Bardic
All fencers, bearwards, common players in interludes and minstrels, not belonging to any baron of the realm or towards any other honourable personage of greater degree … which … shall wander abroad and have not license of two justices of the peace … shall be judged rogues, vagabonds and sturdy beggars.
--Vagrancy in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century England
The Bardic Arts is a nebulous category, but a generally accepted definition is that they are one of the many performance arts that uniquely tends to have a focus on poetry, songs that tell stories, and storytelling. Those who practice the Bardic Arts are observers, keepers, performers, and often creators of the stories and songs of the history and people of the SCA, as well as works inspired by their Group/Household/Shire/Canton/Barony/Principality/Kingdom pride, events in period, and works about period times or in period settings inspired by events in the SCA.
Along with performing, many bards will add original works to the wealth of material that help support and build up 'The Dream' of the SCA.
Bardic is an Art/Craft - but there is a Social aspect, as well as many opportunities for service to the Society through performance and also organizing entertainment at events.
Bardic includes recited poetry, recited prose, a cappella song (either solo or chorus), and accompanied song (either solo or chorus). That said, as there are many bardic traditions, both within the society and within period, the definition of what constitutes the Bardic Arts or a Bard is fluid.
External Links
Articles
Wordsmithing Resources
- Foxit Reader is a small, fast program to view PDF files.
Instrumental Music Resources
- Steve Hendricks Music Collection (mixture of dance music and music with vocal parts)
Poetics and Spoken Word
- Recueil des poésies des troubadours, 1201-1300 (Gallicia Biblioteque Numerique)
Period English Secular Songs Anyone Can Sing
Early Music Lyrics
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- The Internet Renaissance Band (MIDI Files for the tunes + some Lyrics)
Early Music Videos and Albums
SCA Lyrics
- Cry of the Wolf
- Cry of the Wolf 1, Popular Songs PDF File
- Cry of the Wolf 2, Memorial PDF File
- Cry of the Wolf 3, Poetry PDF File
- Cry of the Wolf 4, Our Stories PDF File
- Cry of the Wolf 5, (Uncle J's top 10) or PDF Version PDF File
Recordings of SCA Songs
Anachronistic Songs
May not be pre-17th century, but fun or interesting to sing
Guilds and Orders
See Also
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- Dance (an allied trade of Bardic)