Bard of Bath

Last updated

Bard of Bath

The Bard of Bath is a prestigious title awarded to the winner of an annual competition designed to discover Bath's finest poet, singer, or storyteller. This vibrant competition takes place each year, featuring a different theme that invites participants to submit a manifesto alongside a performance piece.

Contents

The title revives an Iron Age Celtic Druid tradition, where Druids served as law-makers, judges, and ceremonial leaders; Ovates acted as mediums, healers, and prophets; Bards were poets, musicians and history-keepers. All of them held high status and a place in mystical/religious circles. [1]

Each Chaired Bard becomes a member of the Gorsedd and retains their title (specified by year). The current Bard of Bath, as of November 2024, is Michelle Hawkins-Collins.

In 2025, the theme was “Home,” and Michelle won the competition with her performance titled "Home is Not a Place but a Presence." Her piece drew inspiration from the life of her grandmother, who lost her home at the age of 12 during World War II and grew up in a concentration camp in East Germany.[ citation needed ]

Winners

References

  1. ↑ "Bard of Bath". Bard of Bath. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  2. ↑ "Poet is new Bard of Bath". Bath Chronicle. This is Bath. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  3. ↑ "Student becomes new Bard of Bath". 21 December 2010.
  4. ↑ Wiltshire, Paul (14 June 2013). "New Bard of Bath chosen". Bath Chronicle. Archived from the original on 15 September 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  5. ↑ "New Bard of Bath announced". Bath Chronicle. 20 June 2014. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2022.


PaganTemplate.svg

This modern paganism-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.