In ancient times a Bard was a poet and storyteller who had trained in a Bardic college. In modern times, a Bard is one who sees their creativity as an innate spiritual ability, and who chooses to nurture that ability partly or wholly with Druidism.In ancient times the Bards were the keepers of tradition, of the memory of the tribe - they were the custodians of the sacredness of the Word. Although they probably represented the first level of training for an apprentice Druid, we should not make the mistake of thinking that a Bard was somehow in a lowly or inferior position. There were many levels of accomplishment, but the most skilled of Bards were held in high esteem and partook of many of the functions of both the Ovate and the Druid.
The training of a Bard was intense and lasted for many years. There were variations in the curricula between Scotland, Ireland and Wales. In Ireland it is recorded that the training lasted twelve years, with students undergoing the following rigorous curriculum:In the first year, the student progressed from Principle Beginner [Ollaire] to Poet's Attendant [Tamhan] to Apprentice Satirisist [Drisac]. During this time they had to learn the basics of the bardic arts: grammar, twenty stories and the Ogham tree-alphabet.
Over the next four years, they learnt a further ten stories each year, a hundred ogham combinations, a dozen philosophy lessons, and an unspecified number of poems. They also studied dipthongal combinations, the Law of Privileges and the uses of grammar.
By their sixth year the student, if they had stayed the course, was called a Pillar [Cli] and would study a further forty-eight poems and twenty more stories. Over the following three years, they were termed a Noble Stream [Anruth] because 'a stream of pleasing praise issues from him, and a stream of wealth to him'. During this time they learnt a further 95 tales, bringing their repertoire up to 175 stories. They studied prosody, glosses, prophetic invocation, the styles of poetic composition, specific poetic forms, and the place-name stories of Ireland.
The final three years of their training entitled them to become an Ollamh, or Doctor of Poetry. In their tenth year the student had studied further poetic forms and composition, in their eleventh year 100 poems, and in their twelfth year 120 orations and the four arts of poetry. He or she was now the Master or Mistress of 350 stories in all.
As Ollamh, Doctor of Poetry, they were entitled to receive a gold branch. As Anruth, Noble Stream, they had carried a silver branch, and before that - throughout their training - they had carried a bronze branch. These branches had bells attached to them, so that as the poet strode into the hall to recite a poem or tell a tale, they would be accompanied by the sound of bells - warning the audience to become silent, and summoning the help of the inner realms to ensoul their poem or story. (OBOD)
