In medieval Welsh and Irish society, a bard was a professional poet, employed to compose eulogies for his lord. If the employer failed to pay the proper amount, the bard would then compose a satire. In medieval Ireland it was common for there to exist "Bardic" schools. Though the primary function of these schools was Gaelic education, they also helped preserve the Gaelic tradition of learning by default until well into the 17th century before Ireland finally adapted to the notion of university scholarship. 

credits:

1. The text was extracted from Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia under GNU Free Documentation Licence.

2. Image:  Bard playing on a harp © Santiago Iborra 2002