[Bards] skald persona

[SBarrett]

To be fair, this gentle has stated an interest in storytelling, not poetics. 
While some stories were recorded with verse, and while most poems told a 
tale, the two art forms are distinctly different.

There are a couple of options here for Saxon and early English storytellers.
The first I have have only one reference for, as the field of storytelling 
is not as well documented as others. It is the Joculator, a professional 
storyteller who was hired for his services.
The book "Writing Aloud" which studies storytelling in the Later Middle Ages 
of England, does make some reference to earlier times, and tells of a aboot 
who hired a Joculator to entertain a visiting Bishop with a particular 
story, one of the local tales of history a Joculator was expected to be 
familiar with.

The other option is a Gleeman. The Gleeman was the common entertainer. They 
traveled and sang bawdy songs or sad ballads, told stories, some juggled, 
some could compose the more basic forms of verse and a few likely had 
acrobatic skills. They performed for coin and lodging, and generally 
followed markets or settled into larger communities for holidays.

A final option is to be a scholar and chronicler. A large amount of good 
storytelling material was recorded by historians, monks, chroniclers and 
academics. They would write reams of stories in a attempt to be thorough. 
They wrote vivid descriptions of severe weather, battles, crimes in the 
community, reported miracles, hauntings and monsters, visions and natural 
distasters.
They were the early journalists, composing sentences like "In the north of 
the country, beyond the market road is a wooded hill. The people of this 
region call the Amons Rise, and will not travel this hill as they have 
deemed it cursed. Seventeen years ago a local man, a miller by trade, went 
to the summit looking for wood..."

So there are few things to consider.
I would point out that you could be Saxon leatherworker, warrior, weaver, 
baker, tailor or farmer and still have a good reputation as a storyteller in 
your community, especially in smaller villages that saw few visitors.

~Finnacan


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Culver" <rbculver at sbcglobal.net>
To: <bards at lists.ansteorra.org>
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2010 11:59 AM
Subject: Re: [Bards] skald persona


> First, an Anglo-Saxon poet was called a scop, prnounced "shope".
>
> Second go through and familiarize yourself with their art form.  When I 
> get home I will get a short list to start with.
>
> Godspede!
> Wihtric hlafard Wihtmunding
>
> On Sun Aug 29th, 2010 11:40 AM CDT Brett Chandler-Finch wrote:
>
>>I am wanting to get more into storytelling and plan to develop a
>>anglo-saxon skald persona to do so.    Any tips or guides on
>>storytelling.
>>
>>-- 
>>---
>>Brett Chandler-Finch
>>The physician heals, Nature makes well.
>>
>>8401 Treehouse Ln.
>>Austin, TX 78749
>>(512) 703-0669
>>naturemakeswell at gmail.com
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