Identifying popular musical instruments in the iconography and archaeology in the Medieval and Renaissance period in Europe (original) (raw)

Using iconography as evidence for societal practice faces a common problem across the world, that pictorial art of typically created by social or religious elites, and so typically reflects their taste and practices. As with other categories of representation, musical instruments played by the elite, both secular and religious, are over-represented in the art of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Only with Praetorius’ Syntagma Musicum (De Organographia 1618) do we get an overview of instruments at all levels of society (and the first acknowledgment of the music of other cultures). Nonetheless, insights into popular instruments can be gained from unexpected or marginal representations. For example, in a more egalitarian society such as Sweden, the paintings of Albertus Pictor (1440-1507) show a wide range of popular instruments. Archaeology has begun to make an important contribution; a recent survey of finds of Jews’ harps in Medieval Europe suggests it may have been the single most popular instrument of the period, despite being hardly depicted in painting. Another source is surviving folk traditions; instruments such as the shawm remain widely played in folk contexts, despite having disappeared from the classical repertoire. The paper aims to establish a popular instrumentarium for Europe, through an assessment of the available sources, and to suggest directions for future research.

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