book of accounts of the bursar, kept in the time of Abbot Grenewell (1442–1471). There it appears that they had "a pair of clavichords" at the Abbey—the pianoforte of the Middle Ages. This would seem to imply domestic music. Somebody must have played, while the brethren stood about and sang. There are also various records of fees paid to persons who went about the country from abbey to castle, from manor-house to market-square, for the entertainment of their neighbours. Minstrels came from Beverley, with those of Lord Arundell, of Lord Beaumont, of Lord Fitzhugh, even of the King; who not only sang but acted as conjurers, gymnasts, contortionists, and variety showmen. Sometimes the audience of the Abbey was given to a story-teller—fabulator—"the story-teller of the Earl of Salisbury"; with selections from the Hundred Merry Tales or the Gesta Romanorum. Players came from Thirsk and
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