Musicology Annotation << Back Amateur Music-making of the High Middle Ages and the Enlightenment: Historical Parallels Sayida Z. Iskhakova This article analyzes the reasons for the wide dissemination of dilettante «class» (the concept, which refers to musicians who do not need fi nancial reward) in Western Europe, XII and XVIII centuries. It is a question how to establish in these times of social conditions for activation of amateur music-making and the objective possibilities of this practice (convenience reformed in those periods notation in particular). The article shows that many of the musical phenomena of the Enlightenment have their counterparts in the so-called European Renaissance of the XII century. In this connection the use of a thesaurus in the XII–XIII centuries terms «troubadour», «juggler», «minstrel» is analyzed, as well as «amateur» and «professional» in the XVIII–XIX centuries. The article also considers possible reasons for the gradual decline of musical amateurism, the cause of which is seen in the strengthening of urban culture in a position opposed to the castle, before determines the shape of a musical era. Keywords: amateur music-making, a dilettante, troubadour, juggler, minstrel. Contacts: E-mail: brigadir_narodny@mail.ru Pp. 10-23.