693 



MINOTAUR. 



MINT. 



604 



tone and a semitone A, c ; the major 3rd is composed of two whole 

 tones c, E. [KEY ; MODE.] 



MINOTAUR, son of Pasiphae, wife of Minos, by a bull. He lived 

 on man's flesh, for which reason Minos put him in the labyrinth 

 of Daedalus, feeding him with criminals, and afterwards with the 

 youths and maidens sent from Athens. Theseus, by help of Ariadne, 

 killed him, thereby delivering the Athenians from the obligation of 

 sending their children to be eaten. Such is the mythological story. 

 Its meaning is uncertain. It very likely belongs to that class of 

 mythological tales which express a political fact, and the connection 

 in which Theseus stands with the Minotaur adds probability to this 

 theory, for the exploits of Theseus are generally such effects as would 

 be produced in historical times by the course of events in the formation 

 of a polity. Such at least are his exploits in and about Attica, and 

 there appears no sound reason to exclude this from the number. It 

 may then perhaps be assumed that under the skying of the Minotaur is 

 shadowed forth the abolition of certain obstacles existing in the way 

 of free intercourse between Athens and Crete. But the descent of the 

 Minotaur from Pasiphae (riaffujxt?;) probably a name of the moon, and 

 the Bull, one of the zodiacal signs, may perhaps imply some astronom- 

 ical fact connected with the recurrence of the tribute paid to Crete. 

 The affection of Ariadne for Theseus, in mythological language, may be 

 taken to mean a union of Cretan and Attic tribes. Various other 

 interpretations of a more or less fanciful character have likewise been 

 suggested. The monster either in his early adventures, enclosed in the 

 labyrinth, and fighting with or subdued by Theseus, is frequently 

 represented by Greek artists. 



MINSTREL, from the French menestral, and that, in all probability, 

 from MinistreUus, a diminutive of the Latin minister, as a term applied 

 to a class of persons who were to administer by their skill to the 

 amusement of then- patrons. " The minstrels," says Percy (' Reliques 

 of Ancient Poetry '), " sang to the harp verses composed by themselves 

 or others." They appear to have accompanied their songs with mimicry 

 and action, and to have practised such various means of diverting as 

 were most admired in those rude times, and supplied the want of more 

 refined entertainment. These arts rendered them extremely popular 

 and acceptable in England and all the neighbouring countries, where 

 no high scene of festivity was considered complete that was not set off 

 with the exercise of their talents ; and where, so long as the spirit of 

 chivalry subsisted, they were protected and caressed, because their songs 

 tended to do honour to the ruling passion of the times and to encourage 

 a martial spirit. 



The minstrels seem to have been the genuine successors of the ancient 

 bards, who, under different names, were admired and revered, from the 

 earliest ages, among the people of Gaul, Britain, Ireland, and the north, 

 and indeed by almost all the first inhabitants of Europe, whether of 

 Celtic or of Gothic race ; but by none more than by our own Teutonic 

 ancestors, particularly by the Danish tribes. Among these they were 

 distinguished by the name of Scalds, a word which denotes " smoothers 

 and polishers of language." 



This derivation of the minstrels from the Scalds and Gleemen of the 

 north rests on fair historical testimony ; and the reader will not fail to 

 call to mind the incidents recorded of several Saxon and Danish princes, 

 who assumed the disguise of Gleemen, and chanted to the harp when 

 exploring a hostile camp. 



The name of minstrel is, however, Norman. " It is well known," 

 ays Percy, " that on the Continent, whence our Norman nobles came, 

 the bard who composed, the harper who played and sang, and even the 

 dancer and mimic, were all considered as of one community, and were 

 even all included under the common name of minstrels : " hence we 

 may add their Latin names of Miml, 8mrr&, Hitriartet, Jocidatvres, &c. 

 In France, however, the name of the class was Tronverre, Troitveur or 

 "lour. 



Jvculator Rcyi.i is an officer holding no less than three vills in the 

 return of the Domesday survey for Gloucestershire ; and in the same 

 survey, in Surrey, we have a Jomlatrix. Wace, Gaimar, and our own 

 historians William of Malmesbury and Huntingdon, all concur in the 

 statement that a warrior-minstrel of the name of Taillefer rode before 

 the conqueror's army previous to the battle of Hastings, flinging 

 up and catching his sword in defiance, and singing the song of 

 Roland. 



To trace the existence of the minstrel profession minutely through 

 the feigns immediately subsequent to the Conquest seems unnecessary. 

 Kahere, the founder of St. Bartholomew's Priory in Smithfield, is re- 

 '1 as the " mimus Rcgii Ifenrici I." 



Warton, in his ' History of English Poetry,' vol. ii., p. 105, has cited 

 everal instances of the high pay to minstrels : " During many of the 

 years of the reign of Henry VI.," he says, " particularly hi the year 

 1430, at the annual feast of the fraternity of the Holy Cross at 

 Abingdon, a town in Berkshire, twelve priests each receive fourpence 

 for singing a dirge ; and the same number of minstrels were rewarded 

 each with two shillings and fourpence, besides diet and horse-meat. 

 Some of these minstrels came only from Maydenhithe or Maidenhead, 

 a town at no great distance, in the same county." 



Fmm the time of Edward IV., however, the real character of the 

 original minstrel was becoming rapidly extinguished, and even the 

 name seems to have been gradually appropriated to the musician only. 

 At Queen Elizabeth's magnificent entertainment by Leicester, at 



Kenilworth Castle, in 1575, it is true a personage was introduced to 

 amuse the queen, in the attire of an ancient minstrel, who called him- 

 self " a squire minstrel of Middlesex ; " but this was, no doubt, a part 

 of the masquerade : it was the representation of a former day, not one 

 of an existing profession. Laneham ('Princely Pleasures of Kenil- 

 worth,' Nichols's ' Progresses of Queen Eliz.,' vol. i.) says : " After 

 three lowlie cooursiez he cleered his vois with a hem and a reach, and 

 spat out withal ; wiped hiz lips with the hollo of his hand, for fyling 

 his napkin, temper'd a string or too with hiz wreast, and, after a little 

 warbling on his harp for a prelude, came foorth with a sollem song, 

 warranted for stoory oout of king Arthurz acts." 



Before Elizabeth closed her reign the degradation of minstrelsy was 

 completed. By a statute in her 39th year, minstrels, together with 

 jugglers, bear-wards, fencers, common players of interludes, tinkers, 

 and pedlars, were at one sweep included among rogues, vagabonds, and 

 sturdy beggars, and adjudged to be punished accordingly. Ritsou 

 quotes some satirical lines in allusion to this statute, written by Dr. 

 Bull : 



" When Jesus went to Jairus' house, 

 Whose daughter was about to dye, 



He turn'd the minstrels out of doors, 

 Among the rascal company : 



Beggars they are with one consent, 



And rogues by act of parliament." 



This act put an end to the genuine old minstrelsy as a profession ; 

 and the modern definition of minstrel is no more than a " musician, a 

 player upon some instrument." 



MINT, the place where money is coined, from the Anglo-Saxon 

 mi/net (money or com), and that in all probability adopted from the 

 Latin moncta. 



Of the manner in which the Britons conducted the coinage of their 

 rude substitutes for money, few or no notices can now be recovered. 

 The passage from Cfesar, on which the supposition- had been founded 

 that the Value of the pieces of metal were determined only by weight, 

 has been proved by Mr. Hawkins (' Remarks on the Ancient British 

 Coins,' in ' Monumenta Historica Britannica,' p. eii.) to have been altered 

 in the 17th century. In all the principal manuscripts of the 'Com- 

 mentaries,' the passage supports the conclusion that the Britons had 

 brass and silver coins. Of the earlier coinage of the country a notice 

 will be found under NUMISMATICS. 



If the Romans actually comed money in Britain, of which, we pre- 

 sume, there can be no doubt, their mints were probably superintended 

 by the same officers as were employed in other parts of their dominions ; 

 but no documents have yet been produced in proof of it ; nor is any- 

 thing known respecting the mints of the British kings after the de- 

 parture of the Romans. 



On the early Anglo-'Saxon corns are found, in addition to the names 

 of the kings, those of other persons also upon the same piece, who are 

 with great probability conjectured' to have been the moneyers ; because 

 on later Anglo-Saxon money the names of those officers frequently 

 occur, with the addition of their title of office. From the circumstance 

 of their names being inscribed on the coins, if is reasonable to conclude 

 that they were responsible for the integrity of the money ; and like- 

 wise that they were the principal officers of the mint. The silence 

 also of the Anglo-Saxon laws and of Domesday Book as to other officers 

 of the mint, whilst they so frequently mention the moneyers, strongly 

 corroborates the opinion that they were the only persons employed in 

 the Anglo-Saxon and early Anglo-Norman mints, except perhaps occa- 

 sional labourers ; but an officer called the reeve seems to have had 

 some connection with the mint, or some jurisdiction over it. In the 

 reign of Henry I. the money was so much debased as to call for 

 exemplary punishment on the offenders, which is said to have been 

 inflicted on moneyers only, without the least notice ot any other 

 officer. (' Sax. Chron.,' sub An. 1125.) This was also the case upon 

 a similar occasion in the reign of Henry II. (' Chron. Joh. abb. S. 

 Petri de Burgo,' Sparke, p. 78.) 



After the Norman conquest the officers of the mint appear to have 

 been, in some degree, under the authority of the court of Exchequer, 

 as they were admitted to their respective offices in that court, and took 

 the usual oath of office before the treasurer and barons. 



Ruding observes that if the gerefa, or reeve, above mentioned was 

 not the presiding officer of the Anglo-Saxon mints, he is unable to 

 ascertain at what period it became necessary to place some permaneut 

 superintending authority in the mint to prevent any ill-practices 

 of the moneyers ; but he thinks it probable that such an officer was 

 appointed between the 26 Henry II., when the moneyers alone were 

 punished for the adulteration of the money, and the third year of 

 Richard I., when Henry de Cornhill accounted for the profits of the 

 cambium of all England, except Winchester. (Madox, ' Hist. Exch.,' 

 vol. ii.) 



In the Anglo-Saxon and the early Norman periods there were many 

 mints beside the king's, and some were continued to a much later 

 time. Barons and bishops struck money, especially in King Stephen's 

 reign, and in two or three instances the privilege of coining was 

 granted to greater monasteries. Wolsey's exercise of this franchise, 

 both as bishop of Durham and archbishop of York, is well known : 

 and there are coins of the archbishops of Canterbury, distinctly marked 

 as such, at intervals from Jaenberht, consecrated in 793, to the close of 



