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lesser entertainers were manifold,
and their activities were varied. In
southern Europe, a musician might
go by the title of joglar or joglaresa,
while their northern counterparts
were called jongleurs. The skillsets
of these musicians encompassed
feats of dexterity, fluency in any
instrument required for dancing,
singing songs of love and heroes,
or simply playing the fool. Yet,
in spite of the joy they brought,
itinerant entertainers were not
only on the lowest rung of the social
order but were also outside of the
protection of the law. One example
of joglar song is the work of Martin
Codax (c.1250), written in the style
of cantiga de amigo, a genre that
told stories from a woman’s point
of view. Codax, for example, evoked
the emotions of a woman left on the
shore in Vigo (a fishing town in
Galicia, Spain), waiting for her
beloved to come home from sea.Tavern players
Another type of medieval musician
at this time, the goliards, had a lot in
common with traveling musicians,
but were, in fact, unemployed
clerics known for playing bawdy
songs in taverns that satirized
society at all levels. The Carmina
Burana Manuscript (c.1200–1300)is the main surviving source of
goliard song. The title ménestrel
(minstrel) meanwhile refers to
one who is a “little minister,” in
service perhaps at court, or to
a city. Armed with finely honed
musical skills and a claim to a
patron’s protection, a minstrel
might hope to escape some of
the opprobrium that was often
levelled at a jongleur. By the
14th century, however, the term
ménestrel was increasingly used
in France as a term to describe all
urban musicians—many of whom
played in taverns or on the streets.Songs in German
The genre of courtly love extended
all the way from Latin Europe to the
German-speaking peoples, where
the Minnesinger sang songs about
chivalric romances. Like his French
counterpart, the Minnesinger was
normally welcome in noble houses
as a social equal, and examples of
early Minnelieder (“love songs”)
suggest that trouvère songs were
known in Germany. By 1200, the
style asserted a stronger identity
characterized by the work of Walther
von Vogelweide—but, compared to
the works from Spanish and French
traditions, few Minnelieder survive
with contemporary melodies. ■EARLY MUSIC 1000–1400
Medieval instruments
Many of the instruments
associated with European
medieval music have their
roots in North Africa, Central
Asia, and the Balkans. These
included the lute (a string
instrument with a back
shaped like the shell of a
tortoise), the rebec (a spoon-
shaped bowed instrument),
and the shawm, the precursor
of the oboe. The European
tabor (drum) is akin to the
Indian tabla while nakers
were related to the Asian
naqqara (kettledrums). The
English word “fanfare”
probably derived from Arabic
anfar, meaning trumpets.
Early poets often
accompanied themselves on
the vielle, a bowed string
instrument supported on the
collarbone. A vielle could have
anywhere from three to six
strings passing over a flat
bridge, or string support. This
favored a harmonic style of
playing with many strings
sounding at once—unlike the
arched bridge of the modern
violin, which allows individual
strings to be sounded, thus
favoring melody.Jongleurs Low-born
itinerant storytellers,
jugglers, and acrobats,
who also danced
and sang.Minstrels Musicians
who initially performed
for the nobility and later
on street corners and in
public taverns.Goliards Traveling
songsters who were former
clerics. They often sang
bawdy and satirical verses
in Latin “a cappella.”Troubadours Poets and
composers who performed
songs for the nobility that
were inspired by the
culture of courtly love.Musicians fitted
into distinct
categories that
were defined by
social status
and their typical
audience.Europe’s secular
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