MOSCOW, June 1. Recording of medieval stand-up comedy found in England, writes Phys.org, citing an article in The Review of English Studies.
Professor James Wade stumbled upon it while studying the Hige Manuscript. According to the expert, in the 1480s, the clerk copied a now-lost memo from an unknown minstrel who performed near the border of the counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
“A huge collection of medieval poetry, songs, stories has been lost. Manuscripts usually contain relics of high art. But this text is something else. It is extravagant, assertive, which is valuable. and over the nobility, and over the common people,» Wade said.
According to the specialist, there are several points indicating that the minstrel's concert was recorded in the booklet. Three studied texts are humorous. They are meant to be performed in front of an audience. For example, the narrator asks for a drink to be passed to him. There are jokes that grab the attention of the local audience and show awareness of the viewer's life.
Wade suggests that the minstrel recorded the performance because the story was hard to remember.
“This is a self-taught artist with a poor education. And he creates original and ironic material. It is very rare to find out about someone like that who lived at that time,” the scientist shares his impressions.
Many minstrels, probably worked during the day. For example, plowmen or merchants (peddlers). They performed at night or on weekends. Perhaps some of them traveled around the country, while others staged concerts in only a few venues.
It was previously reported that a woman found a Viking treasure in the basement of her parents' house while cleaning.