MUSI C. 
not thinking it fafe to pafs through France, failed to the 
Adriatic, and, being fhipvvrecked, landed upon the coaft 
of- Italy. He put on the habit of a pilgrim, with an in¬ 
tention of taking his journey in this difguife through 
Germany ; but, being difcovered, he was arrefted and 
confined clofe prifoner in a caftle, by- Leopold duke of 
Auftria, who fold him to the emperor Henry VI. No 
one knew, but thofe immediately concerned, where he 
was. Blondel, his minftrel, or bard, miffing his royal 
matter, wandered through a vaft extent of country in 
fearch of him. After a confiderable time he came to the 
caftle where he was confined; and, enquiring whether there 
were any prifoners in it, was anfwered that there was one 
prifoner, who had been there a year, but who he was re¬ 
mained a fecret. Blondel could not obtain a fight of the 
prifoner; but he thought of an expedient to fatisfy him- 
felf whether it was his royal matter or not. Placing him- 
felfover againft a window of the tower, wherein the cap¬ 
tive was, he began to fing a Proven9al fong, which they 
had compofed together : when Blondel had fung the firft 
part, Richard immediately began the other, and fung it 
through ; by which means Blondel difcovered the condi¬ 
tion of his fovereign, and immediately returned to Eng¬ 
land, that meafures might be taken for his liberation. 
Henry III. in the s6rh year of his reign, gave forty 
{hillings and a pipe of wine to Richard his harper, and 
likewife a pipe of wine to Beatrice the harper's wife. 
Edward I. his fon and fucceflor, a fhort time before he 
afcended the throne, took his harper with him to the 
Holy Land ; and, when Edward w r as wounded with a poi- 
foned knife at Ptolemais, the mufician ruffied into the 
royal apartment and killed the aflaffin. But we have not 
many inftances of fighting muficians : their bufinefs, in 
war, feems to be to make others fight. John of Gaunt, 
king of Caftile and Leon, and duke of Lancafter, granted 
a charter to the minftrels, bearing date the i2d of Auguft, 
in the 4th year of Richard II. in titled, “ Carta de Roy de 
Mwjiraela." This charter included the counties of Staf¬ 
ford, Derby, Nottingham, Leicefter, and Warwick ; it 
gave the governor the title of King of the Minfirels. He 
held court; and had power to apprehend and arreft, to 
impannel juries, hear plaints, and determine controverfies 
between the members of his fociety. Edward IV. like¬ 
wife granted a charter to the minftrels, which bears date 
April 24th, 1469, making them one body and common¬ 
alty perpetual; and Charles I. in the 11 th year of his 
reign, granted them another charter. About the year 
1330, Philip de Valois granted the minftrels of Paris a 
charter; and in the year 1331, Jaques Grure and Hugucs 
le Lorrain, two of the minftrels, built the church of St. 
Julien des Meneftriers, and the company were allowed pa¬ 
trons, governors, and adminiftrators, of the fame. But 
the licentioufnefs of their condud caufed them to be ba- 
nifhed by Philip Auguftus, in the firft year of his reign ; 
they were however recalled by his fuccelfor. In the reign 
of Charles VI. in the year 1401, the minftrels obtained 
another charter ; but at length their infolent demeanour 
degraded them in the public opinion, and they funk into 
total negled, and, from being leafed at the tables of kings 
end heroes, were neceffitated to become companions of 
the loweft orders of the people. 
Among the Irifh and Scotch, not only their kings, but 
every petty chief, had anciently their bards attending 
them; and the chief bards had a number of inferior ones 
in their train. The duties of the chief bards were to at¬ 
tend their patrons to the field of battle, to animate them 
by their verfe, and by their mufic; to celebrate their 
■achievements; to write birth-day odes, and funeral elegies; 
and to fing their odes to the modulations of the harp. 
Upon particular oceafions, when they celebrated their 
vidories, .or lamented their chiefs flain in battle, they 
would all join in one chorus. Many of thefe odes are yet 
preferved ; and Mr. O’Halloran mentions, in his Hiftory 
of the Antiquities of Ireland, that he has feveral of them 
in his pofl'eflion, and that they are beautiful and animat- 
Vql. XVI. No. 11 it. 
297 
ing in the higheft degree. The Irifh excelled greatly in 
compofition and execution in mufic; Polydore Virgil de¬ 
clares, Hiberni funt mttfica perilijjlmi. The bards among 
the ancient Irifh compofed a part of the body of the Li¬ 
terati. The Literati were confidered as a body of men of 
the firft confequence. The arch-druid, which was a 
dignity of the higheft truft, and conferred on fome branch 
of the royal family, was their chief; they were exempt 
from all civil jurifdidion, and acknowledged no power 
but that of the arch-druid ; they poffefled large eftates, 
which were fettled on them ; were not fubjed to public 
taxes, and their perfons and property were inviolable ; it 
was facrilege to moleft them. After the introdudion of 
Chriftianity, fome of the bards ferved likewife in the ca¬ 
pacity of clergymen ; but, living in the full enjoyment 
of fuch fingular immunities, the members of their order 
became fo very numerous, and fo infufferably infolent, 
that their chiefs retrenched their fraternity, and lefiened 
their privileges. 
The genius of the Scots has in different ages confpicu- 
outty appeared, not only in the more ufei'ul branches of 
literature, but likewife in poetry and mufic ; and, as long 
as a pure and genuine tafte remains, the mufic of the old 
Scottifh fongs will continue to be admired. The melo¬ 
dies, particularly thofe of a melancholy caft, are fo very 
chafte, and exprefs the paffions fo ftrongly, that their va¬ 
rious ftrains feem to breathe the language of hope, def- 
pondency, or Application. The vulgar opinion that 
David Rizzio was the compofer of the old Scottifh melo¬ 
dies, is an idle conjedure, which has long fince been ex¬ 
ploded. Many of them were known as far back as James I. 
of Scotland ; and, as this monarch is celebrated by feveral 
liiftorians, not only as a confiderable poet, but alfo as a 
great theorift in mufic, and an excellent performer on the 
lute and harp ; fome have ftyled him “ the father of the 
Scottifh fongs." In the royal exhibition at Somerfet- 
houfe, in 1793, there was a pidure of James playing on 
the harp ; and in the moulding of the under part of the 
frame was written, “ King James the firft of Scotland, 
the original inventor of the Scotch mufic.” Some have 
pretended to trace back the old Scottifh melodies long be¬ 
fore the reign of James I. and have thought them to be 
the wild tunes of the fhepherds or highland-pipers; and 
have likewife imagined the more modern ones to be the 
effufions of the ftrolling minftrels. James I. IV. and V. 
kings of Scotland, were great friends to the bards ; poetry 
and mufic during their reigns were in great eftimation. 
The Scottifh nobility, pofl’eifed of large eftates and a nu¬ 
merous vafl'alage, lived, during the vigour of the feudal 
fyftem, in the greateft ftate and fplendour ; their-fellivais 
were conduded with the utmoft magnificence, and every 
chief of a clan entertained his bard with honourable dif- 
tindion. In the courfeof time, the order of bards dege¬ 
nerated into ftrolling minftuels, who wandered though the 
country with their harps. There was one of them living 
about fifty years ago, called Roderic Dali : his compofi- 
tions were in great repute among the highland families of 
diftindion ; he was thought a fine player on the harp, and 
ufed to fing in a very pleating manner. 
Moft nations have agreed in introducing mufic into 
their religious ceremonies. That art was early admitted 
into the rites of the Egyptians and Hebrews ; and that it 
conftituted a confiderable part of the Grecian and Roman 
religious fervice, appears from the writings of many an¬ 
cient authors. The fame pleafing art loon obtained an 
introdudion into the Chriftian church, as we have al¬ 
ready noticed. There remain no fpecimens of the mufic 
employed in the worfhipof the primitive Chriftians ; but 
probably it w’as at firft the fame with that ufed in the 
pagan rites of the Greeks and Romans. The pradice 
of chanting the pfalms was introduced into the weftern 
churches by St. Ambrofe, about 350 years after Chrift. In 
the year 600, the method of chanting was improved by 
St. Gregory the Great. So early as the age of Conftantine 
the Great, prior to either of the periods laft mentioned, 
4 G 'when 
