The bards of ancient times do not appear to have been so highly honoured, or so liberally remunerated. We read, that Alexander the Great was accompa nied, in his expedition to India, by a poet, or bard, named Cherylus, who proposed to the hero to cele brate, in song, his mighty exploits. Alexander per mitted him, only on condition, that the poet should receive a piece of gold for every good verse, and a blow for every bad one. The scholiast Horace, to whom we are indebted for this anecdote, adds, that the unfortunate minstrel was beaten almost to death, in consequence of this singular convention_ • The khalifs, and other princes of the East, appear to have had their bards, as well as the nations of the North, and the ancient Greeks. There are bards, too, in the Ladrone islands, and among other savage tribes, according to the testimony of different voya gers. Sir John Mandeville, who travelled into the Levant in I310, relates, that when the Emperor of Cathay, or the grand Khan of Tartary, is at table, with the great men Of his court, no one is courage ous enough to address him, except his minstrels,. Whose office it is to amuse him. The same traveller adds, that these musicians of the court are considered as officers of distinguished rank. Leo Africanus also makes mention of poets of the court whom he found at Bagdad about the year DM The institution of bard., therefore, may be said to have prevailed in almost every country of the world.
Though we may presume, that the ancient Bri tons of the southern parts of our island had original ly as fine a taste and genius for poetry as those of the north, yet few or none of, their poetical compo sitions have been preserved, or descended to our own times. This is to be accounted for, by the sweated conquests to which this part of our island was sub jected by the Romans, Saxons, and Normans. But in the mountains of Wales, and of Scotland, where the aboriginal Celts were permitted to retain undis turbed possession of their territory, the native taste for minstrelsy flourished without interruption ; and gave birth to numerous productions, which time has spared even to the present day. Nennius, who wrote in the ninth century, in the reign of Prince Mcrvya, makes honourable mention of several of the Cambrian bards. He says, that Talhairan v. as fa mous for his verses ; as also, Aneurin, Taliessin, Llywarch-hen, and Chian, who flourished in the sixth century. Of these bards, the compositions of three are still extant ; viz. Aneurin, Talks .sin, and Llywarch-hen. The minstrels of Scotland were not less celebrated in their day, insomuch, that it stamped reputation upon a proficient in this art to say, " that he came out of the North countrie." A great number of beautiful ballads, which we may reasonably conclude to have been the production of these ancient poets, have descended to our times ; but, in most cases, the name of the poet has perish ed. To this, however, there is one very illustrious exception, in the case of the poems ascribed to Os sian, the son of Fingal, who is said to have reigned over a district of the Highlands of Scotland, in the second or third century. If we admit these poems
to be genuine, or to have received but a few modern additions and embellishments, they are calculated to give us a very exalted idea of the powers and con ceptions of the ancient bards. It is not in this place that we propose to discuss the much agitated ques tion, of the authenticity of these poems; but there is one remark upon the subject, made by Warton, which may, without impropriety, he here introduced. "Notwithstanding," says that author, "the difference between the Gothic and the Celtic rituals, the poems of Ossian contain many visible vestiges of Scandina vian superstition. The allusions in these poems to spirits who preside over the different parts, and di rect the yahoos operations of nature ; who send storms over the deep, and rejoice in the shrieks of the shipwrecked mariners ; who call down lightning, to blast the forest, or cleave the rock, and diffuse ir resistible pestilence among the people, beautifully conducted and heightened under the skilful band of a master bard, entirely correspond with the Runic sys tem, and breathe the spirit of its poetry." !list. of Eng. Poetry, vol. i. Hiss. 1.
As letters have become generally diffused, the in stitution of bardism has sunk in dignity, and become corrupted ; the exercisc,of this profession having be come less necessary or important. It is, however, but a very few years since the Highland chieftains, ceased to have family bards ; and there arc still re spectable remains of this institution in Ireland and in \Vales. After the reign of Henry VII. the British bards seem to have degenerated into troops of strol ling minstrels and play-actors, disgraced by the meanness of their conduct, and the licence of their man nets ; insomuch, that it was found necessary to enact laws, in order-to restrain their irregularities. A cu rious statute of Oueen Elizabeth, of the year 1567, shews. the degraded condition in which the bards were at that period. It premises, that having found that a number of pretended minstrels, rhymers, and bards, are in the practice of molesting the inhabitants of Wales, and hindering the expert minstrels, rhym ers, and musicians, from executing their profession, and improving it ; willing, therefore, to rectify this abuse, and knowing that Sir William Mostyn, and his ancestors, have enjoyed the gift of poetry, and of playing on the silver harp ; therefore, we enjoin you, Squire Beoley, Squire Griffith, Ellis Price, and Sir William Mostyn, to assemble on the first Monday after the feast of Trinity ; to choose out the best minstrels of the principality of Wales, and to remit the others to till the ground, or to exercise necessary trades," &c.
In proportion as these minstrels lost their respect ability and consideration, their compositions sunk in merit, and became as degraded as their persons or their manners. See Evans de Bardis. Warton's Hist. of Eng. Poetry. Jones' Relics of the Welsh J3ards. Suard's Melanges de Liter. vol. ii. (in)