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bard
bard [Ir. and ScG bard; W bardd; Bret. barzh; cf. L bardus; Gk. bārdos]. The current standard English definition of this Celtic word, denoting a poet of exalted status, i.e. the voice of a nation or people, dates from Thomas Gray's use of it in his poem ‘The Bard’ (1757). Although Gray's borrowing of the word seems to owe most to Welsh tradition, the role and status of the bard varied from one Celtic nation to another. Among the ancient Continental Celts, according to Roman commentators, the bards were singers and poets who occupied a lower status than the vates (interpreters of sacrifice) or the druids, who commanded the highest esteem. In Ireland the bard held a lower rank in the seven orders of fili [poet], of which the highest was the ollam; the bard had not mastered the 350 stories and twelve years of study required to become an ollam. In Wales the power and high position of the bard preceded and outlasted that of hereditary princes. The earliest bards, dating from the 6th century, included Aneirin, Taliesin, Blwchbardd, Cian, and Talhearn Tad Awen; they were known as the cynfeirdd [W, early or original poets], and their poetry as hengerdd. In following centuries, only the pencerdd [W, chief poet or musician], whose training lasted nine years, was allowed to teach a bard in Wales. In time Welsh bards formed the Bardic Order or Bardd Teulu [W, household poet, poet of retinue], serving kings and princes for more than 1,000 years, forming a distinct segment of society with its own privileges. A bard might have assumed the role of the cyfarwydd [W, storyteller], although this is not certain. Great assemblies of bards began as early as 1176; the assembly later became known as eisteddfod. A great flowering of Welsh bardic poetry came in the 12th and 13th centuries, concurrent with the zenith of native political power before the Anglo-Norman conquest. Bards of this time were known as gogynfeirdd [W, rather early poets]. Elements of Welsh bardic philosophy were mixed with Christian belief by Llywelyn Siôn in Barddas (late 16th cent.); see COSMOGONY. The 18th-century Iolo Morganwg placed the seat of bardism in Glamorganshire in south Wales. In Gaelic Scotland a bard was a highly trained poet in the service of an hereditary chief. Bards were generally men of considerable status and authority in Celtic literature, although impoverished bardic scholars appear in a number of Irish narratives.
More than 1,000 bards are cited in Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh literatures, and there are numerous claimants to the titles of ‘Bard of Ireland’ and ‘Bard of Wales’. Perhaps Amairgin and Dallán Forgaill were denoted by ‘Bard of Ireland’ more often than others. The title ‘Last of the Bards’ has been given posthumously to several poets, notably Fearflatha Ó Gnímh (c.1540–c.1640), bard of the O'Neills of Clandeboye, and Dòmhnall Mac Mhuirich (d. c.1745), the last with classical rather than vernacular training. |
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JAMES MacKILLOP. "bard." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES MacKILLOP. "bard." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-bard.html JAMES MacKILLOP. "bard." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-bard.html |
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bard
bard a poet, traditionally one reciting epics and associated with a particular oral tradition. Recorded from Middle English, the word is of Celtic origin (bàrd in Scottish Gaelic, bard in Irish and Welsh). In Scotland in the 16th century it was a derogatory term for an itinerant musician, but was later romanticized by Sir Walter Scott.
Bard of Avon a name for Shakespeare, recorded from the late 19th century. Bardolatry excessive admiration of Shakespeare. The term is first recorded in 1901 in George Bernard Shaw's Preface to Three Plays for Puritans. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "bard." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "bard." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-bard.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "bard." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-bard.html |
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bard
bard / bärd/ • n. archaic or poetic/lit. a poet, traditionally one reciting epics and associated with a particular oral tradition. ∎ (the Bard or the Bard of Avon) Shakespeare. DERIVATIVES: bard·ic / -dik/ adj. bard2 • n. a slice of bacon placed on meat or game before roasting. • v. [tr.] cover (meat or game) with slices of bacon. |
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"bard." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "bard." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-bard.html "bard." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-bard.html |
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bard
bard in Wales, term originally used to refer to the order of minstrel-poets who composed and recited the poems that celebrated the feats of Celtic chieftains and warriors. The term bard in present-day usage has become synonymous with poet, particularly a revered poet. |
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"bard." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "bard." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-bard.html "bard." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-bard.html |
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bard
bard Celtic minstrel-poet, etc. XIV. — Gael., Ir. bárd, W. bardd :- OCelt. *bardos.
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T. F. HOAD. "bard." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "bard." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-bard.html T. F. HOAD. "bard." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-bard.html |
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bard
bard
•Assad, aubade, avant-garde, backyard, ballade, bard, Bernard, bombard, canard, card, charade, chard, couvade, croustade, Cunard, facade, glissade, guard, hard, ill-starred, interlard, lard, Montagnard, nard, pard, petard, pomade, promenade, regard, retard, rodomontade, roulade, saccade, Sade, salade, sard, shard, unmarred, unscarred, yard
•Bayard • galliard • Savoyard
•Svalbard
•bombarde, Lombard
•Goddard • blackguard • vanguard
•Asgard • safeguard • Midgard
•bodyguard • lifeguard • Bogarde
•coastguard • mudguard • rearguard
•fireguard • Kierkegaard • diehard
•blowhard
•Jacquard, placard
•flashcard • railcard • racecard • Picard
•scorecard • showcard • phonecard
•Ballard, mallard
•Willard • Abelard • bollard • Barnard
•Maynard, reynard
•communard • Oudenarde • Stoppard
•Gerard • Everard • brassard
•Hansard, mansard
•Trenchard • Ostade • leotard
•boulevard • scrapyard • farmyard
•barnyard • graveyard • brickyard
•shipyard
•dockyard, stockyard
•foreyard • courtyard • boatyard
•woodyard • junkyard • churchyard
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Cite this article
"bard." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "bard." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-bard.html "bard." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-bard.html |
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