JUGGLERS: ORIGIN, HOW THEY MADE A LIVING AND TYPES - HISTORY - 2025

The minstrels were medieval artists with different talents who made their living entertaining the public in courts, fairs, theaters or on the street. They generally went through the towns singing, playing musical instruments or reciting poems, although they also had other skills such as juggling, word and hand games, and dancing.

Some of them, the most famous, entertained kings and nobles in their castles. The others wandered through towns and squares carrying their street show. There were different types of minstrels according to their specialty, the most famous being the lyrical minstrels, who recited works by the troubadours.

Among the different types of players, the epic minstrels also stood out, who performed chants of deed and other narrative compositions; as well as the mimicking minstrels, who did imitations.

In exchange for their performances and performances, the minstrels received money or food. Sometimes they were hired at parties and banquets as part of the attraction and entertainment on offer.

Origin

One of the three meanings offered by the Dictionary of the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language (DRAE) on the definition of the minstrel is the following: “In the Middle Ages, a person who went from one place to another and recited, sang or danced or he played games before the people or before the nobles and kings.

The term minstrel comes from the Latin voice jocularis, which means funny or joker. He is also associated with poets and troubadours but, as we will see later, they have differences. The minstrel's main mission was to entertain and amuse, that is why the DRAE describes the minstrel as humorous or picaresque.

Broad scope of the term

This word resembles juggler (in English, juggler; in French, bateleur; and in German, gaukler). In other words, its use was extended or approximated to other entertainment trades: acrobats, acrobats, showmen, trainers, knife throwers, among others.

If we stick to the broad meaning of the term, its origins go back to China, Egypt, Athens and Rome, where they were used for the purpose of entertainment. In Egypt there are records of jugglers, as in the early Greek period described on vases.

In Greece, in the year 675 a. C., already existed the traveling minstrels, known as bards. They had traveled through Sparta, perhaps to participate in popular music and entertainment contests.

In Rome the entertainment during public performances included the performance of artists brought from the Orient.

There is also documentation in China that shows the appearance of the instruments used by minstrels. There the pipe was made, a musical instrument similar to the mandolin, as well as accessories for juggling.

Appearance in Europe

There is no precision about the appearance of minstrels in Europe. Some authors believe that they may have appeared in the 6th century and others consider that the French jongler did not emerge until the 11th century.

This coincides with the beginning of modern fairs, starting with the organization of open-air markets in the most important cities of Europe. One of these was the Champagne Fair in France, or the fairs and markets of England, Belgium, and Italy.

While the merchants exchanged goods brought from the East with those produced locally, they were offered all kinds of entertainment. The goal was to keep them happy, safe, and entertained.

For this reason, the figure of the minstrel grew to the rhythm of modern festivals and fairs. This kind of wandering gypsy went from fair to fair, like a feriero or circus character, presenting his show.

How did they earn a living?

The minstrels were wandering artists, with no fixed place to live. They went from one town to another to offer their public or private shows. They participated in city and town fairs, and were hired by the nobility.

Their clients or lords included kings, dukes, counts and marquises, who used them to entertain their guests during the festivities they offered.

In the street they presented their entertaining singing, declamation or hand shows and in exchange they received money and food. They recited poems or sang lyrical songs, being accompanied by musical instruments.

Sometimes singing or music was combined with storytelling, dancing, sleight of hand, or juggling. The children and their parents had a lot of fun in their impromptu performances.

Despite this, they were highly discriminated against by society. Many times they were associated with tramps and tricksters. They made a living by entertaining the public wherever the occasion allowed, whether in a public square, at a private presentation, or during festivals in the villages.

Types

In the Middle Ages there were several types of minstrels and they were classified according to their specialty or skill. However, the minstrel was not necessarily dedicated to a single genre, and could present shows of different themes and content to entertain the public.

Music, literature, acrobatics, games and narrations were included in the repertoire. Even the narration of war stories and the imitation of famous people: kings, princes or princesses, among others. According to their vocation, several types of minstrels can be defined:

Lyrical minstrels

They were those dedicated to reciting the lyrical works of troubadours.

Epic jugglers

They were dedicated to interpreting the chants of deed and other narrative compositions.

Cazurros

They were improvisers who recited verses in a disorderly way to make the audience laugh.

Rowers

His specialty was character imitation.

Goliardos

These were vagabond clergymen or libertine students, who liked to spend their lives between parties and fairs.

Minstrels

They were basically artists (musicians and singers). Unlike the others who wandered from one place to another, these were at the exclusive service of someone.

Jugglers and soldaderas

They were women artists dedicated to dancing and singing who, like men, had a wandering life.

Zaharrones

They used to dress up to imitate characters or make grotesque gestures to impress the public.

Traggers

These were the conjurers with great skill in their hands.

Famous jugglers

Troubadours and minstrels went from court to court entertaining the nobility and performing at theater shows. Then they were associated in brotherhoods or brotherhoods of minstrels. In 1331 in Paris a brotherhood called the Confrerie de St. Julian was opened.

There were famous minstrels in history. Between the 18th and 19th centuries the jugglers Paul Cinquevalli and Enrico Rastelli stood out, who performed impressive juggling with 10 balls. Other very prominent were Severus Scheffer, Kara and Rudy Horn, among others.

In addition to those already mentioned, there are three well-known minstrels of their time:

- Mattius, who was a minstrel with a prodigious memory. He recited romances and songs in Arabic, Greek, German, Galician and many more languages.

- Artuset, who served at the court of King Alfonso of Aragon, who is said to have handed him over to the Jews.

- Tabarín and Mondorf, who had some shows called Fantasías tabarínicas (1619 and 1625).

Difference between minstrels and troubadours

Although they are often confused, in reality there were differences between one and the other. The minstrels were characters who lived to entertain the public, due to their good-natured nature. They liked to be celebrated, to earn applause, and to be rewarded.

The minstrel, for example, was not the author of the verses he recited or the songs and music he performed. On the other hand, the troubadour does. He did not need the public, he was an artist who owed himself and created for him. For this reason, he could enjoy his art alone.

The figure of the troubadour and the minstrel were later merged into the contemporary singer-songwriter, who creates (music, songs) and performs at the same time.

The troubadours emerged in Provence (present-day southeast France) in the late 11th century. They were generally bohemian poets, sons of wealthy merchants who were not interested in money but in literature and the arts.

Minstrels possessing various talents became helpers and companions of the troubadours.

References

1. Minstrel. Retrieved March 20, 2018 from dle.rae.es
2. Álvarez, Francisco: Juggling - its history and greatest performers. Consulted from juggling.org
3. Lyrical juggler. Consulted of museodeljuglar.com
4. Troubadour. Consulted of juntadeandalucia.es
5. Minstrel. Consulted of es.wikipedia.org
6. List of jugglers. en.wikipedia.org
7. What is the difference between a troubadour and a minstrel? Consulted of muyinteresante.es