Word of the Day -- Bard

The Bard.  Much celebrated in literature and history and even, as we see, RPGs.   Bard is defined as a tribal poet-singer skilled in composing and reciting verses on heroes and their deeds.  But really they are so much more.  They can excite, entice, call people to arms or war, to love, to good deeds, to celebrations and lamentations.  The word hails from Scotland and was first used around or about the 15th Century.  Interestingly enough, the word and profession wasn't always held in such high esteem.  It first referred to itinerant musicians and poets and they were thought to be lowlifes in early Scotland and Ireland.  Indeed, the word carries over into today's society, but it has a more highbrow connotation, singers and buskers and even coffee shops (such as the one here in Portland) go out of there way to call themselves Bards.