E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Minstrel
simply means a servant or minister. Minstrels were kept in the service of kings and princes for the entertainment of guests. James Beattie has a poem in Spense’rian verse, called The Minstrel, divided into two books.
1
The last minstrel of the English stage. James Shirley, with whom the school of Shakespeare expired. (1594–1666.)
