The Bard
Older Than Feudalism, the bard is a character within a story that acts as a poet, Wandering Minstrel, storyteller, and/or source of morale for people around them.
"The Bard" is also commonly used to refer to William Shakespeare.
In medieval Gaelic and British culture (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, Brittany and Cornwall) a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities. The word itself is loaned from Scottish Gaelic, deriving from the Proto-Celtic bardos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European, which roughly translates as "to raise the voice; praise."
In game cultures such as Dungeons & Dragons, the Bard is a versatile character able to both fight strategically and cast magic through the power of their songs, suggesting them to be magicians who use the power of emotion and creativity to conjure miracles into the world.
Spoony Bard is a subtrope of this, while The Storyteller is a supertrope. See also Wandering Minstrel.
Film
- Sir Robin's Minstrels in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, one of whom sings "Brave Sir Robin Ran Away".
- Geoffrey Chaucer is a hilarious one in A Knight's Tale
Literature
- In the Harry Potter series, Beedle the Bard was known for his collection of magical fables.
- A couple of these appear in the Deryni works:
- Kinkellyan, chief bard to the court of Transha, plays a part in the diplomatic welcome Kelson receives in The Bishop's Heir. Kelson's response (joining in a traditional dance) to what Kinkellyan and Dhugal begin seals the deal.
- Gwydion ap Plenneth, troubadour attached to Duke Alaric Morgan's court, featured in Deryni Checkmate. Aside from providing entertainment, he's quite useful in providing Morgan with public opinion feedback.
- Mercedes Lackey has an entire series, Bardic Voices, set around the conflict between the Free Bards and the Bardic Guild. Several have Magic Music.
- The Edema Ruh from The King Killer Chronicles seem to be a society of travelling entertainers including many bards.
- Bards feature in Mercedes Lackey's Heralds of Valdemar series, though much less prominently than the Heralds.
- A bard shows up in The Odyssey. He might even be Homer's Author Avatar.
Live-Action TV
- Xena: Warrior Princess: For a while Gabrielle wanted to be a traveling bard. She also met Homer, who it turns out is called "blind" because he closes his eyes when he recites.
Tabletop Games
- The Bard is one of the main playable classes in Dungeons and Dragons.
Video Games
- Leliana from the Dragon Age series used to be a traveling Bard (or rather, a spy/assassin who disguised herself as a traveling Bard -Apparently that's pretty common in Orlais). She comes with the Bard specialization and will teach it to other Rogues if her approval rating is high enough. Additionally, much of her dialogue includes stories and songs she learned during her time as a Bard.
- The Bard's Tale Trilogy has a few with the Magic Music power.
Web Comics
- Elan from The Order of the Stick, as seen in this scene from early in the comic.
Real Life
- Historically, William Shakespeare was known for his title as "The Bard of Avon."
- Skalds were poetic members of a group associated with Viking tradition, and were highly revered for their stories, since individual Vikings desired their glory to be remembered through tale and song.