In Celtic cultures, a bard was a person who kept stories alive by telling them, writing songs, composing music, and recording history and family backgrounds. They worked for a patron, such as a king or leader, to honor the patron's ancestors and praise their achievements.
As the tradition of bards declined in recent times, the word "bard" came to mean a general term for someone who plays music or writes, especially famous people. For example, William Shakespeare is called "the Bard of Avon" (often just "the Bard"), and Rabindranath Tagore is known as "the Bard of Bengal." In 16th-century Scotland, the term became a disrespectful way to describe a traveling musician. However, later on, the term was made to sound more romantic by Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832).
Etymology
The English word "bard" comes from the Celtic languages. In Gaulish, it was "bardo-" meaning "bard, poet." In Middle Irish, it was "bard," and in Scottish Gaelic, it was "bàrd," also meaning "bard, poet." In Middle Welsh, it was "bardd," meaning "singer, poet," and in Middle Breton, it was "barz," meaning "minstrel." In Old Cornish, it was "barth," meaning "jester." The ancient Gaulish word *bardos appears in Latin as "bardus" (singular) and in Ancient Greek as "bárdoi" (plural). It also appears in compound words like "bardo-cucullus" (a bard's hood), "bardo-magus" (a field of the bard), "barditus" (a song used to encourage soldiers), and "bardala" (a singing bird called a crested lark).
All these terms come from the Proto-Celtic word bardos, meaning "poet-singer, minstrel." This word evolved from the Proto-Indo-European compound gʷrH-dʰh₁-o-s, which means "praise-maker." This word is related to similar words in other languages, such as Sanskrit "gṛṇā́ti" (to call, to praise), Latin "grātus" (grateful, pleasant, delightful), Lithuanian "ģirti" (to praise), and Armenian "kardam" (to raise the voice).
History
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, bards were a group from ancient Celtic times who were poets and musicians. Their main job was to write and sing songs, often using a harp, that praised the bravery of leaders and warriors. They also created poems to remember important events, religious rules, laws, and family histories.
In medieval Gaelic and Welsh societies, bards (called "bardd" in Welsh) were professional poets who wrote sad poems, called elegies, for their lords. If a lord did not pay the bard properly, the bard might write a poem that criticized the lord, similar to the role of "fili" or "fáith" in other cultures. In other ancient societies, similar roles were held by skalds, rhapsodes, minstrels, and scops. Studies of medieval Irish and ancient Indian cultures suggest that there may have been a family group of professional poets in early Proto-Indo-European society.
Bards (who were different from the Irish "filidh" or "fili") sang songs that remembered the brave actions of warriors and the family histories of leaders in Celtic societies. Before the time of Christianity, Celtic people did not write down their history, but they kept detailed oral histories. These stories were memorized and passed down by bards and filid. Bards helped people remember these stories by using patterns in their poems, such as rhythm and rhyme.
Regions
In medieval Ireland, bards were one of two groups of poets, the other being the fili. According to the Early Irish law text Uraicecht Becc, bards were considered a lower class of poets and were not allowed to hold higher poetic roles. However, some scholars believe the difference between fili and bards was created during Christian times, and the fili were more connected to the church. By the Early Modern Period, the names "bards" and "fili" were used interchangeably.
Irish bards were a professional group of poets who passed their skills down through families. They were highly trained and knew the history, traditions, and customs of their clans and countries. They used special techniques in their poetry, such as syllabic structure, assonance, half rhyme, and alliteration. As court officials for kings or chieftains, bards had many duties, including recording events, praising their employers, and criticizing enemies. It was believed that a powerful poem, called glam dicenn, could cause physical harm, such as making someone’s face break out in boils.
The bardic system lasted until the mid-17th century in Ireland and the early 18th century in Scotland. In Ireland, bards were closely tied to the Gaelic aristocracy, which declined during the Tudor reconquest.
The early history of bards is known only through myths and legends. The first mention of bards in Ireland appears in the Book of Invasions, which tells a story about the Tuatha Dé Danann, a group believed to be gods or supernatural beings. They were divided into three groups: nobles, priests, and bards. This story is considered legendary, but it was an important part of the oral traditions of Irish bards. One famous bard from mythology was Amergin Glúingel, who was also a druid and judge.
In Scotland, the most well-known group of bards were members of the MacMhuirich family, who lived from the 15th to the 18th centuries. They were based in the Hebrides and claimed to be descendants of an Irish bard who was exiled to Scotland. At first, they worked for the Lords of the Isles as poets, lawyers, and doctors. Later, they worked for the chiefs of the MacDonalds of Clanranald. Some family members were also musicians and clergymen. The last known bard in the family was Domhnall MacMhuirich, who lived in the 18th century.
In Gaelic-speaking areas, a bàrd-baile (village bard) was a local poet who wrote about their community. Examples include Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna and Dòmhnall Ruadh Phàislig.
In Wales, many bards are mentioned in medieval texts like the Red Book of Hergest and the Book of Taliesin. Bards named Aneirin and Taliesin may have been based on real people from the 6th and 7th centuries. Welsh laws from around 900 A.D. describe bards as members of a king’s household. Their job included singing about the sovereignty of Britain, which may explain why records of British kings survived.
Many Welsh bards were blind.
The royal bardic tradition in Wales ended in the 13th century after the English conquest of 1282. A famous story about the "Last Bard" who died around 1283 was later used by a Hungarian poet to protest against political control. However, bardic traditions continued through the Middle Ages, with poets like Dafydd ap Gwilym and Iolo Goch. The tradition of gathering bards at events called eisteddfodau also continued. In 1792, the Gorsedd was formed to honor this tradition.
Today, Wales continues to celebrate the bardic tradition. The National Eisteddfod of Wales (first held in 1880) includes events where bards are honored with crowns and chairs. Another event, the Urdd National Eisteddfod, is also held yearly. Many schools in Wales also hold their own eisteddfodau to keep the tradition alive.
Many studies about Welsh bards have been written by scholars such as Williams (1850), Parry-Williams (1947), Morgan (1983), and Jones (1986). More studies have likely been published in recent years.
Popular culture
The idea of a bard as a singer who had the skills of a priest, magician, or prophet became popular in fantasy stories during the 1960s to 1980s. This idea appeared in games like Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder, books such as Bard by Keith Taylor (1981) and Bard: The Odyssey of the Irish by Morgan Llywelyn (1984), video games like The Bard's Tale (1985), and in modern books and TV shows such as The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski (1986–2013) and its TV version by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich (2019).
By 2020, an online trend began where people used medieval-style musical instruments and music to perform modern songs. They also rewrote the lyrics to sound like they came from the medieval period. This style is called bardcore.
In 2023, Google introduced its AI chatbot named Bard.