Again, in the reign of king Edward II., at the solemnization of the feast of Pentecost in the great hall at Westminster, when that prince was seated at dinner in royal state, and attended by the peers of the realm, a woman habited like a minstrel, riding upon a great horse trapped in the minstrel fashion, entered the hall, and, going round the several tables, imitated the gestures of a mimic, [607] and at length mounted the steps to the royal table, upon which she deposited a letter; and, having so done, she turned her horse, and saluting all the company, retired. The letter was found to contain some very severe reflections upon the conduct of the monarch, which greatly angered him; and the actress, being arrested by his command, discovered the author of the letter, who acknowledged the offence and was pardoned; but the door-keeper, being reprimanded on account of her admission, excused himself, by declaring it had never been customary to prevent the entry of minstrels and persons in disguisements, upon the supposition that they came for the entertainment of his majesty. [608] This woman had probably assumed the habit of a man, and a female was chosen on this occasion, according to the opinion of an eminent modern author, Dr. Percy, bishop of Dromore, [609] because, upon detection, her sex might plead for her, and disarm the king's resentment. It is, however, certain that at this time, and long before it, there were women who practised the minstrel's art, or at least some branches of it. We read of the glee-maidens, or female minstrels, from ᵹılƿ-meꝺen and ᵹlẏƿıenꝺe-maꝺen, in the Saxon records; and I believe, that their province in general was to dance and to tumble, whence they acquired the name of tomblesteres, from the Saxon ꞇumbıan, to dance or tumble, and saylours, from salio, to leap or dance, in the time of Chaucer, who uses both these denominations. [610]
XIX.—THE DRESS OF THE MINSTRELS.
It is very clear, that the minstrels wore a peculiar kind of dress by which they might readily be distinguished: the woman above mentioned is expressly said to have been habited like a mimic or a minstrel, and by that means obtained admission without the least difficulty to the royal presence. I remember also a story recorded in a manuscript, written about the reign of Edward III., of a young man of family, who came to a feast, where many of the nobility were present, in a vesture called a coat bardy, cut short in the German fashion, and resembling the dress of a minstrel. The oddity of his habit attracted the notice of the company, and especially of an elderly knight, to whom he was well known, who thus addressed him: "Where, my friend, is your fiddle, your ribible, or such-like instrument belonging to a minstrel?" "Sir," replied the young man, "I have no crafte nor science in using such instruments." "Then," returned the knight, "you are much to blame; for, if you choose to debase yourself and your family by appearing in the garb of a minstrel, it is fitting you should be able to perform his duty." [611] On a column in Saint Mary's church at Beverley in Yorkshire is the following inscription: "This pillar made the mynstrylls;" its capital is decorated with five men in short coats, and one of them holds an instrument like a lute. [612] The minstrels retained in noblemen's families wore their lords' livery; and those appertaining to the royal household did the same. The edict of Edward IV. against the pretended minstrels, mentioned above, expressly says, that they assumed the name, and the livery or dress, of the king's own minstrels. [613] The queen had also minstrels in her service, who probably wore a livery different from those of the king for distinction-sake. In a computus of expences, an. 11 Edw. III. in the Cotton Library, is this entry: "Johanni de Mees de Lorem. et Petro de Wurgund. ministrallis dominæ reginæ, facientibus ministralsias suas coram domino rege apud Eboracum;" for which they received from the king's own hand six shillings and eight pence each. [614] The following lines, which are somewhat to the purpose, occur in an old historical poem, in the Harleian Collection: they relate to sir Edward Stanley, who is highly praised by the author for his great skill in playing upon all kinds of instruments:
He stood before the kinge, doubtless this was true,
In a fayre gowne of cloth of gold, and of tilshewe,
Lyke no common mynstrel, to shew taverne mirth,
But lyke a noble man, both of lands, and of birth. [615]
And again, in the history of John Newchombe, the famous clothier of Newbury, usually called Jack of Newbury, it is said, "They had not sitten long, but in comes a noise [616] of musicians in tawnie coats; who, putting off their caps, asked if they would have any music?"
It appears that the minstrels sometimes shaved the crowns of their heads like the monks, and also assumed an ecclesiastical habit; this was probably an external garment only, and used when they travelled from place to place. The succeeding anecdote will prove that the ecclesiastics and the mimics were not always readily distinguished from each other: Two itinerant priests coming towards night to a cell of the Benedictines near Oxford, they there, upon the supposition of their being mimics, or minstrels, gained admittance; but the cellarer, the sacrist, and others of the brethren, disappointed in the expectation they had formed of being entertained with mirthful performances, and finding them to be nothing more than two indigent ecclesiastics, beat them, and turned them out of the monastery. [617]