minstrel

A minstrel is a performer who sings, plays instruments, or recites poetry and stories, traditionally on itinerant assignments in medieval Europe. The term, rooted in medieval Western Europe, refers to professional entertainers who traveled between courts, towns, and markets. Minstrels were part of a broader circle of learned and popular musicians, poets, and storytellers who circulated news, history, and romance.

In medieval society, minstrels performed in noble courts, town squares, festivals, and traveling itineraries. They often specialized in song, instrumental music, or storytelling, and accompanied themselves on fiddle, rebec, lute, psaltery, or flute. Repertoire spanned chansons and ballads, legends and genealogies, religious and secular pieces, and occasionally improvised verses responding to current events or patrons. They contributed to the distribution of news and lore before printed media.

From the 19th century in the United States, minstrel shows emerged as a popular form of entertainment in which white performers in blackface caricatured African Americans. The performances included song, dance, dialogue, and sketches that reinforced racist stereotypes. Although Black artists later participated in some productions, the format remained controversial and is now widely condemned as racist. The study of minstrelsy addresses its racial dimensions, performance practices, and influence on American popular culture and music.

Today, minstrel most often refers to medieval or historical entertainers. When used in reference to 19th- and early 20th-century entertainment, it is typically within critical or scholarly context to examine racial representation and cultural history.