Craig Allen wrote: > A friend sent me a link to this enggraving by Meckenem the Younger. > > http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/image.asp?id=24901 > > Now I have seen this engraving before but she mentioned a "lute > stand" and upon looking more closely I see she was referring to > something that is sticking up under the lute between the player's > legs. Now in looking further this appears to extend below the stool > he's sitting on and I'm not convinced it's a lute stand but instead a > dagger on a belt. Why the player would have this in the position it's > in is beyond me as it seems that it would be most uncomfortable and > the hilt would tend to scratch the lute. Also he appears to be > leaning on the table to support the lute and thus an additional stand > might not be necessary. So I ask you all, what do you think it is?
It is indeed a dagger. They were very commonly worn on the front of the belt, often in association with a pouch (but not in this case). They were referred to as "bollock knives" or "bollock daggers," and if you think they might be considered rather "suggestive" the design of many of them makes it clear that this was exactly the intention. It is perhaps questionable whether he is actually resting his lute on the knife handle: it appears to be supported by the table. The broken lute at his feet is interesting for its details of interior construction. I have a feeling that either the artist had never actually seen the interior construction, or 15th century lutes were built much differently than 16th-century ones. -- Stephen Fryer Lund Computer Services ************************************************** The more answers I find, the more questions I have ************************************************** To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
