William Shakespeare is known as "The Bard of Avon."
The concept of bard has several uses. On the one hand, it may come from the Latin word bardus , a term that in turn has its etymological root in the Welsh bardd . A bard, in this sense, is a person who dedicates himself to poetry .
In ancient times, someone who recited poems and told legends orally was called a bard. Many times the bards detailed historical events through extensive poems that they recited or sang.
Generally, bards appeared in different localities to spread their stories. Thus they were very important so that the history of the people remained alive and could be passed from generation to generation.
Bard, synonym of poet
Over time , the notion of bard began to be used to name all poets . William Shakespeare , in this context, is often referred to as "The Bard of Avon" (after Stratford-upon-Avon , the English city where he was born).
It must be established, in addition to everything stated, that in Ireland there was an important line of bards, who were legendary. These were poets who had a lot of historical knowledge and who also knew traditions and clans very well. Not to mention his gifts and abilities regarding the creation of verses and metrics.
Satire became one of the main tools of these characters who, as a general rule, were responsible for making fun of the enemies of those who hired them. However, there are many theories about these bards. Thus, there are historians and researchers who consider that basically what they did was transmit secret messages from one court to another without anyone, except those interested, realizing it.
A transitional state in Buddhism is called bardo.
Historical and fictional examples
It must be stated that, in addition to well-known real bards like Homer , there are others who are basically the fruit of the writers' imagination. Among these we can highlight the following:
– Will Scarlet , who is one of the members of Robin Hood 's gang.
-In the saga created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo , starring the well-known Asterix and Obelix , there is the figure of a well-known bard. This is none other than Asurancetúrix , who is the one who carries out this work in the village. He has the peculiarity that he believes himself to be a great artist, although everyone thinks precisely the opposite. And his singing is really horrible.
-In the literary and cinematographic saga of Harry Potter , written by JK Rowling , "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" is mentioned on more than one occasion.
Other uses of the term bard
Bard, on the other hand, can be used to refer to mud , a fence that is built with reeds or firewood, or a rabbit hole that is covered by weeds.
In the colloquial language of Argentina, the idea of bardo is used as a synonym for confusion , mess , lack of control or quilombo . For example: "I don't recommend going downtown at this time: he's a bard," "My brother was kicked out of the party for being a bard," "What a bard!" "I lost my documents and my credit card and now I have to do a lot of paperwork."
For Buddhism , finally, the bardo is a transitional or intermediate state . It is a period existing between two stages.