Wade’s study, published today in The Review of English Studies, focuses on the first of nine miscellaneous booklets in the ‘ Heege Manuscript’. That made him investigate how, where, and why Heege had copied out the texts. “It was an intriguing display of humor and it’s rare for medieval scribes to share that much of their character,” Wade says. He then had a “moment of epiphany” when he noticed the scribe had written: ‘By me, Richard Heege, because I was at that feast and did not have a drink.’ James Wade, from Cambridge University’s English Faculty and Girton College, came across the texts by accident while researching in the National Library of Scotland. We have first names, payments, instruments played, and occasionally locations, but until now virtually no evidence of their lives or work.ĭr. Fictional minstrels are common in medieval literature but references to real-life performers are rare and fleeting. Throughout the Middle Ages, minstrels traveled between fairs, taverns, and baronial halls to entertain people with songs and stories. This breakthrough alters our perception of English comedic culture during the period bridging Chaucer and Shakespeare. The documents comprise the earliest known usage of the phrase ‘red herring’ in English, extremely rare forms of medieval literature, as well as a killer rabbit worthy of Monty Python. These boisterous texts – which include jests at the expense of kings, priests, and peasants advocate for audience inebriation and surprise them with physical comedy – provide fresh insights into the renowned British sense of humor and the significant role minstrels held in medieval society. Credit: National Library of ScotlandĪn unprecedented record of medieval live comedy performance has been identified in a 15 th-century manuscript. ‘Red herring’ appears 3-4 lines from the bottom of the page.
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