Greetings to all! I recently acquired a copy of "The Wickhambrook Lute Manuscript" which was edited by a Daphne R. Stephens and published by Yale University in 1963. In the editorial section , the following statement is made:
"From the notational standpoint, the absence of "diapasons" ( extra strings along the side of the fingerboard ), and an added seventh course,both of which became popular after 1595, confines the manuscript to the last decade of the 16th century." Now, in "Historical Lute Construction" ( Lundberg - published 2002 ), I read the following: ( regarding points - page 162 - Practicum Ten : Installing the Points and Fingerboard ) " ...Pre-Renaissance and Renaissance ( lutes ) , did not have points. They were added in the last quarter of the 16th century. .. Most 7-course lutes were probably built with points, at first rather narrow and then by the 1580s becoming wider." Maybe I'm misreading something, but it appears that the editor of "The Wickhambrook Lute Manuscript" and Robert Lundberg differ by a couple of decades regarding the 7th course. Any comments on this? Has there been later research into the age of "The Wickhambrook Lute Manuscript" whcih might shed more light? Garry To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
