From the fourteenth century the position and privileges afforded to many household minstrels grew at the expense of their less fortunate friends the wandering strollers. All minstrels suffered at the hands of a disapproving Church but those attached to the royal court and noble households were of a more advantageous caste and such was the cachet of the role that it was open to abuse.
In 1315 a proclamation ordered that in view of the number of idle persons who ‘under colour of mynstrelsie’ claimed food, drink, and gifts in private houses, ‘that to the house of prelates earls and barons none resort to meate and drynke, unless he be a mynstrel, and of these mynstrels of honour at the most in one day, unless he be desired of the lorde of the house.’
In 1469 representation was made to Edward IV that certain boorish husbandmen had usurped the title and livery of his minstrels and had thus been able to accumulate under fraudulent pretences a substantial purse of fees.
Edward proceeded to create or possibly revive a guild of minstrels with his own household musicians at the vanguard and their marescallus as chief, thus creating a disciplinary authority over the entire profession throughout the country. This served to ensure the social mobility of the independent minstrel was restricted, and though loved by the laity they continued to be frowned upon by the Church and civic authorities.
For the purpose of his ‘guild’ Edward reduced the number of minstrels at his beck from thirteen and one wait to eight minstrels. The wait’s primary duty was to ‘pipe the watch, summer and winter, at certain fixed hours of the night’ whilst the remaining minstrels were required for certain fixed services. The ‘Black Book’ and Ordinance of 1478 is very explicit about these duties and the entitlements of the minstrels:
Household Ordinances, 48 :
‘ Mynstrelles, xiii, whereof one is verger, that directeth them all in festivall dayes to theyre stations, to bloweings and pipynges, to suche offices as must be warned to prepare for the king and his houshold at metes and soupers, to be the more readie in all servyces ; and all these sittinge in the hall togyder ; whereof sume use trumpettes, sume shalmuse and small pipes, and sume as strengemen, comyng to this courte at five festes of the yere, and then to take theyre wages of houshold after iiijd ob. a day, if they be present in courte, and then they to avoyde the next day after thefestes be done. Besides eche of them anothyr reward yerely, taking of the king in the resceyte of the chekker, and clothing wynter and somer, or xxs a piece, and lyverey in courte, at evyn amonges them all, iiij gallons ale ; and for wynter season, iij candels wax, vj candells peris’, iiij talwood, and sufficiaunt logging by the herberger, for them and theyre horses, nygh to the courte.
‘Also havyng into courte ij servauntes honest, to beare theyre trumpettes, pipes, and other instrumentes, and a torche for wynter nyghts, whyles they blowe to souper, and other revelles, delyvered at the chaundrey; and allway ij of these persons to continue in courte in wages, beyng present to warne at the kinge’s rydinges, when he goeth to horse-backe, asofteasitshallrequire, and by theyre blowinges the houshold meny may follow in the countries. And if any of these two minstrelles be sicke in courte, he taketh ij loves, one messe of grete mete, one gallon ale. They have no part of any rewardes gevyn to the houshold. And if it please the kinge to have ij strenge Minstrelles to contynue in like wise. The kinge wull not for his worshipp that his Minstrelles be too presumptuous, nor too familier to aske any rewardes of the lordes of his londe, remembring De Henrico secundo imperatore [1002-24] qui omnes Ioculatores suos et Armaturos monuerit, ut nullus eorum in eius nomine vel dummodo steterint in servicio suo nihil ab aliquo in regno suo deberent petere donandum ; sed quod ipsi domini donatores pro Regis amore citius pauperibus erogarent.’
MJ Holman (@mishjholman)
Sources:
The Household of Edward IV: The Black Book and the Ordinance of 1478
Chambers, Edward Kerchever. The Medieval Stage: volume one
