History Main / WanderingMinstrel

* The main character of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'' poses as one/becomes one near the beginning of the game.

* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' books, gleemen are traveling artists, masterful story tellers as well as skillful acrobats, and typically wear a cloak made of many colorful patches. Most skilled gleemen can play one sort of instrument or another, some examples are flute, or if more skillful, harp. Gleemen are allowed to go almost anywhere they wish, as nearly all commoners delight in or at least tolerate their presence, and are among the few that are allowed by the [[ProudWarriorRace Aiel]] to travel through their territory. The most skilled can even become court bards, usually discarding the patchwork cloak for silks as elegant as any noble's. Thom Merrlin is introduced as a gleeman, but was originally a court bard for Queen Morgase.

* In ''[[Literature/EarthsChildren Shelters Of Stone]]'', there's a class of traveling story-tellers and musicians whose visits are highly anticipated in a world without TV or internet.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' has several, often portrayed as handsome lads of dubious morals (especially where the ladies are concerned), all of whom come armed with a stunning ability to completely mangle the events they put to music (be said events current, historical, legendary or merely rumour). As the equivalent of the Westerosi news organisation/ network... well... they really aren't organised, and you can forget journalistic ethics; [[WildCard they're all individuals out to make their livings by whatever means they can: fair means or foul]]. And, it seems almost a RunningGag for them to come to either [[CosmicPlaything ironic, downright sardonically cruel or just plain sticky ends]] when their [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor ambitions even come remotely near to getting them what they think they want]]. A nameless singer is mutilated on the orders of King Joffrey for a crowd-pleasing, but subversive, song about Queen Cersei and the late King Robert; Symon Silvertongue ends up almost certainly dead ''and'' very likely in a pot of stew after trying to blackmail Tyrion; [[spoiler:Marillion is tortured for at least a week into falsely confessing to the murder of his new, dream patron, Lysa Arryn, which then ensures his own judicial murder; Dareon is murdered by Arya Stark after he deserts from the Nights Watch seeking fame and fortune far from the Wall (at least it was ''quick''). It's not clear what has happened to Manse Rayder under his cover of "Abel the Bard", but... it's unlikely to have been (or currently be) a barrel of fun: sieges and high politics almost never are. Tom of Sevens is still alive, but his life expectancy as a spy for a gang of notorious outlaws in the Riverlands would make an actuary inhale like a plumber seeing a challenging job. The Blue Bard is currently too crazy and under a constant watch to manage his own suicide after disfiguring torture at the hands of both [[MadDoctor Qyburn]] and the [[ChurchMilitant Faith]] for a fair amount of time, the poor bugger (Hamish the Harper would be in the same position, except Qyburn couldn't keep the much older singer alive long enough to get brainwashed and passed along to the Faith)...]] The short version: you're rather better off taking an entertainment career as a mime, mummer or fool than as a musician in Westeros; wandering or not.
* Jon Tom from ''Literature/{{Spellsinger}}'' is this plus MagicMusic.
* ''Literature/TheSquiresTales'' features a knight who’d much rather be a minstrel in ''The Ballad of Sir Dinadan''.

* ''Literature/VillainsByNecessity'': Robin, who uses his profession as cover to spy on the villains, using as justification the fact that there aren't many adventurers left, and he wants to write a ballad about them.

Often found playing SourceMusic, and has a habit of commenting on the action with a SuspiciouslyAproposSong.