Samet DOYKUN

Many minstrels have been trained in the minstrelsy tradition since the 16th century. In their works, minstrels have dealt with almost every subject, especially love, in their works. One of these subjects was nature in which the outside world was treated. Nature, especially until the 19th century, was not included in works of art and literature and was considered "ugly". After the 19th century, it started to be included in the works of art and literature of many countries, especially in England. When it comes to Turkish literature, the elements of nature, which were first dealt with in classical literature, were used in abstract expressions and generally for the depiction of lovers. Subsequently, the elements of nature, which started to be used in minstrel poetry, were handled concretely rather than the aforementioned use.  The minstrels utilised the elements of nature while describing the beloved in their works and then started to transfer and describe nature directly by making it the subject of poetry. Visually impaired minstrels, who have existed in the tradition of minstrelsy since the beginning of the tradition, have also dealt with nature in their works. It is quite remarkable that the visually impaired minstrels have given works about nature despite the fact that they have lost their eyesight at some point in their lives or are visually impaired from birth.  In this study, it was tried to determine and evaluate how visually impaired minstrels perceive nature and how they describe it without seeing it through the poems compiled from minstrels and published works.  As a result of this study, it is concluded that the visually impaired and blind.

Key Words: Minstrel, Disabled, Blindness, Nature