Besides the mandoline the Italians had various instruments in shape
resembling the lute. Of this description are, for instance, the
_mandora_, _mandorina_, and the _pandurina_. The mandoline differs
from the pandurina chiefly in having a rounder and deeper body, and in
having the tuning-pegs placed at the back of the head; while the
_pandurina_ has a sort of scroll, with the tuning-pegs situated
sideways, similar to the old English cither (Fig. 43). The _mandora_
had usually for each tone two strings, which were of catgut and wire;
and there were eight pairs of them. The _mandorina_ had four wire
strings.
The _guitar_ (Fig. 44) is evidently an importation from the East, but
it has undergone various modifications since its adoption by European
nations. It was an instrument of the Moors in Spain, and became known
in France about the 11th century. The French called it formerly
_guiterne_, and the English _gittern_, _ghittern_, and _gythorn_. At
the time of Henry VIII. we find it occasionally called “the Spanish
viol.” At an early period it probably had the oval shape of the
_kuitra_, still in use by the Arab musicians in Tunis and Algiers. In
Spain it had formerly also the name of _vihuela_.
Instruction books for the old Spanish guitar have been written
by:――Ludovico Milan, Valencia, 1534; Sixtus Kargel, Mayence, 1569;
Joannes Carolus, Lerida, 1626; Pietro Milioni, Rome, 1638; Lucas Ruiz
de Ribayaz, Madrid, 1672, etc. The number of guitar manuals published
during the 18th century is enormous. Germany alone contributed above
fifty.
[Illustration: FIG. 43.――PANDURINA. On the back is carved a group
consisting of Juno, Minerva and Venus. French. Second
half of 16th century. L. 16½ in., W. 4½ in. No.
219-’66.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
[Illustration: FIG. 44.――GUITAR. French (?). 17th century. L.
40⅜in., W. 11⅞ in. No. 676-’72.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
[Illustration: FIG. 45.――QUINTERNA, OR CHITERNA. Inscribed “Joachim
Tielke in Hamburg, 1539,” but of later date. L. 25½
in., W. 9⅜ in. No. 1122-’69.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
[Illustration: FIG. 46.――CITHER. German. End of 17th century. L. 31½
in. No. 219-’82.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
The guitar was a fashionable instrument in England, played by ladies,
in the time of Charles II. On the Continent it generally had ten
catgut strings, of which two were always tuned in unison. At the
present day it has six strings, the two of which are of silk covered
with silver wire, and the others are of catgut.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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