In war he accompanied his prince to battle, and recited the might and
prowess of his leader and the martial virtue of his hosts. No court or
hall was complete without the presence of the bard, who enlivened the
feast with his minstrelsy and song. We also see that the Welsh bard,
like the primitive poets of Greece, and the troubadours of southern
France, sang his verses to the harp, whose dulcet strings have always
sent forth the national melodies. The chief bards were attached to the
courts and castles of their princes and chieftains; but a multitude of
inferior minstrels wandered the country singing to their harps, and were
in those primitive times received with open arms and welcome hospitality
in the houses of the gentry, and whither soever they went. Even within
living memory the English tourist has often met in the lonely dells and
among the mountain passes of Wales the wayworn minstrel, with harp strung
to his shoulders, ever ready to delight the traveller with the bewitching
notes of his lyre and song. But the modern bard of Wales is the
counterpart of his Scottish brother, of whom Scott wrote:--

"The way was long, the wind was cold,
The minstrel was infirm and old;
His withered cheeks and tresses gray
Seemed to have known a better day;
The harp, his sole remaining joy,
Was carried by an orphan boy.

* * * * *

No more on prancing palfry borne,
He carolled light as lark at morn;
No longer courted and caress'd,
High placed in hall, a welcome guest,