There's a story that there was once a minstrel named Blondel, who was famous across medieval

France. Blondel would go from court to court, reciting songs of love and chivalry to the

aristocratic elite. Like all minstrels of the day, Blondel made his way through the court

of Eleanor of Aquitaine in Poit-2, and there he met a remarkable young man. This teenager

was a storyteller and a singer in his own right, and before long the two started collaborating.

Blondel and his young protégé composed beautiful songs together. They managed to create complex

harmonies that weaved their voices together in unique and surprising ways. The two would perform

these songs at court to the delight of Eleanor and her ladies. But before long Blondel moved on

from Eleanor's court and continued his life traveling as a minstrel. Now as for the young man,

well, destiny would have considerably more in store for him. As it turned out, that youth with a

talent for song was none other than the future king, Richard the Lionheart. Years passed, and Blondel

went on to be one of the most famous minstrels in all of France. But one day, he received a piece

of news that set his life on a completely new course. The young man he had met so many years ago,

the man who grew up to be Richard the Lionheart had been captured by one of his enemies. He had been

locked away somewhere deep in the heart of Germany. No one knew where he was, making a rescue

mission or a ransom near impossible. Upon hearing this news, Blondel knew exactly what he had to do.

The minstrel grabbed his loot, dawned to disguise, and headed east into Germany.

Every time Blondel came across a castle while he was traveling, he would get out his trusty loot

and start strumming the songs that he and Richard had composed together so many years ago.

He would sing his heart out underneath every prison tower in the country. He toured Germany for

months, playing songs and inns for food along the way, but spending most of his time doing solo

sets beside prison towers and in dungeons when he could bribe the jailers to let him in.

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