Track My Order
Help Centre
1300 187 187
Likes
My Wish ListsLogin / Join
Booktopia
Australia's local bookstore
The Songs and Travels of a Tudor Minstrel : Richard Sheale of Tamworth - Andrew Taylor

The Songs and Travels of a Tudor Minstrel

Richard Sheale of Tamworth

By: Andrew Taylor

Hardcover | 19 April 2012

At a Glance

Hardcover

$168.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $42.19 with

 or 

Aims to ship in 10 to 15 business days

A reconstruction of the life and works of a sixteenth-century minstrel, showing the tradition to be flourishing well into the Tudor period.

Richard Sheale, a harper and balladeer from Tamworth, is virtually the only English minstrel whose life story is known to us in any detail. It had been thought that by the sixteenth century minstrels had generally been downgradedto the role of mere jesters. However, through a careful examination of the manuscript which Sheale almost certainly "wrote" (Bodleian Ashmole 48) and other records, the author argues that the oral tradition remained vibrant at this period, contrary to the common idea that print had by this stage destroyed traditional minstrelsy. The author shows that under the patronage of Edward Stanley, earl of Derby, and his son, from one of the most important aristocratic families in England, Sheale recited and collected ballads and travelled to and from London to market them. Amongst his repertoire was the famous Chevy Chase, which Sir Philip Sidney said moved his heart "more than witha trumpet". Sheale also composed his own verse, including a lament on being robbed of 60 on his way to London; the poem is reproduced in this volume.

ANDREW TAYLOR lectures in the Department of English, University of Ottawa.
Industry Reviews
[A] carefully researched study of one minstrel, one manuscript, and a social world in which they were both living and already taking on an antiqued patina. * JOURNAL OF FOLKLORE RESEARCH *
Impressive, productive and insightful. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *
Contains a wealth of information useful to any student of early modern musical traditions. * HISTORY, December 2013 *
Provides a fascinating insight into a transitional moment in the history of English balladry. . This is an intriguing book, highly recommended. * FOLK MUSIC JOURNAL *
Offers important revisions to our understanding of the sixteenth century musician and his relationship to the various communities he served. * THE MEDIEVAL REVIEW *
[A] stimulating and well written study. [...] Historians, literary scholars, folklorists, anthropologists, and singers will all find [...] material to set them thinking. * RENAISSANCE QUARTERLY *
[A] valuable study. * REVIEW OF ENGLISH STUDIES *
Taylor's piecing together of Sheale's life and work adds greatly to our understanding of late minstrelsy and the social and political world that formed its background. * EARLY MUSIC *

You Can Find This Book In

Non-FictionLiterature, Poetry & PlaysAnthologies (non-poetry)History & Criticism of LiteratureLiterary Studies of Poetry & PoetsGeneral Literary StudiesClassical Literary StudiesArts & EntertainmentMusic

More in Anthologies (non-poetry)

Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia - Anita Heiss

Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia

Paperback

RRP $32.99

$30.25

Complete Poems Of Banjo Paterson - A. B. Paterson

Complete Poems Of Banjo Paterson

Hardcover

RRP $39.99

$35.35

12%
OFF
Australia's Most Unbelievable True Stories - Jim Haynes

Australia's Most Unbelievable True Stories

Paperback

RRP $22.99

$22.90

Growing Up in Australia - Various Authors

Growing Up in Australia

Paperback

RRP $32.99

$30.25

Now We Are Sixty - Christopher Matthew

Now We Are Sixty

Hardcover

RRP $26.99

$25.75

Growing Up Queer in Australia - Benjamin Law

Growing Up Queer in Australia

Paperback

RRP $32.99

$30.25

Cicero : Pro Marco Caelio - Marcus Tullius Cicero

Cicero

Pro Marco Caelio

Paperback

RRP $47.95

$41.35

14%
OFF
Meditations : The Philosophy Classic - Marcus Aurelius

Meditations

The Philosophy Classic

Hardcover

RRP $24.95

$23.75

This product is categorised by