Minstrel
Entertainer, initially in medieval Europe.
- Minstrel6 related topics
Troubadour
Composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350).
Composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350).
The medieval jongleur/joglar is really a minstrel.
Trouvère
Northern French form of the langue d'oc (Occitan) word trobador, the precursor of the modern French word troubadour.
Northern French form of the langue d'oc (Occitan) word trobador, the precursor of the modern French word troubadour.
Such people existed, but they were called jongleurs and minstrels—poor musicians, male and female, on the fringes of society.
Jester
Member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras.
Member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras.
![Illustration p. 284 from "Queen of the Jesters" [Caption: Brought it down with a Crash upon the Head of Henri de Villefort.] Illustrator unknown; text by Max Pemberton.](https://hyperleap.com/images/819865627d1b1cf24b9e24940eafd6bb/200-71a13edd9cb25c59f0a8605a68b774a8.jpg)
This modern term derives from the older form gestour, or jestour, originally from Anglo-Norman (French) meaning storyteller or minstrel.
Chanson de geste
Medieval narrative, a type of epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature.
Medieval narrative, a type of epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature.
Composed in verse, these narrative poems of moderate length (averaging 4000 lines ) were originally sung, or (later) recited, by minstrels or jongleurs.
Rhoda Power
Pioneer English broadcaster and children's writer.
Pioneer English broadcaster and children's writer.
The highly regarded set of stories that make up Redcap Runs Away (1952) are set in the Middle Ages and told by a runaway minstrel boy.
Itinerant poet
Wandering minstrel, bard, musician, or other poet common in medieval Europe but extinct today.
Wandering minstrel, bard, musician, or other poet common in medieval Europe but extinct today.
Itinerant poets were from a lower class than jesters or jongleurs, as they did not have steady work, instead travelling to make a living.