In the time line you provide, we must be more comfortable with the 1500 end of the spectrum than the 1200, but the point is well taken: the ballad has the appearance of being a medieval invention. Based on nineteenth-century and early-twentieth-century ethnographies in Britain and Ireland, it appears that the singing of ballads was fairly ubiquitous. Obviously song was (as it is) more prevalent in some families than others, but people sang to entertain themselves and others - from children, to adults in the family, to guests in the household, to community events and parties. Professional singers made careers of traveling about with their skill, but there were also everyday singers - again, they were ubiquitous.