Medieval entertainers
Bards sang about the heroes, accomplishments, and customs of a nation. Bards generally accompanied themselves on a harp or other stringed instrument. The bards of Ireland were greatly revered for their immense learning, and also feared for their ability to compose mocking poems that could destroy the honor-and hurt the feelings-of enemies and the innocent alike.
Troubadours were musicians who sang courtly songs in the language of Provençe, part of what is now southern France. Troubadours, who used rich and varied poetic forms, flourished in the 1100's and 1200's. In the canso, for example, the troubadour imagines the lady of his desires as the model of virtue and dedicates his talents to singing her praises. The troubadours' praise of physical love stood in direct contrast to traditional Christian morality.
Skalds were Scandinavian poets of the Middle Ages. Most skaldic poetry honored the rulers whom the skalds served. Many of these poems, or parts of them, are preserved in the Icelandic sagas of the 1100's and 1200's. Skaldic poetry was very complex in form. Instead of using rhyme, it linked words by the repetition of initial or internal sounds.
Minnesingers were German love poets who flourished from the late 1100's to the late 1300's. The minnesingers sang their poetry to music at court festivals. These songs were about the courtly devotion that the singers professed to feel for various noble ladies, who usually remained unapproachable.
Excerpt adapted from the "Bard," "Troubadour," "Skald," and "Minnesinger" articles, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999