animals. Vagrant minstrels were too often mere beggars or thieves or corrupters of public morals. Yet it is only just to remember that the minstrel class was artistically serviceable in many ways.
Attention has been called to the guilds of the Meistersinger
in Germany (sec. 41). Somewhat similar institutions appeared
much earlier in England, France and the Low Countries, though
they were not governed by such fantastic rules, nor were they
ordinarily so secret and exclusive. They remind us of the bands
of Gipsies that still exist in many parts of the world. Indeed, it
seems that between them and the modern Gipsies there is some
real connection.
The earliest mention of a personage called 'The King of the Jugglers'
is in England at the time of William the Conqueror (before 1100). Several
such 'Kings' are named in the 13th century at different places.
For over four centuries the same title recurs, often with civil privileges
conferred by statute. The name implies the existence of organized societies.
Several such brotherhoods are matters of record, notably the
Confrérie de St. Julien, first recognized in Paris in 1331, and the Musicians'
Company, established in London in 1472, the latter of which still exists in
honor. These are but samples of a multitude of such organizations that
were once common in France and neighboring countries, and which varied
widely in character, from the almost casual group of mere itinerants to the
permanent town or city union that assumed to dictate within its boundaries
who could ply the musical trade or profession. The connection of
these mediæval institutions with the later guilds of town-musicians, especially
in Germany, can be traced in considerable detail, as also with the
modern learned and artistic musical societies and academies in various
lands.
51. Instruments.—Folk-music and minstrelsy were prolific in the invention and application of instruments. The multitude of records here is bewildering, especially in illuminations of manuscripts, architectural carvings, and poetic and other literary references. In the search for novel effects the variety of instrumental forms in widespread use was probably greater than ever since, for with the rise of scientific instrument-making in the 17th century and of real instrumental styles of composition a few main types drove the rest from the field. It is likely that dancing stimulated this attention to instruments, since they were useful for marking its rhythm and figures and for enriching its interest. But another stimulus was the desire for genuine accompaniments for singing—a desire which, like the notion of the solo song itself, was lacking in the current contrapuntal
