1. A Crowne Garland of Goulden Roses gathered out of England's Royal Garden, &c., by Richard Johnson, 1612. [In the Bodleyan Library.] 2. The Golden Garland of Princely Delight. 3. The Garland of Good-will, by T. D., 1631. 4. The Royal Garland of Love and Delight, by T. D. 5. The Garland of Delight, &c., by Tho. Delone. 6. The Garland of Love and Mirth, by Thomas Lanfier. 7. Cupid's Garland set round with Guilded Roses. 8. The Garland of Withered Roses, by Martin Parker, 1656. 9. The Shepherd's Garland of Love, Loyalty, &c. 10. The Country Garland. 11. The Golden Garland of Mirth and Merriment. 12. The Lover's Garland. 13. Neptune's fair Garland. 14. England's fair Garland. 15. Robin Hood's Garland. 16. The Maiden's Garland. 17. A Loyal Garland of Mirth and Pastime. 18. A Royal Garland of New Songs. 19. The Jovial Garland, 8th edit. 1691, &c. &c. &c.
This sort of petty publications had anciently the name of Penny Merriments: as little religious tracts of the same size were called Penny Godlinesses. In the Pepysian Library are multitudes of both kinds.
[Gg] [The term minstrel was not confined to a meer musician in this country any more than on the Continent.] The discussion of the question, whether the term minstrel was applied in England to singers and composers of songs, &c. or confined to the performers on musical instruments, was properly reserved for this place, because much light hath already been thrown upon the subject in the preceding notes, to which it will be sufficient to refer the reader.
That on the Continent the minstrel was understood not to be a meer musician but a singer of verses, hath been shown in notes [B], [C], [R], [Aa], &c.[1133] And that he was also a maker of them is evident from the passage in [C] p. [386], where the most noted romances are said to be of the composition of these men. And in [Bb] p. 417, we have the titles of some of which a minstrel was the author, who has himself left his name upon record.
The old English names for one of this profession were gleeman,[1134] jogeler,[1135] and latterly minstrel; not to mention harper, &c. In French he was called jongleur or jugleur, menestrel or menestrier.[1136] The writers of the middle ages expressed the character in Latin by the words joculator, mimus, histrio, ministrellus, &c. These terms, however modern critics may endeavour to distinguish and apply them to different classes, and although they may be sometimes mentioned as if they were distinct, I cannot find after a very strict research to have had any settled appropriate difference, but they appear to have been used indiscriminately by the oldest writers, especially in England, where the most general and comprehensive name was latterly minstrel, Lat. ministrellus, &c.
Thus joculator (Eng. jogeler, or juglar) is used as synonymous to citharista (note [K] p. [397]), and to cantor (p. [397]), and to minstrel (vid. infra, p. [425]). We have also positive proof that the subject of his songs were gestes and romantic tales ([V2] note).
So mimus is used as synonymous to joculator ([M] p. [399]). He was rewarded for his singing ([N] p. [400]) and he both sang, harped, and dealt in that sport [T2] which is elsewhere called ars joculatoria ([M] ubi supra).
Again histrio is also proved to have been a singer ([Z] p. [412]) and to have gained rewards by his verba joculatoria ([E] p. [388]). And histriones is the term by which the Fr. word ministraulx is most frequently rendered into Latin ([W] p. [410], [Bb] p. [416], &c.)
The fact therefore is sufficiently established that this order of men were in England, as well as on the Continent, singers: so that it only becomes a dispute about words, whether here under the more general name of minstrels, they are described as having sung.