Perhaps a gurdy without a keybox? Did they make such things? It would
stand to reason that they might since you may simply want a drone to
accompany the vielle and the psaltry. Such an instrument would be a lot
easier to build
Yes, iconography isn't reliable but I might look at other depictions from
similar times before dismissing it as just a badly drawn gurdy. If there
are other keyless medieval gurdies in the iconography - well it stands to
reason that some gurdies didn't have keyboxes.
A while ago, I did a great deal of research into medieval cottages. I
looked at all the pictures I could find of medieval cottages and their
furnishings. Interestingly, most of them had pictures of a canopy bed in
the cottage. I assumed that the artists just liked to draw them - made the
drawing more colorful. Then I built a medieval cottage with a thatched
roof, camped in it and I discovered that while a canopy bed seems frivolous
in modern times - it's essential in a medieval cottage. It provides
privacy, provides protection from bugs dropping off the thatch into the
house, rain dripping in and it also allows you to regulate the heat. By
moving one curtain half open, you can drop the temperature in the bed 5
degrees - very handy. So I guess the moral of the story is if the drawing
doesn't depict what you expect to see, it doesn't necessarily mean that the
drawing is wrong - perhaps your perception is.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Arle Lommel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 5:59 PM
Subject: Re: Re[2]: [HG] Can someone identify this instrument?
Be very careful about reading too much into period depictions of
instruments. While they are a valuable resource, their value is difficult
to determine. Many of the artists who made such images seem to have been
more familiar with other artists' renditions than with the instruments
themselves, and very often the instruments were used to evoke certain
social settings, not necessarily to accurately depict them. Imagine
someone in the future trying to accurately determine HG technique from
stills in Captains Courageous, for instance. (At least there you get an
accurate image of the instrument itself). If you browse the pages of the
Galpin Society Journal, there are quite frequently articles on
reconstructing instruments that discuss the difficulties of determining
all sorts of characteristics of them. Iconographic evidence is more often
used to provide dates for instruments than accurate forms. (That said,
the stuff in the Portico in Santiago is unusually detailed and suggests
careful observation rather than putting something vaguely HG shaped in a
picture.)
Another way of looking at this: how accurate are the other images of
instruments in that picture? The fidula on the left gets the shape right,
and that's about it (plus the bow there is HUGE). The harp has the right
general shape, but it's not quite right in the details, and the psaltery
probably isn't being played (it's in the wrong position) but is
reasonably shaped (but is missing bridges). I'd expect the HG there to be
about as accurate as the other instruments, and since they aren't super
accurate, don't rely on the HG illustration too much either.
What I would take away from most of these images is a general impression
for shape, and that's about it. In the case of this instrument it
suggests a plausible shape. But I would not look for any detail beyond
that, not even for the sound hole type and placement. While it is
possible that the keys are sticking out of the body, it doesn't seem
likely since the strings aren't in the body. So if the left hand is
supposed to be manipulating keys you know you have an unworkable
mechanism.
-Arle
On Feb 13, 2008, at 5:24 PM, Chris Nogy wrote:
Could this be a type of sinphone, with the works inside a slightly
waisted and round-ended box?
Is it just a fancification based on someone who knew certain instruments
but maybe didn't know anything about gurdies?
I like the body shape, the figure 8 instruments like the early crwth
kind of speak to me.
But rant on, Alden, I am very interested to hear your take.
Chris
