 |
Tim Healey (narrator,
vocals, recorders, percussion)
Well known for his many broadcasts on the popular music of the
past, Tim Healey enlivens concerts with droll and lurid tales
of mediaeval life. Tim is founder of the 17th-century costume
band, the Oxford Waits, with whom Swyndelstock maintains strong
links.
Giles Lewin (mediaeval
fiddle, bagpipes, shawm, recorders, vocals)
A supremely accomplished instrumentalist, Giles Lewin is a member
of the Dufay Collective and of the duo Alva, as well as a regular
fixture of Maddy Prior's Carnival Band. Giles recently appeared
as a minstrel in Terry Jones's Mediaeval Lives.
Ian Giles (hurdy
gurdy, vocals, percussion)
An outstanding traditional singer and musician, Ian Giles is
a key member of the Oxford Waits and of the English folk band
Magpie Lane. Ian is much in demand as a recording artist having
featured on more than 30 albums. |
| 
The Clerk
of Oxenforde,
from the Ellesmere Ms. of Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales |
|
 |
The
band takes its name from the famous Swyndelstock tavern, which
flourished at the heart of mediaeval Oxford from about AD 1250
to the late 17th century. Named after the wooden swinging part
of a flax flail , the rowdy tavern stood on Carfax, the crossroads
in the city centre, and saw the outbreak of the city's most notorious
town vs gown riot. On l0th February (St Scholastica's Day) 1355,
a party of scholars drinking in the tavern complained about the
quality of the wine. The taverner replied with 'stubborn and saucy
language', and the scholars 'broke his head with a flagon'. The
wine-merchant rallied the townsfolk, and in three days of mayhem
pitched battles ensued. |
Flax flails |
