The Role of the Bard in the Middle Ages
and
Performing in the SCA

1. Introduction
   1. Personal credentials of the teacher
2. What is a Bard?
   1. Keeper of law and tradition
   2. Genealogist
      1. Royal Houses
      2. Peer-Associate
   3. Historian
   4. Newscaster
   5. Social commentator
   6. Entertainer
   7. Religious Leader
   8. Bards and the SCA
3. What is a Bardic Performance
   1. Solo performance
   2. Circle
      1. The 3 P’s: Pass, Perform, or Please
      2. How not to be a Rhino-bard
      3. When the Moose Song is appropriate and when it's not
   3. Feast and other entertainment
   4. Court
   5. Care and feeding of the Bard
4. What is performed at a bardic circle
   1. Instrumental pieces
   2. Songs
      1. Traditional songs and ballads
      2. Original songs and ballads
      3. Filk songs
      4. Group songs
      5. Modern songs adapted for the SCA
   3. Poetry
      1. Traditional poems
      2. Original poems
      3. Modern poems adapted for the SCA
   4. Stories
      1. Modern stories adapted for the SCA
      2. Historical Stories
      3. Traditional stories
      4. Stories from Period literature
      5. "No shit, there I was"
      6. SCA "urban legends"
      7. Amusing stories