ANST - bards/parasites question

[j'lynn yeates]

On 9 Feb 99, at 8:41, karl muller wrote:

> maybe the reason the celts called the bards parasites was that not all
> bards served one master. some made their living by going from town to
> town. 

point i was making was that there were *two* distinct entities at work here ... 

the "parasite" would be a war-band member or hanger-on who's job it was to 
praise his master (remember the road warrior flicks ... remember the "parasite" 
in the 2nd one???).  doubtful they had an existence apart from the war-band.
... the term "boot licking parasite" comes to mind.    

"bard" was a distinct and seperate social class, protected by law

> ... they were the one's who carried the news about wars and battles,
> coronations, palace politics, and everything else from place to place.
> they would come into town and be invited, usually, to the house of the
> highest official, and relate the news in story or song. as payment, the
> bard would be fed, sometimes clothed, and given a bed for as long as he
> had stories or song to entertain with. or they would 'entertain' traveler
> by the camp fire with the same stories and songs in exchange for food and
> shelter. of course, the more the bards traveled, the more material they
> had to 'earn' a living with.

my only primary area of interest is keltoi culture, in particular the early 
irish, so my words / opinions reflect this area ...  

under the terms and obligations as laid out in brehon law, a bard was not 
required to "earn" a living.  it was the *obligation* of the land holders to 
support them as required in return for the unique services they offered, or not 
as they chose - the obligation was the same (it was not a commercial exchange - 
food for services, it was support of a important social class)  ... and as many 
learned it never paid to annoy a bard by being stingy in fulfilling ones 
contractual (social contract, legally codified, client - patron relationships)  
... 

in a pre-literate world, they were the history carriers ... in a time of remote 
settlement, they were the communication channels .... teachers, etc ... all in 
all, they were a important social binding element.   "entertainers" is more of 
a modern concept that dosn't really fit in this case. 

'wolf

... When we hunt, we all function with one mind
... - Boingo, Pedestrian Wolves
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