Minstrel Court
Dating from the time of Ranulf de Blondeville and his rescue from Rhuddlan Castle by minstrels and various others (as depicted at the Town Hall), the last such court was held in 1756 (but see revival below). The story depicted at the Town Hall (which appears to have taken place sometime around 1198-1205) is found in Leycester's Prolegomena:
- Being distressed by the Welsh and forced to retreat to the castle of Rethelent (Rhuddlan) in Flintshire, where they besieged him, he presently sent to his Constable of Chester, Roger de Lacy, surnamed 'Hell' [Yclept] for his fierce spirit, that he would come with all speed and bring what forces he would towards his relief .. It was the time of the Midsummer's Fair, de Lacy gathered a large group of fiddlers, players and cobblers and marched them immediately to the earl's rescue. Seeing a great multitude approaching, the besiegers fled.
It may be that it was because of this event that Hugh Dutton, Roger's seneschal at Halton Castle (one of the Barons of Halton) was granted control and licencing of the musicians of Cheshire by Roger.
The "Mirror of Literature" describes the origin as follows:
- About the end of the reign of John, or the beginning of that of Henry III. the fire of Roger being extinguished by death, his son John Lacy, granted this privilege by deed to his steward, one Hugh Dutton and his heirs, in the words following: — "Dedi et concessi, et per hac present! charta mea, contirmavi Hugoni de Dutton, et heredibus suis, magistratum omnium lecatorum, ut meretricum, totius Cestershiriae/'&c. (I gave and granted, and by this present, my charter, I have bound to Hugh de Dutton, and his heirs, control over of all the harlots, of the whole of Chestershire)
Incidentally, the word meretricum (genitive plural of meretrīx: "she who earns a living") had a neutral connotation and could be said of high-status prostitutes, never the lowest-status ones. So the translation is better rendered as "courtesan" rather than "whore".
The Court
It is described as follows in "The Patrician" (1848) edited by John Burke: Bernard Burke writes:
- It was the custom for all minstrels in Chester to meet the Lord of Dutton on the day of St-John the Baptist, on which occasion they were to present him with four flagons of wine and a lance, and he was entitled to receive from every minstrel the sum of four pence halfpenny and " de qualibet meretricc," in the city of Chester, "officium xiiitm exercente," the sum of fourpence.
St John the Baptist's feast day coincides with midsummer, so the Minstrel court would happen at the same time as the Midsummer Watch Parade, the Chester Mystery Plays and the opening of the Midsummer Market. A horn would be blown at the Gloverstone.
- The ceremonies attending the exercise of this jurisdiction were as follows:— A banner bearing the arms of Dutton was hung from the window of the inn where the court was held, and notice given by a drummer proclaiming in the streets and summoning all persons concerned to appear at the court between certain hours. At eleven o'clock in the forenoon the procession moved from the inn in this manner, viz.—First a band of music, then two trumpeters, then licensed musicians, with white cloths across their shoulders, the banner borne by one of the principal musicians, next the steward on horseback with a white wand in his hand, then a tabarder with a tabard, bearing the arms of Dutton. Lastly the Lord of Dutton (if present), attended by many of the gentry of the county and city on horseback. On reaching the east gate a proclamation was made to give notice of the holding of the court.
- " Oyez.—This is to give notice to all musicians and minstrels that the court of the honourable Charles Gerard Fleetwood, Esq., (descendant heir of Eleanor, sole daughter and heir of Thomas Dutton, of Dutton, in the county of Chester, Esq., by Sir Gilbert Gerard, son and heir of Thomas Lord Gerard, at Gerard Bromley, in the county of Stafford), is this day held at the house of Robert Chuff, at the ' Eagle and Child,' in the Northgate Street, Chester, where all such musicians and minstrels as do intend to play on any instrument of music for gain within the county of Chester, or within the county of the city of Chester, are required to appear and take licence for the year ensuing, otherwise, they will be adjudged and taken up as rogues and vagabonds, and punished accordingly. God save the King, and the Lord of the court. God save the King, the Queen, the Prince, and all the Royal Family..."
- *The procession then moved forward to the church of St. John the Baptist. On entering the church, the steward made a signal to the musicians, who instantly dropped on their knees, and proceeded to play sundry solemn airs upon their instruments. Divine service was then performed, and the Lord of Dutton was specially prayed for. Service being over, the proclamation was made, and the procession then returned to the inn, in the same order as it came. Entertainments to the Lord's friends and musicians followed, and in the afternoon a jury was impanelled from among the licensed musicians, when the steward delivered a charge. The jurors then gave in their verdicts."
Among the tax collections which were made at the court was also:
- "an annual payment of four pence from every female of a certain notoriety within the county of Chester".
Peter Leycester records the issue of the charter as follows:
- " I find in the records of Chester, inter placito, 14 Henry VII. a quo warranto brought against Laurence Button, of Button, Esq. why he claimed all the minstrels of Cheshire, and in the city of Chester, to meet before him at Chester yearly, at the Feast of Saint John the Baptist, and to give unto him at the said feast quotum. Lagenas Pini, et unam Lanceum, that is, four bottles of wine and a lance; and also every minstrel to pay unto Him at the said feast four-pence half-penny : And why he claimed from every whore in Cheshire, and in the city of Chester, afficium suum exercente, fourpence to be paid yearly at the feast aforesaid. Whereunto he pleaded prescription." After this time we hear nothing of any other controul exercised by the family of Button, than that over the minstrels; an authority recognized by several texts of parliament, which exempt the minstrels of Cheshire from the penalties of those acts by which all wandering fiddlers and minstrels are deemed rogues and vagabonds."
As noted by Leycester, the rights even made it onto the statute books. in the 1744 Vagrancy Act, (17 George II., c. 5.), the heirs and assigns of John Dutton, of Dutton, co. Chester, deceased, Esq., are stated to be "exempt from the pains and penalties of vagrancy".
The Dutton's have a branch under the surname "Button", who not only run a store on Chester Market but have kept up the musical tradition.
Other Uses
The Dutton's juridiction over the Cheshire minstrels was used at more than just an annual court. In 1539 two of Sir Piers Dutton's daughters were married and the minstrels were brought in to add to the festivity of the occasion. As the wedding procession teturned from Dutton Hall to Chester it was met at Flookersbrook Bridge by the steward of the Duttons attended by the pursuivant and the standard bearer of the Duttons
- "each properly habited and having the insignia used at that Midsummer solemnity, preceeded by all licensed musicians with white scarves across their shoulders, ranked in pairs and playing on their several instruments".
Dutton had more sinister uses for the minstrels as well, using those gathered for the court to eject one Thomas Pyllyn from his house in Chester.
Revival
The Minstrel Court was revived in 2008, with musicians playing throughout the day on medieval instruments including bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, shawm, and harps, storytelling performances, displays of arming a knight, historic craft demonstrations and a range of medieval characters including soldiers, weavers, doctors, nuns, pilgrims and scribes.
Related pages
Sources and Links
- Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, Thomas Percy (1847)
- Hemmingways History of Chester - see page 100
- Burke's Patrician - see page 130
- Dugdale "The Mirror of Literature" - see page 419
- 2009 re-enactment as reported in the Evening Leader
- 2021 re-enactment with a little info from this wiki;
- pilgrims and posies on the re-enactment;
- Chester and the Tudor State: a Dutton wedding;
