Thomas Gray: The Bard: a Pindaric Ode. 1757

Margaret Maclean Clephane, of
Torloisk, Mull (before her marriage)

So why did 18th and 19th century poets and songwriters make so much fuss about bards and minstrels? Blame Thomas Gray. He knew that, according to tradition, King Edward I had all bards massacred. Gray wrote a poem about the last bard bemoaning what had happened, then committing suicide. It was a hugely, massively influential poem! Now read my page on Minstrels and Metaphors.