Books and other items printed in Gaelic from 1871 to 1900 > Sar-obair nam bard Gaelach, or, The beauties of Gaelic poetry, and lives of the Highland bards

INTRODUCTION.
That tarmagants in tag and tatter,
. Pull loud in Earse begoud to clatter.
An1 rowp like ravin rowk ;
The deil sae deivit was wi ther yell,
That in the deipest pot of hell
He smorit them wi’ smouk.”*
In Saxonized England and Scotland, the bards and minstrels were denounced as idlers
who lived on the useful and industrious, levying their contributions on an unwilling peo¬
ple. In the reign of James II., 1449, an act was passed, which declared that “ gif there
be onie that makis them fiules, and are bairdes, thay be put in the kingis waird, or in his
irons for thair trespasses, as lang as thay have onie gudes of tbair awin to live upon, that
thair ears be nailed to the trone, or till ane uther tree, and thair eare cutted off, and ban¬
ished the cuntrie.” By a statute of Jas. VI., in 1579, those who were sangsters, tale¬
tellers, &c., and not in the special service of Lords of Parliament or boroughs as their
common minstrels, were to be scourged and burnt through the ear with a hot iron.
When the court of the Scottish kingdom was Gaelic, the ancient usages were closely
observed, and the class whose history is now under investigation, continued, at least occa¬
sional services, for ages afterwards. At coronations, a Highland bard attended in his her¬
aldic capacity, to repeat a poem on the royal genealogy. His attendance at the enthrone¬
ment of Malcolm II., 1056, and the oration then delivered, are recorded, and the same duty
was performed to Alexander III., in 1249, when the poet, we are informed, was clad in a
scarlet dress. Various notices are found in the Lord Treasurer’s accounts, of the ser¬
vices of seanachies and minstrels at royal entertainments, an extract from which will not
be thought uninteresting. Blind Harry, the author of the metrical life of Sir William
Wallace, sang his compositions to the king and nobility,+ and received frequent gratuities.
In 1490, and 1491, be was paid eighteen shillings. In the former year, “ Martin Clare-
schaw and ye toder Ersche Clareschaw, at ye kingis command,” were paid eighteen shil¬
lings, and shortly afterwards the same payment was made “ till ane ersche harper.” In
1496 are these entries :—
April. Giffin to James Myfson, the harpar at the kingis command, xiii s. iiij d.
June. To twa wemen that sang to the king,
Aug. 1. That same day giffin to the harpar with the ae hand,
' That samyn day, to a man that playit on the clarscha to the king,
1503. Item to Pate Harper, clarscha, ....
Item to Alexander Harper, Pate Harper, Pate Harper Clarscha,
Hew Brabanar and the blind harper, harperis, ilk ane.
Item to Hog the tale-teller, . . . •
Item to the Countes of Crawfurdis harper, .
In this year there were also sundry payments to minstrels: eight of which were English,
and four Italian. In 1507, there was paid xiiij to the ,£ crukit vicar of Dumfriese that
sang to the king.”
xm s.
ix s.
xmj s.
xiiij s.
xiiij s.
xiiij s.
* The Daunce. Ramsay’s Evergreen, I. p. 246.
j- Major, Lib. iv.