A scop was an Anglo-Saxon poet or bard who recited heroic verse aloud, often in a hall or court. Scops preserved and performed stories, praise poems, and histories from memory, using formulaic language and alliteration to help shape the spoken tradition of Old English poetry.
Example
The scop lifted his voice in the mead hall,
chanting of kings, brave deeds, and winter wars,
while ring on ring of warriors listened still.