Bard

Bard generally refers to a poet and singer, with the particular meaning differing for various countries and epochs.

• In Celtic society, a bard was a professional poet, paid by a monarch to praise the sovereign's activities. If the monarch failed to pay the proper amount, the bard would then compose a satire. In modern Wales the Gorsedd of Bards is a society whose honorary membership is those who have done great things for Wales.

• In later English society, bards performed for the people as well as the nobility, travelling town to town and performing poems and ballads. Many bards did not write original songs, but rather sang traditional folk songs, often adding additional verses or composing new music for them. The Elder Edda, a 13th century compilation of Norse mythology, was composed mostly by Norwegian and Icelandic bards called skalds.

• In the Soviet Union, singers that were outside the establishment were called bardss. They became popular since the 1960s.

Particular bards

• When capitalized, as in "The Bard", it usually refers to William Shakespeare.
• Bard the Bowman is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
• In Dungeons & Dragons;, bard is character class representing a magic-using minstrel who combines aspects of warrior, rogue, and wizard into one.

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Bard College is a liberal arts school in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.