[Bards] Situations That Ruin Bardic Circles

[Ken Theriot]

Catrin said: < Do we have period evidence for an equivalent to the standard
SCA bardic circle as we know it?  (that's not a hypothetical--I'm really
asking :)>

Yes, Bede (Ecclesiastical History - Anglo-Saxon period) tells the story of
Caedmon.  When the harp was passed at feast, and everyone was expected to
take turns entertaining their fellows with harp and song, Caedmon would slip
out because he did not think he could sing.  Sounds like a bardic circle to
me.  (Caedmon eventually miraculously acquired the ability to sing, and the
VERSES attributed to him appear in an 11th century manuscript.)

But that question is really at the heart of this discussion.  If you define
a bardic circle as friends sitting around at the bar, then sure.  Regular
folk obviously didn't speak in verse.  But I don't consider that the same
thing as a bardic circle, where we expect to hear entertainment, as in
Caedmon's feast hall.

Kenneth