Ménestrel
Ménestrels , also called Ménétriers or Minstrels , were Old Provencal and Old French musicians (jugglers), travelers and musicians in the Middle Ages . Some of them were servants of troubadours , for whom they took over the lecture and the distribution of songs.
The English term minstrel originally means "little servant", since as bards and court singers they had the same low status as house and kitchen staff. Like acolyte , the word is derived from the Latin ministrare , "to serve".
In a poem from the 13th century, a court singer is described as someone who can speak and rhyme well, knows the story of Troy , can balance apples on knife tips, juggle and jump through hoops. He should be able to play the mandora , the harp , the violin and the psalter . He should also master bird imitation, donkey and dog training and puppet play .
Media reception
- Terry Jones in the Middle Ages , episode: "... as a minstrel" (Original title: Terry Jones' Medieval Lives - The Minstrel .) Documentation by the BBC , GB 2004.
literature
- Minstrel . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 18 : Medal - Mumps . London 1911, p. 556 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).
- Minstrels . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 11, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, p. 666.
