12th century
"... At your feasts you have harp and lute, tabor and pipe and wine, but have no eyes for the work of the Lord..."

'The Letters of Abelard and Heloise by Peter Abelard, Heloise, Michael Clanchy and Betty Radice (2004) page 175

12th century, Hugh of Taber
“…In order that this grant of mine may continue to be stable and fair in future times, I have confirmed it
by the testimony of this writing and the attestation of my seal. By these witnesses: Hugh of Taber”

Charters of donors: Property elsewhere (nos. 452-91) Westminster Abbey Charters, 1066 - c.1214.

1191 Description of the Saracen Army:
  “In front came certain of their admirals, as was their duty, with clarions and trumpets; some had horns,
others pipes and timbrels, gongs, cymbals and other instruments, producing a horrible noise and clamour.
The earth vibrated from the loud and discordant sounds, so that the crash of thunder could not be heard amid
the tumultuous noise of horns and trumpets. They did this to excite their spirit and courage, for the more violent
the clamour became, the more bold were they for the fray.”

c.1220-1240 poem 'Handlyng Synne':
This poem gives advice on the consequences of sin and advocates living a moral life, using examples
taken from the Bible, the lives of the saints, and other well-known stories. 

" may he be sore a-ferde that doth vyleynye yn churche yerde, Namly, syn hyt halewed was,
the more he dothë of trespas. (ll. 8647-50)
(he who acts villanously in the churchyard should be very afraid since, because it was consecrated,
he does more than just trespass.)

Activities that are forbidden in the church or churchyard while the priest is taking the mass include the pipe and tabor:

"Or tabure bete, or other pypynge, Alle swychë thyng forbodyn es, whyle the prest stondeth at messe."

" Insular Secular Carolling in the Late Middle Ages" Eustace, Frances

13th century Anglo-Norman poem ‘The King of England and the Minstrel of Ely’
“…Gentlemen, listen to a little,
If you orrez a very good desduit
Of a minstrel that passes the earth
Pure wonder and adventure quere;
If he comes from his London, in a meadow
He meets the King and his maid;
Around his neck he carries his tabor…”

13th century - In the Anglo-Norman romance of 'Horn' a ribald
“ goes to marriages to play on the tabor”—
A li piert qu’il est las un lechur
Ki à ces nocces vient pur juer od tabur;

Peter le Taberur, royal minstrel granted land in Northumberland:' Register of Royal and Baronial Domestic Minstrels 1272 -1327.' by Bullock-Davies, Constance

1298 Court case 23 Dec.
“Tuesday before the Nativity of the Lord [25 Dec.]
Whereas it had been presented before Adam de Halling (beri), Alderman of the Ward of Allgate, in his Wardmote,
that Roger le Rous makes a great roistering (rigolagiam) with unknown minstrels, tabor-players and trumpeters
to the grave damage and tumult of the whole neighbourhood and against the prohibition;…”

[ed. possibly meaning drum-players]

1299-1300 Court case 19 March
“Richard Davy, baker, was attached to answer the Mayor and Aldermen on a charge that, whereas on Friday
the Feast of the Translation of St Edward, he was dragged on the hurdle because his bread was false, when he
arrived home and descended from the hurdle and entered his house, he took a bone and threw it at the tabor-player
and broke his tabor through the middle….”

'Calendar: Roll C, 17 February 1299 - 14 October 1300', in Calendar of Early Mayor's Court Rolls: 1298-1307, ed. A H Thomas (London, 1924

1299/1300 Robinet the Taborer, a royal minstrel, entertained the King in Belsay, Northumberland

' Register of Royal and Baronial Domestic Minstrels 1272 -1327.' by Bullock-Davies, Constance

1300 poem 'Sir Orfeo'
line 300“…Knights and ladies in joyous wise, 
In quaint attire, as of days gone by, 
Pacing a measure soberly, 
To sound of tabor and pipe they pass, 
Making sweet music, across the grass. …”

"...The steward sat him down at the table, 
With many noble knights and noblemen, 
All kinds of music had they, I trow, 
trumpeters and tabourers, and harpers enow, 
There was was no lack of melody in the hall --  "

The Oxford Book of Medieval English Verse, 1970, Line 520

early 14th century poem 'Ywain and Gawain'
“…And damsels dance and ful wele
With trompes, pipes, and with fristele.
The castel and the cete rang
With mynstralsi and nobil sang. …”

‘The Narrative Performers: An Examination of Medieval Musicians’ Effect
on Their Audiences and The Narrative’ by Christian Batchelor 2021 (lines 1395-8)

1306 Craddock le Taborrer, of Coventry, is named in:
'The Early Records of Medieval Coventry. Records of Social and Economic History ns 11 Coss, Peter R and Trevor John, eds
.' London: Oxford University Press for The British Academy, 1986, p 58

1306 267 men were knighted at Westminster:
The banquet held afterwards in the Great Hall of Westminster Palace was splendid.  Tabourers were present
- a roll of payments lists nearly 200 minstrels by name including:

Baudette le Taborer
Martinet le Tabourer (also spelt as Taborour)
Guillot Le Taborer
Perotole (Perotus le Taborer)
J Baudet Le Tabourer (who also played the trumpet)
Janin de Brebant Taborer
Robert Parvus ‘King Robert the Taborer’
Lambyn Clay  King’s minstrel (Clays Le Taburer; Cley le Taborer)
Adam Taburrarius taborer of John (V) L'Estrange, first Lord of Knockin (Salop)

details of all the minstrels are in 'Menestrellorum multitudo: Minstrels at a Royal Feast.’ by Constance Bullock-Davies, 1978

July 1306, two shillings was paid out of the household accounts of Edward of Caernarfon and Elizabeth's
young half-brothers Thomas (just turned six) and Edmund (not quite five) for repairing Martinet's tabor,
which the two little boys had broken.  

1306 "Present at the Whitsun Feast":
the tabourer of La Dame de Audham;
GILLOT (LE TABORER) the Earl of Warwick's Taborer;
Perotus le Taborer

' Register of Royal and Baronial Domestic Minstrels 1272 -1327.' by Bullock-Davies, Constance

9 March 1310 Godewyn le Pheliper …acknowledged himself bound to William de Gaytone, "tabourer"
 in the sum of 50 marks; to be paid at Michaelmas.

William de Gaytone is variously listed in court documents as a tabourer, minstrel, taburer and taburrer.
Apart from playing music he worked as a money-lender to higher-ranking men and was a merchant.
He owned a tenement with shops and gardens in London. He died in 1339.

‘Calendar of Letter-Books of the City of London: B, 1275-1312.’ Folio 20 b (cxj). vs. vijd.

1310 court record:
Creditor: William de Gayton, minstrel. Amount: 100m.
Debtor: Walter, called le Roy Marchis.

The National Archive C 241/74/60

1310 court record:
Creditor: William de Gayton, minstrel {taburer). Amount: 100m
Debtor: Walter, called le Rey Marchys [this appears to be the herald, March King of Arms]

The National Archives C 241/69/105

1311 William de Gaytone is described as a "tabourer"

Calendar of Letter-Books of the City of London: F, 1337-1352.

1311 court record:
Creditor: William de Gayton, minstrel {taburrer} Amount: £30
Debtor: William Davy of Tutbury [Staffs.], the Elder.

The National Archives C 241/71/196

1315 “John de Upestone, 'tabourer,' who were hanged”

Calendar of Close Rolls, Edward II: Volume 2, 1313-1318.

1316 royal proclamation:
 We “have ordained that to the houses of prelates, earls, and barons, none resort to meat and drink,
unless he be a minstrel;”

1317-1321 John, 'le tabourer'

Calendar of Patent Rolls, Edward II: Volume 3, 1317-1321.

"The royal household ordinances of 1318 made provision for two trumpeters and two other minstrels to be
in constant attendance on the king, and to make their minstrelsy to him at his pleasure."

Secular Musicians in Late Medieval England

1319 “De Roberto le Tabourer Lived in Warda Ripe Regine, Queenhithe ward, London

Subsidy Roll 1319: Queenhithe ward, Two Early London Subsidy Rolls.Pages 332-338

1323/4 William le Taborer, probably Thomas of Lancaster's taborer.
He had land in Pontefract (West Yorkshire) and Friston ( Suffolk)

' Register of Royal and Baronial Domestic Minstrels 1272 -1327.' by Bullock-Davies, Constance

1323-64 Tabourer living in the City of London - Taborer, Tabourer, Peter,

'Index of names and places: L - Z', in Calendar of the Plea and Memoranda Rolls of the City of London: Volume 1, 1323-1364 

1324 John Thyoun 'le Tabourer'

Calender of Patent Rolls

'Staffordshire Lay Subsidy, 1327: Offlow hundred, Lichfield and other boroughs'
 Staffordshire Historical Collections, Vol. 7, Part 1, ed. George Wrottesley (London, 1886), pp. 223-236

1325-1350 poem
"Taborus and trompours,
Herawdes goode descoverours,
Har strokes gan descrye"

Dictionary of Middle English Musical Terms

1331 court record:
Creditor: William de Gayton, minstrel and merchant [of Northants] Amount: £40.
Debtor: Adam de Terneye, and John his son, merchants of Northampton [Northants]

The National Archives C 241/108/94

1334 John Tabourer of Echynghamme,
Calendar of Patent Rolls, Edward III: Volume 2, 1330-1334

1334 court record:
Creditor: William de Gayton, minstrel {taborer} Amount: £4.
Debtor: William de Shemsby, merchant of Northampton.

The National Archive C 241/105/143

1335 court record:
Creditor: William de Gayton, minstrel {taburrer}. Amount: £100
Debtor: Richard Loveday, knight.

The National Archives C 131/5/27

1337 William de Gayton, a "tabourer" was proved and enrolled in the Court of Hustings
[court that sat at the Guildhall in the City of London]

Calendar of Letter-Books of the City of London: F, 1337-1352 'Cal. of Wills,' i. 419.

1338 William Tabourer of Gayton
"Letters testimonial … to the Bailiffs and good men of Northampton, certifying that John de Gayton
was next heir to William Tabourer of Gayton, deceased"

1339 William de Gayton 'Tabourer et Heraud de North' is mentioned as dead in June

(Court of Hustings, Comm. Pleas, R. 63, 13 Ed. III).

1339 -1340 John le Tabourer of Codyngton

Calendar of Patent Rolls, Edward III, Volume 4, 1338-1340

Simon Tabour
 “Simon son of Nicholas Tabour of Borham (Essex ) ”

A Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds: Volume 4. A. 8015

1338 poem
"...Many mynestrales thorow out the toun,
Som blewe trompe & clarioun,
Harpes, pypes, & tabours..."

'The Story of England' by Robert Manning of Brunne

1338 Richard le Pipere… mentioned as one of a group who assaulted
a man at Thurlbear, near Taunton, Somerset, and carried away his goods

 ‘Two Minstrels too many? The Remunerated musicians of  the 16th century, from
status symbol of the court to Social Outcast’ by Andrew C.Rouse, 2002

Edward III (1327-77) included a tabor player in his household band:
"The nineteen men who comprised the band from 1344 to 1347 consisted of five trumpeters,
five pipers, two clarioners, one taborer, one nakerer, one citoler, one fideler, and three waits"
They received 20s. a year in time of peace and 12d. a day in time of war. The latter puts them on a par with
royal chaplains, esquires, and sergeants at arms, and is a useful indication of their standing. The king’s archers
and craftsmen, received 6d per day.

‘The Green Man: Creating, Performing and Educating through Medieval music., Volume 1’ by Michael John Sargeant, 2015

One taborer is "Lambekin Taborer the King's minstrel" (in the Issue Roll of Thomas de Brantingham).
In 1371 he was paid 7 1/2 d. per day.
In 1378 100 s. yearly was given:
"in favour of Lambekin Taborer, the late king's minstrel, of letters patent, dated 20 July, 34 Edward III"

1344 a disturbance at a Cornwall stannary in Redruth involved men with the surnames of 'Pipere' and 'Taborer'

[A stannery in Cornwall and Devon managed the collection of  the duty payable on metal tin smelted from
the ore cassiterite mined in the region.]

1355 Durham Abbey accounts:
”four pipes, silver-gilt and enamelled, which the prince has given to the four minstrels sent to him
by the count of Eu, and of a cornemuse, a pipe and a tabor, silver-gilt and enamelled, which the
prince has given to his minstrels”

Extract from the Account Rolls of the Abbey of Durham, ed. Fowler, Surtees Society. 1898, quoted in 'THE STATUS AND FUNCTION
OF MINSTRELS IN ENGLAND BETWEEN 1350 AND 1400', by A Price

1360 "the Tympanum maketh the better melody yf there is a pype therewyth." Bartholomew, English monk

1369 Adam the Taberer left his daughter the freehold of a dwelling house with outbuildings and land
assigned to its use and two medieval open strips of land in Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire.

The National Archives D(W)1721/3/32/15

late 14thc poem by John of Trevisa
“...They haveth in greet mangerie
Harpe, tabor and pype for mynstralcie.
They bereth forth cors with sorwe grete;
they bloweth lowde hornes of geete...”

'English bowed instruments from Anglo-Saxon to Tudor times' by Remnant, Mary

about 1400:
“Syr Kadore lette make a feste,
That was fayr and honeste,
Wyth hys lorde the kinge,
Ther was myche menstralse,
Trommpus, tabours, and sawtre,
Both harpe and fydylleyng.”

late14th early15th century poem: ‘Sir Cleges’
“…And as he walkyd uppe and done
Sore sygheng, he herd a sowne
   Off dyverse mynstralsy,
Off trumpers, pypers, and nakerners,
Off herpers notys and gytherners,
   Off sytall and of sautrey.
Many carrals and grete dansyng
In every syde herd he syng,…”

1285
" At Tis bruydale was plei i-nouzh: song and gret hoppingue, Tabours and fidele and symphanye: stiues and harpingue."

1300
"Fro kechene com the fyrste cours, With pypes, and trumpes, and tabours"

c l300 
" Ðe gleymen on the tabour dinge."

1300
"Trumpes yede in hys galeye,
Men myghte it here into the skye,
Taboures and hornes Sarezyneys"

1303 Rob. Man, of Br.
"Or entyrludës, or syngynge,
Or tabure bete, or other pypynge,
Aile swyc ë thyng for - bodyn es."

1325 'Orpheus'
"Taberis and pypes yeden hem by
And al maner of mynstrelsy. "

1338 Rob. Man. of Br.
 "Harpes, pypes, & tabours"

1338 Rob. Man. of Br.
"With trompe & taber, & horn of bras."

c l350 
" alle maner menstracie maked was sone
of tabours & of trumpes non mizt pe number telle."

1370-1380 
"Wher be those gleomen the to glewen,
Harpe and Fithele and tabour bete?"

c l377
" Ðan were thee tabours faste y-bete,
As that host him lay in every strete of that faire Citee"

? 1387
" And they Scotlond the douzter of Irlond use harpe, tymbre, and tabour, [and wales useth harpe and pipe and tabour].

1387
" In bataile thei useth taboures and no trompe,
and they mowe not dure long for to fi3te"

1387
"They haveth in greet mangerie
Harpe, tabor, and pype for mynstralcie.

1398
"And dyvers Instrumentes servyth to this manere armonye: as Tabour and Tymbre. Harpe and Sawtry, & Nakyres and also Sistrum."

1398
"Tympanum is . . . beathen with a stycke ryght
as a tabour . . .
And maketh the better melody yf there is a pype therwyth. "

c l400
" And gret noyse, as it were sown of Tabours and of Nakeres and Trompes, as thoughe it were of a gret feste"

c l400
 "Ther was myche menstrals[y]e, Trommpes, tabours, and sawtr[y]e, Bothe harpe and fydellyng"

c l400 
" Ðer was joye and melodye
Of all skynnes menstracye,
Of trompe, tabour, harpe, and crouth,
And mony mury dissour of mouth."

1400
"Now rist grete tabour-betyng
Blawing of pypes, and ek trumpyng.

1400 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'
"They herde no pype, ne flagel."