So, having linked to Richard Rastell's thesis it seemed a good idea to read it! The first sentence of the first chapter: "The minstrel population of late medieval England was primarily itinerant." Given this reliable source seems to contradict the drift of my previous post, should I concede that minstrels were wandering after all?
Well, there is a continuum of 'itinerancy'. On the one hand this evokes the impression of musicians turning up at town or castle, playing on spec., and hoping for reward from crowd or noble (in modern terms, busking). On the other hand one might technically describe as itinerant a 'self-employed' musician who travels and plays in lots of places, but does because they have been engaged to play at various events. Maybe, in the days before mass communication, getting 'engaged to play' required a bit of 'busking', i.e., turning up at the castle when you had heard a feast was scheduled, or the town when a fair was scheduled, and offering to perform. Finally, there might be the musician who has a steady income linked to a place (e.g. a town) or person (e.g. a member of the royal household) but regularly supplements their income by playing in other places or for other people.
I'm not sure we can conclude from the main remaining evidence - payments in account books to various musicians who 'practiced their minstrelsy' on a particular occasions - which of these was the most typical experience of the medieval musician.
Thanks for this link, I'm still wading through APPENDIX D
ReplyDeleteMINSTRELSY AT THE SCOTTISH COURT 1473–1504, and I believe that the musicians who received livery and regular payments were fulltime employees of the king. Although as he's paying for them to have new saddles and horses he obviously expects them to travel!
Those musicians who recieved one-off payments could have been itinerant musicians, eg in July 1489, there is a payment of £8.8.0d to 'the English pipers that came to the castle gates and played to the king', however in the case of the May 1497 'Gift of 9.0d to the broken-backed fiddler in St Andrews' it sounds as though it's the king who is travelling around and being entertained by local musicians!
NB for those interested, in 1473-1474 'the luter', 'the king’s little luter, the boy' and an unspecified number of 'trumpets' received gowns, hose and doublets. Four banners are made for 'the trumpets' suggesting that James iii had at least that number of trumpeters. After James iv's accession in 1488, three trumpet banners were paid for and we start to see regular payments to Jock Pringill, trumpeter, some of them quite large so perhaps he is in charge of the other musicians. Jacob, luter also recieves money and a gown. By 1494 the king seems to have hired a harper for the first time as there's a record of livery of cloth for the gowns, doublets and hose of four trumpeters, 'Pate, harper' and 'Jacob, luter'.
For the king's marriage to Margaret Tudor on 8th August 1503, liveries are provided to 'Jacob, luter'; 'Alexander Wardlaw, luter'; 'Rankin, Flemish luter'; and to 'Thomas Hopringill the elder, Alexander Caslaw, Pete John and John, Trumpeters'. Liveries also provided to the queen’s luter and to 'Bountas, Cornut' (cornett-player)' who presumably also came with the queen. There is a long list of payments to other musicians who presumably came north for the wedding including four Italian minstrels who appear to have stayed on after the English musicians left and by the following January are also receiving liveries.
Hi - interesting examples. It still seems open to question whether the english pipers at the castle gates might have been there by prior arrangement or were just trying their luck. And what is it with these fiddlers - broken-backed in St Andrews, drunk in a field near Chester...
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