[Bards] Prose Tales

Scott Barrett barrett1 at cox.net
Tue May 1 21:47:08 PDT 2007


Ya know, this entire "What hard evidence is there that professional 
entertainers used prose?" conundrum feels very familiar.

Poets and storytellers both, they all face a really interesting problem 
when preparing pieces for the SCA.
Gestures.
Turning the head.
Eye Contact.
Miming action.
I've heard of no hard evidence for any of these. I've also heard of no 
hard evidence proving they stood stock still and spoke in a monotone. 
There are some who do. It's an Appalachian tradition, one type of 
storytelling, that may be Irish or Scottish in origin. It isn't the 
only type.
  There were also gaelic storytellers who spoke from darkened rooms in a 
trance (I'd kill to hear that!). There are some who spoke by the fire 
with everyone else. Some stood and spoke, some walked around the room. 
Some spoke while walking, others insisted on being at the locale of the 
story out of respect.
But, in the medieval timeframe,
did they point? No clue.
Did they smile or frown to emphasize emotion?
Did they change voice with each character?
Did they change posture?
Did they break the fourth wall?
Did they respect the fourth wall?
Did they avoid gestures?
Did they speak in a constant volume?

No clue.

The evidence for prose pieces that were likely bardic material seems to 
me fairly impressive, moreso than any evidence for or against gestures 
or character play. It's an excellent question, Kenneth.
You may not find what you are looking for. The chances of finding a 
story that begins 'Here is the story, word for word, that the great 
bard Conall told us in the presence of the High King on Beltaine Eve," 
may be slim.
Just as slim as that same story indicating the bard Conall stamped his 
foot or shouted a particular line.

I'm quite satisfied that not only do the Decameron, the Tain and the 
Mabinogi (Good call, Catrin) show a well-established use for prose in 
the "bardic" arena, (they aren't "so there was I was, freezing in the 
privy" stories,) I also consider them evidence of authorship. Someone 
wrote them, after all, someone with an eye for riveting drama and good 
conflict. In fact, a number of folks apparently added their own 
contributions, as most of these works are collections from different 
scribes. So I consider original prose a valid pursuit in our 
appreciation and understanding of the Middle Ages.
Lacking any hard evidence pointing me in any direction, I have also 
left the mystery of gesture and expression to my audience to decide.
They have made their choice very clear.
So I compose all my own stories, while keeping my mind filled with the 
patterns and the traditions of epic cycles, animal tales, ghosts 
stories and battle accounts. I try to let the material and the style of 
medieval lore come out in my speech while keeping the audience's 
attention. I do this so that my audience might catch a glimpse of what 
the old Irish storytellers gave their audiences, instead of just 
repeating what has been done.
Storytellers have been described apart from poets throughout European 
history. I am no poet. I reckon I'm the other.

And just because this email begins and ends with the same phrase, it 
doesn't mean it's verse, Ya know.

~Finnacan




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