A friend just sent me a youtube showing 5 very young children (Chinese or Japanese?) performing as an ensemble. They were playing full sized guitars (none of this Suzuki 1/4 or 1/2 size for them!) which were bigger than they were. With their very small hands they were able to get around the fingerboard quite well, including chords. I think this shows that, starting at a young age, one can adapt to whatever size instrument he/she plays. And I think it was common for musicians during the Renaissance to begin music studies at a young age. So, no problem for them playing the longer string length instruments - even if they were generally of smaller stature than we are today - I would guess.
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