Duty & Privilege for Bards

[Mike Baker]

 Mellitus7 wrote:
> I've been lurking on this list for a few months now, and thought I'd toss 
in
> a few cents with regards to this thread.

Then I have accomplished at least one of my goals: forums such as these only 
grow and prove their worth through participation!

>In a message dated 96-05-31 11:22:18 EDT, you write:
>>mary k cummings wrote (in the bardic maillist):
>>> I would like to throw out an opinion and get reactions, if you good
>>> gentles would not mind.  (Yes, I have a bit of an ulterior motive,
>>> but...  Don't we all?) :)   Hmmmm.....  Phrasing....   Hmmmmm...
>>> A bard must satusfy both duty and privlidge within the bounds of
>>> ability.  It is a privlidge to entertain.  It is a duty to acknowledge
>>> the events of the day, both good and bad.
> I agree that it is a privelege to entertain as bard, and as a addendum: 
 the
> privelege of having your  friends enjoy (hopefully) what you are 
performing
> is the greatest privelge of all.

Ah, yes, although I would more likely name this one of the joys -- privilege 
is just a bit too stuffy in its connotations.  (As many of my friends in 
Moonschadoweshire used to declaim "Damn English!": implying the limitations 
of communication in such a gloriously textured and yet imprecise language.)

> I wholeheartedly agee with the duty as acknowledging the events of the 
day.
> A deacade ago, Calontir was ripe with "Legends" stories and some of the
> important ans whimsical things that they did.  Now, the theme is for 
better
> authenticity.  I personally favor and encourage anyone to be as authentic 
as
> possible in any endeavor  within the Society, but I feel that we should 
not
> sacrafice our history to "loftier goals".  I'd like the see the two less
> mutually exclusive I guess.

Then strive to make them so by way of presentation: "Legends" stories told 
in authentic styles, historical tales told in more humorous lights.  At 
Steppes Warlord this weekend past, Mstrs. Willow de Wisp told a marvelous 
tale of one of the saints of the Roman Catholic Church, William "Cut-Nose", 
in such a way that nearly the entire audience was rolling in the dirt. 
 Later in the evening, Sir Kief was accorded the title Bard of the Steppes 
for the next year based upon his telling of a tale about the Calontir 
shield-wall facing the Tuchux at Pennsic: a tale told boldly, in the words 
of warriors, in the style of many of the ancient chronicles.

>> Privilege should only be accorded to bards worthy of the names and titles 

>> they have been *given* (i.e. acknowledged by others).  Duty holds
>> requirements for every entertainer whether or not they aspire to the 
ranks
>> of the "true" bards.
> Privielege can come from any number of sources.  Simply because a bard 
holds
> rank within a guild or college or even from the Crown, does not modify the
> basis of the original post.  True, regonition from the Crown or College
> should be considered when speaking of Master Such and So or Her Ladyship
> ThisnThat, BUT this does not exclude the privelege of styling oneself as 
bard
> and enjoying the priveledge of entertaining folks.  So long as it's not 
abused.

Within the constraints of the SCA structure you speak volumes of truth in 
those four sentences.  Consider for a moment the case *beyond* the 
safety-net of SCA audiences, however.  Is the person in question still as 
much teacher as entertainer, arbiter as acrobat, guide as guardian of the 
stories, poems, histories, & songs?  There is no shame in laying aside the 
title of bard for that of minstrel *IF* that naming better describes what 
one does.

>>What are the duties? What are the privileges?  These are questions as old 
as
>>the peoples that acknowledge the station and importance of bards.
> Entertaining is duty as well as a priveledge, and a bard has a duty to 
make
> the best of use of avialable materials (filk,stories,authentic 
song,poetry,
> etc) that he or she is able.

Enthusiastic agreement from *this* bard on your point.  Contrefait is a 
very, very old form -- and the obvious ancestor of filk.  (cf. newsgroup 
alt.music.filk)

> Consideration of the participants in a circle and the desrires of
> the circle as "community" is part of that duty (selection of appropriate
> material)

Absolutely.  At the same time, we must remember that entertainment is not 
the primary function of the "historically accurate" bard.  Bards were 
teachers and religious figures, with well-defined duties far beyond their 
ability to sing, recite, or versify.

Within the SCA context, where the definition is much looser, we must 
consider such things as the presence of young ones in the circle... I told a 
different tale last Sunday eve than I would have were there not children 
present.  The *story* would have been the same, but the *tale* would have 
been more explicit in the details of horse-breeding and the habits of adult 
male humans who care for horses...

> another duty is remember and comment on the SCA around them.
> By this, I mean to pass on our histiry, customs, and ideals.

This has always been a right, a duty, and a privilege of the bard in any 
society that hosts them (regardless of what the equivalent cultural position 
might have been called).  Bards have always been preservers of knowledge, 
and disseminators of what they preserved.

> I do not imply (or condone) personal slams as part of a piece,  it
> detracts from the "higher ideals" thing.

Sticky point, here.  One of the distinct traditional privileges of 
bards-as-a-class in the historical context is the "right of satire".  Within 
the context of bard-as-teacher, it should be possible to convert the satire 
into an instructive bit, allowing personal attributions to fall by the 
wayside as memories mellow and old wounds heal.  (Of course, the original 
piece should certainly be preserved against future need...)

>> I have available a scholarly-style paper on the subject, [SNIP!]
> I would be most interested in reading your paper.  The bardic arts were 
the
> first thing I "did" in the SCA a decade ago, and they are very near and 
dear
> to me.

I will certainly post update information to this maillist when the next 
distribution is ready.  Earlier versions *may* be available through 
electronic sources already:  among other distributions, I was dispensing 
diskettes at Known World A&S (and presenting the material in a "class-tent" 
setting).

>>And with all this, I still quoted myself when it came time to define the
>>duties of a bard.  Understand, I had written out a description for use as 
a
>>"starter" in the preliminary of trying to work with a student at
>>long-distance, via electronic BBS.  It was a simple manner to reshape that 

>>electronic message and include it as an appendix to the larger work.  BUT: 

>>the summary of duties I repeated in that way was essentially similar to 
the
>>pledges made when I accepted a name.
>>To some extent, privilege is not essential to the bardic existence.  Duty 
is
>>first, last, and ever foremost.  Privileges define where and how the bard
>>interacts with his or her current community, and reinforce the role of 
bard
>>as one who should "walk between" separate communities.  There are certain
>>rights that, when accorded to an individual bard, may appear at first to 
be
>>privilege.  They are in fact more an acknowledgement by the particular
>>society of the worth of bards in their midst as a general class than any
>>honor for a singular person.
> I agree with your thoughts on duty, but I still feel there is a lot to be
> said about the priveledge thing.  We are priviledge to be in this Society 
and
> Bards within it.  Whether we be laurels,grants,AOA's,or newbies, we must
> acknowledge this priveledge and (I feel) revel in it.  I think this
> priveledge goes beyond any rank or award a person may hold.
> Perhaps a priveledge of our particiular Society?

YesANDNo.  Remember that the SCA is not the only place where respect for and 
acknowledgement of bards survive.  I count myself lucky to be recognized in 
several of these surviving and re-vitalizing communities as a Bard, and not 
just an entertainer.

I am still learning what it is to be a Bard.  I will be so learning until I 
breathe my last in this body, and even beyond that according to some of the 
beliefs that I now hold.

>>Duty and Privilege: not so much what a bard thinks about as what a bard 
_IS_
> Very nice!

Thank you. Wish I could claim to be the original source for that, but it 
really is a paraphrase of some things I have been given from a variety of 
sources.

>You've made some good points, and I respect those opinions with which I
>disagree (and I think that's too strong a word).  Perhaps one day, we'll
>share a circle.

Mellitus of Rouncivale, do we not already?  Here, where the electrons spin 
their merry path and allow us to see each others' words at great remove, 
without need of waiting for foot-bound messengers, we all come to a wider 
Circle.  I am only a few days arrived at this place, a mailing-list called 
"bardic" (or so I am told).  Here we can be a community of bards truly 
"walking between" the far places of the world, and of our several hearts, 
and many minds.   Glorious!

Until the trails let us pass one another by, and linger for a time,
In Service to the Dream (and *many* forms of Dreaming),
Kihe Blackeagle (the Dreamsinger Bard)  s.k.a. Amr ibn Majid al-Bakri 
al-Amra
     currently residing in Barony of the Steppes, Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mike C. Baker                      mbaker at rapp.com
Any opinions expressed are obviously my own unless explicitly stated 
otherwise!