Buffoons are healers and performers of ritual songs that remained after the Baptism of Russia by Vladimir. They wandered through the cities and villages and sang ancient pagan songs, knew a lot about volkhovstvo, were hypocrites, poteshnikami. On occasion, they could heal a sick person, they could tell you how to give good advice, and they also entertained the people with songs, dances and jokes.
The literary monuments of the 11th century already contain the mention of buffoons as people who combined the qualities of such artistic activities as singers, musicians, performers, dancers, narrators, acrobats, jugglers, connoisseurs, joker and drama actors.
Buffoons used such folk instruments as steam pipes, tambourines and gusli, wooden trumpets and Pan's flute. But the main instrument of the buffoons is the harp, because they are depicted in various historical monuments in the context of jokes and music, for example, in frescoes, in miniature books, and also sung in epics.
Along with the harp, an authentic “horn” tool was often used, which consisted of a deck that had a pear shape; The instrument had 3 strings, two of which were Bordon, and one played a melody. Buffoers also played the nozzles - longitudinal whistling flutes. Interestingly, the nozzles and gusli in ancient Russian literature were often contrasted with the pipe that was used to gather warriors into battle.
In addition to the buffoon near the harp, the image of a gray-haired (often blind) elder was also mentioned, who sang epics and legends about past deeds, exploits, glory and divine things. It is known that such singers were in Veliky Novgorod and Kiev - Kiev and Novgorod epics reached us.
Parallel among European musical and sacred movements
Similarly, buffoons were musicians and singers in other countries - they are jugglers, rhapsody, studs, bards, and many others.
The Celts had a social stratum - bards, they were singers of ancient legends and myths, people who knew the secret and were revered by the others, as they were considered messengers of the gods. The bard is the first of three steps to becoming a druid - the highest level in the spiritual hierarchy. Intermediate link was fila, who were also singers (according to some sources), but took a large part in public life, in the arrangement of the state.
Scandinavians had skalds, who had great power with a verb and music to burn people's hearts, but music was not their main occupation, they cultivated fields, fought and lived like ordinary people.
Fading frustration tradition
The church actively pursued the buffoons, and their musical instruments were burned at the stake. For the church, they were outlaws, remnants of the old faith, which must be weeded out like a weed, so the buffoons were persecuted and physically destroyed by the Orthodox clergy.
After certain punitive events, pagan musicians were completely destroyed, but we still had songs that were transmitted orally, we still had legends and images of pranksters-guslars. And who were they really? “We don’t know, but the main thing is that thanks to these singers we still have bits of sacred memory.
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