Books › A special loan exhibition of musical instruments, manuscripts, books, portraits, and other mementoes of music and musicians, formed to commemorate the tercentenary of the granting by King James I of a charter of incorporation to the Worshipful company of musicians in 1604 .., 1904 › scan 20
Scan 20
A special loan exhibition of musical instruments, manuscripts, books, portraits, and other mementoes of music and musicians, formed to commemorate the tercentenary of the granting by King James I of a charter of incorporation to the Worshipful company of musicians in 1604 .., 1904
4 lines. Read by computer on 1 October 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1dition of the Minstrels, there is nothing to show. Search has brought to light entries in various records of the Corporation of the City of London relating to the employment of Minstrels as far back as the year 1334, but they contain no mention of the guild. About the year 1500, however, we find in existence a "Fellowship of Minstrels and Freemen of the City of London," and we see that they too were suffering under precisely the same grievances as those of which the Minstrels of Edward IV. had complained. For in a petition to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen they set forth that owing to the "Continuell recorse of foreign* Minstrells daily resorting to the Citee out of all the contrays of England" they are "brought in such povertie and decaye that they be not of power or habilitie to have charges to pay lote and scot and do their dutie as other freemen doon." The plaint is thus in substance a repetition of that made by the King's Minstrels some thirty years or so before. And for a remedy the fellowship demand that it shall be ordained that "no maner of foreigner of whatsoever condition he be" shall under penalty of paying a fine of 3s. 4d. to the Fellowship be permitted to "occupie any Minstrelsy, singying, or playeng upon any jnstrument," within the city or its franchises. They also ask for the approval of certain rules and regulations which they had framed for the better government of the Fellowship. By these the members are forbidden to "rebuke, revile or greve each other with any sclanderous
3* By "foreign" here is clearly meant not only aliens, but all musicians who came into the City from other English towns and had not been admitted to the freedom of the Fellowship of Minstrels.
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.