Greetings all!
>_Bard_, by MORGAN Llywelyn, is a historical novel about the coming of the
>Irish to Ireland, with a bard as the central character.
Bard is an excellent book, I would agree here.
Two other good readings:
Taliesin (and others in the series) by Stephen Lawhead. Kind of a different
twist on the Arthurian legends, it focuses on Taliesin and the early
history of the family that eventually produced Merlin. Lawhead also
emphasizes Merlin's role as a bard, too, which is somewhat interesting.
Also, the Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCafferey are tremendously
wonderful in their use of the 'harper' a bard-like entity in her fictious
world. One of the more recent novels in the series Masterharper of Pern
really focuses on a legendary bard of the Pernish world.
As for guilds, let me take the opportunity to shamelessly plug The
Soerbaird, a guild of bards I founded a few months back to do exactly what
the traditional bard did. We do a lot of composing and recording, acting as
both entertainer and historian. We're also gaining some influence in
certain circles, and hope to play important roles in the developing lands
of Norrah as mediators and messengers as well.
You can find more about The Soerbaird in our Annals,
http://www.soerbaird.com
Listen and Live!
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Jythri, Pencerdd of The Soerbaird
http://www.soerbaird.com