Instruments ◊ The Lute

 

The medieval European lute was probably brought to the Western culture by the Arabs and Saracens. Appropriately enough the earliest European depictions of lutes survive from 13th century Spain where there was a close interaction between Eastern and Western culture. The “Book of Games” as well as the “Cantigas de Santa Maria”, by the Spanish King Alfonso el Sabio, show some of these early lutes that still resemble fairly closely the Arabian al’Ud. The name “al’Ud”, meaning “the wood” (i.e. an instrument made entirely of wood, in contrast to one with a parchment top, for instance), led to the European word for the instrument, becoming “laud” in Spanish, “lute” in English, and “Laute” in German .

 

The early lute was still a fretless instrument used for single melodic lines and played with a plectrum, for example a feather quill. Frets didn’t become common until around 1400 and were then widely used in the 15th century. Even with frets the lute was mainly played with a plectrum, maybe occasionally polyphonically – for instance playing the two lower parts of a 3-voice composition, while another instrument played the top part.
 

Only from the late 15th century onwards do we find illustrations that show lutes plucked by fingers rather than plectrums. It is probably only then that the lute became a genuine instrument for solo polyphony.

A distinguishing feature of the lute throughout the centuries is the angled peg-box. The number of strings varies and tends to increase towards the 15th and 16th century. The early lutes appear to have mainly 4 courses (of two strings per course) with occasionally up to 7 or more around 1500.  The standard number of courses tends to even out at 6 strings in the 15th and 16th century.

 

Text by Marc Lewon

 

also see The Gittern