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8 MILITARY MUSIC AND ITS STORY.
and was the designation given to all who practised the musical profession. The king and nobility had their minstrels, and among them a certain number of trumpeters. Indeed, the trumpet, says Kappey,5 with its bright and incisive tone, was "annexed" excluÂsively for the use of kings and nobles. Trumpeters had the rank of officers, wore the feather of nobility in their caps, and were provided with horses and grooms. They acted as heralds, and were required to play brilliant tunes, which we know to-day as " flourishes " or " fanfares," for special occasions.
When the king and nobles took to the field in time of war, they were accompanied by their trumpeters, upon whom they depended for the direction of military movements and the enlivenment of the camp and march, for under the feudal array, and even under the mercenary system prior to the Crusades, trumpeters or other musicians were never definitely attached to bodies of troops. That music played an important part in the martial display of these times may be gathered from an incident at the siege of Rochester in 1088 under William I. When Bishop Eudes was forced to surrender, he obtained the king's permission to quit the city with all arms and horses. Not satisÂfied with this, he further endeavoured to seek the favour, that the king's military music should not sound their triumphant " fanfares" during the capitulation. But William angrily refused, saying that he would not |
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'Kappey, "Military Music." |
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