Blind Harper

This ballad is an attempt to piece together information about the history of the bards in Celtic Britain. The book "Celtic Civilization" says [p. 109] this, about the druids, ". . .it seems certain that they became absorbed into the caste of filid, or bardic poets, whose status was solemnly confirmed in 575 by Saint Columkill. For the filid were not merely poets, but to a certain extent practisers of magic, if not of sacrifice."

The Romans invaded Britain in the first century A.D. and destroyed some of the sacred groves where ancient Celts worshiped. Some Druidic manuscripts were destroyed by Romans and those that survived were destroyed later by the early Christians. Saint Patrick burned over 500 such manuscripts.

Many early churches were built on top of springs and groves which had always been holy to the Celts, so many of the people accepted worship in the new buildings; it was still a holy place. Most of the traditional Celtic festivals and holidays were given new names and incorporated into the Christian calendar. The attitude may have been "if the poeple want a holiday, let them have a holiday. But let it be a Christian holiday."

The invaders wrote the history, as is often the case, and their interpretation of events and rituals was flavored by thier own culture. Remember that Romans of this era enjoyed being entertained by watching atrocities in the Colosseum, so their outrage at someone saving the head of his enemy is suspect. Knowing they believed in reincarnation, I think that the Celts had a reason to save the head of their enemy. My guess is that they might have believed their enemy couldn't be reborn until he was released, through some forgotten ritual. It is reported (by Tacitus, I think) that families/clans traded with one another to recover the heads of their relatives.

In the 1800s there was a harp contest in Ireland. There were only a dozen or so traditional harpers left to compete, compared to hundreds less than a century before that. Most were very old and over half were blind. Hence the name:

Blind Harper ©Cipriano 1995

Harpers once were proud and true with
Powers not unlike the Druids
Holding otherworldly sight
With eyes that saw through smoke and night.

Ancient harpers sang the tales
Learned by heart of life's travails
Painting pictures with their songs
Of might and truth and right and wrong.

~ ~ ~ Blind harper play your harp
~ ~ ~ Blind harper in the dark
~ ~ ~ Blind harper don't you know
~ ~ ~ You should be a seer.

Romans conquered all they saw
With cruel force and bloody sword
When Celts struck back, they saved the head
To guarantee the corpse stayed dead.

History is the victor's tale
The Romans wrote their history well
They had a gruesome tale to tell
But it was not a true one.

~ ~ ~ Blind harper play your harp
~ ~ ~ Blind harper in the dark
~ ~ ~ Blind harper don't you know
~ ~ ~ You should be a seer.

Later, Christians spread the word
Of Christ the king, the seers heard
And hid in caves their precious harps.
One way ends when another starts.

Christian priests, they did observe,
That Celtic bards were often heard
Playing harp strings late at night
They knew at once this wasn't right.

They passed the word out far and wide
That Christians slept at home at night
And danced and sang by day's bright light
With no time for the Druids.

As years slipped by Druid tales grew short
Songs woven of life became mere sport
The Druids knew, but we forgot,
Now blind men are the harpers.

~ ~ ~ Blind harper play your harp
~ ~ ~ Blind harper in the dark
~ ~ ~ Blind harper don't you know
~ ~ ~ Harpers once were seers.

~ ~ ~ Blind harper play your harp
~ ~ ~ Blind harper in the dark
~ ~ ~ Blind harper don't you know
~ ~ ~ You should be a seer.

by Laura Stewart Cipriano

Summer 1996 baby crow with Laura in our backyard


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