrzej Sapkowski's " Geralt Saga ")
literature
- Dublin Penny Journal . Volume 1, No. 3, July 14, 1832
- Meyers Konversationslexikon . 1888
- Evans: Specimens of the ancient Welsh poetry . London 1764
- Jones, Williams, Owen: Myvyrian archeology of Wales . 3 volumes. 1801–1807, new edition 1862
- Williams: As barddoniath Cymraeg . Solgelly 1828
- Skenes: Four ancient books of Wales . 2 volumes. Edinburgh 1869
- Brooke: Reliquies of Irish poetry . Dublin 1789, new edition by Seymour, 1816
- Hardiman: Irish minstrelsy . 2 volumes. 1831
- James MacKillop: Oxford Dictionary of Celtic Mythology . Oxford University Press, 1998
- La Villemarqué: Collection of old Breton bard chants . 2nd edition, 1846
- Caiseal Mór: The Bard of the Emerald Isle. Novel. Translated from the English by Michaela Link . www.knaur.de, original edition: Carolan's Concerto. 1999.
- Myles Dillon, Nora Kershaw Chadwick : The Celts. Kindler's cultural history. From the prehistory to the Norman invasion . ISBN 3-89340-058-3 .
- Helmut Birkhan : Celts. Attempt to present an overall picture of their culture . Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-7001-2609-3 .
See also
- Celtic religion
- Celtic ideology
- Order of bards, ovates and druids a neodruid order
- skald
Web links
- Imbraxton - Music of the Iron Age
- The Encyclopedia of Traditional Celtic Music
- CELT - Corpus of Electronic Texts
- Bardic Poetry Database
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Bernhard Maier : Small lexicon of names and words of Celtic origin. CH Beck OHG, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-406-49470-6 , p. 31.
- ↑ Clodoré-Tissot Tinaig. (2007). La musique aux Âges du Bronze et du Fer en Europe. Thèse de doctorat de l'université de Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne. In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française. Tome 104, N. 3. pp. 589-592.
- ↑ Ann Buckley (1978). What was the Tiompán? A problem in ethnohistorical organology. Evidence in Irish literature, p. 53–88, Yearbook for Musical Folk and Ethnology, ix.