The Brotherhood of the King's Minstrels was a musicians'

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

established in London, a predecessor of the

Worshipful Company of Musicians The Worshipful Company of Musicians is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Its history dates back to at least 1350. Originally a specialist guild for musicians, its role became an anachronism in the 18th century, when the centre of ...

. In 1449

King Henry VI Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne a ...

issued a decree to protect its monopoly of minstrels in England. A charter was granted to the Brotherhood in 1469 which mentioned competition from rude countryfolk and workers at various crafts who have pretended to be musicians. Only trained licensed musicians were to perform and every professional musician was required to belong to the guild. The last recorded meeting was in 1677.

References

{{reflist Organisations based in London Music organisations based in the United Kingdom Guilds in England