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In course of time the joglar was regarded with some contempt, and like his forbear, the Roman joculator, was classed with the jugglers, acrobats, animal tamers and clowns who amused the nobles after their feasts.
"And of the bishop, who is so zealous, I tell you that in him both God and we ourselves are betrayed; for with lying songs and insinuating words, which are the damnation of any who sings or speaks them, and by his keen polished admonitions, and by our presents wherewith he maintained himself as joglar, and by his evil doctrine, he has risen so high, that one dare say nothing to that which he opposes.
Here, as in the last couplet of the Arabic gazul, were placed the personal allusions, and when these were unintelligible to the audience the joglar usually explained the poem before singing it; the explanations, which in some cases remain prefixed to the poem, were known as the razos.
Then, behold, a joglar come before the king, frank and debonair, who said 'King, noble emperor, I have come to you thus and I pray you of your goodness that my tale may be heard," The scene concludes, "Joglar, I hold the story which you have related as good, amusing and fair and you also the teller of it and I will order such reward to be given to you that you shall know that the story has indeed pleased me."
Ranulph was still in riding-dress, and might have been mistaken for a joglar or wandering minstrel, calling himself by the more dignified title of troubadour or trouvere. "I think," began the knight in a harsh drawl, "that one can often do no better than to tell the truth, is it not so? I am the lord of this castle- -for the present.
A joglar of originality might rise to the position of a troubadour, and a troubadour who fell upon evil days might sink to the profession of joglar. Hence there was naturally some confusion between the troubadour and the joglar, and poets sometimes combined the two functions.
"I wish to relate a story which I heard a joglar tell at the court of the wisest king that ever was, King Alfonso of Castile, where were presents and gifts, judgment, worth and courtesy, spirit and chivalry, though he was not anointed or sacred, but crowned with praise, sense, worth and prowess.
The short notice that we have of him says that he belonged to Puy Notre Dame in Velay, that he was the son of a noble and was intended for an ecclesiastical career: when he was of age, he was attracted by the pleasures of the world, became a troubadour and went from court to court, accompanied by a joglar: he was especially favoured by King Jaime I. of Aragon and died at the age of nearly a hundred years.
Guiraut de Cabreira is remembered for the 213 lines which he wrote to instruct his joglar Cabra; Guiraut upbraids this performer for his ignorance, and details a long series of legends and poems which a competent joglar ought to know. Guiraut de Calanso wrote an imitation of this diatribe.
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