Fw: minstrel: bardd

[nickolas kaugon]

i hasten to again point out that the dictionary
meaning posted includes muscian as an alternate
meaning.

as to aneurin. all of his poetry and most of that
attributed to taliesin were collected in the southern
scottish kingdoms of goddodin and rhygged(including
cumbria) and a little in strathclyde. these noorthern
kingdoms were brythonic speaking and it was also there
that the modern harp began. there are artistic
reprentation of true harps on stones there dating from
the 6th century. true harps having a forepillar, the
srtings going through the sound box and a kind of
harmonic curve to the string tuning pins. these early
harps are considered to have been srtung with waxed
horse hair. prior to these harps the local cruit was
the bard instrument--related to the welsh crwth. cruit
in gaelic is taken to mean old harp, but this is
obviously an archiac word. the cruit was probably a
lyre cousin. 

anyway the bards would not have been considered bards
if they didn't paly the harp or it's predecessor. 

there are a few who say the cruit group was a kind of
hammered dulcimer, but mainly derek bell the recently
deceased harper from the chieftans. i don't favour his
interpretation. anne buckley from oxford has written a
few articles on this if anyone is interested.

from almost the earliest times the bard is associated
with the harp, and the harp has been the symbol of the
victors of the welsh bardic competitions.

they were both nuscians and poets, and many junior
bards were performers and not writers of poetry. the
reason for the sca definition is any macduffus can
write dogrell, but it actually takes talent and
practice to master an instrument. they are making a
virtue out of necessity

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