On Saturday 15th June 2013, the largest gathering of medieval musicians in Britain will again take place at St John’s Church for the recreation of the Minstrels’ Court.
There will be performances of medieval music on a range of fascinating instruments, living history demonstrations featuring knights, archers, pilgrims and craftspeople, Renaissance dance workshops and childrens activities, all of which will be taking place in and around St John’s Church, next to Chester’s famous Roman amphitheatre. St John’s is the oldest church in Cheshire and the original location for the Minstrels’ Court, making this one of the few re-enactments in the country that takes place in its authentic location.
The Minstrels’ Court was a tradition that took place in Chester each Midsummer where entertainers could get their licence to perform without fear of arrest. According to legend this happened after they saved Earl Ranulf of Chester from siege whilst the usual soldiers were drunk in the taverns. The minstrels marched to his aid and made such a noise as they approached that the besieging Welsh feared a great army and fled!
The Minstrels’ Court will run from 10.30am-5pm on Saturday 15th June and admission is free.
The day’s events will be followed by a concert that evening, also in St John’s Church. The concert, entitled ‘Merrie Musicke with the Minstrels’ will feature performances from some of the country’s best historic groups including Piva, Trouvere and Chester’s own Time Bandits.
Tickets for the evening concert cost £5 each and can be reserved by emailing [email protected]