Hail Poetry!

[Mike Baker]

Having now seen Tangwystyl's reply, I'll add my less-well-researched zwei 
pfennigs:
>>(allegedly codified in the 10th century, but 12th century in the earliest
>>extant form) that note: "Three arts a villein's son is not entitled to
>>learn without his lord's leave (and though he should learn them, the lord
>>is entitled to retake them, except for clerkship after he takes orders)
> What does "retake" mean, please?  Must the son use the skills only in
> service to his lord ... or be executed unless he pretends he hasn't been
> trained ... or provide some recompense for the time and resources used in
> his training?

It is my inference that the incomes of the villein's son in question, and 
his services failing that, would still be the due of the "lord" (titled 
owner of land to which the villein was attached).  IOW, the son of a slave / 
serf / peasant such as described by the quoted passage can only be elevated 
beyond that estate by the pleasure of the (titled) owner.  Once considered 
villein, nearly always so.

Note that in times earlier than the one giving rise to this particular rule 
it appears that such was not necessarily the case BUT that status of bard 
was reliant upon not only training but also to some significant extent upon 
"place" of birth.  Not necessarily location, but parentage and to a lesser 
extent wealth had much to do with eligibility.

According to my researches thus far, particularly those associated with 
pre-Christian bard-friendly cultures:  The child of a bard, even the 
"illegitimate" child, was generally accorded status sufficient to allow an 
attempt at proving ability and gaining entry to the schools.  In accord with 
other bardic rights & responsibilities, this also included the implication 
of a non-bard parent's right in such a case to control the education of such 
a child who did not qualify for such training.

Much of the particulars in such times are no more than conjecture at this 
remove of time and cultural distance.  (It is only very recently that I have 
found a completely reliable non-oral, non-modern source "proving" the 
existence of female bards in the historical timeframe, pre-17th century 
c.e..)  In that light, allow me to suffix all my comments here with the "to 
the best of my current knowledge" disclaimer!

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!