puys

…of jongleurs became known as puys, groups that held competitions for lyric poets. The jongleur reached the height of his importance in the 13th century but lapsed into decline in the 14th, when various facets of his complex role disseminated among other performers—e.g., musicians, actors, and acrobats.

…contemporary French dramatic societies (puys), such chambers spread rapidly across the French border into Flanders and Holland in the 15th century. At first they were organized democratically; later they acquired sponsorship by the nobility and had a designated leader, assistants, a paid manager, and a jester. Like guilds, they…