The Vielle: a Short History
History and Literature I
Vielle: A Short History Bowed instruments have been around since the ninth century AD, according to Werner Bachmann, author of The Origins of Bowing. They originated in Central Asia, where they produced very fine hunting bows, which eventually developed into the first musical bows. In the tenth century, bowed instruments had traveled to the lands of the Islamic and Byzantine Empires. (Remnant, 1989)
In the eleventh century, the vielle was depicted in Byzantine manuscripts. The instrument then traveled up through Italy, Spain and then up through France into England. It showed up in English art in a developed shape after the year 1200. (Remnant, 1989) Many things have changed about the vielle, but the basic concept has remained the same. From the bow to the shape of the body and also the way the bow was used, stringed instruments have come quite a long way since first being introduced.
The vielle is a chordophone instrument, meaning that it is a musical instrument that has strings as the tone-producing elements. The strings are also the part which determines the pitch of the instrument. (Marcuse, 1975) It is one of many different stringed instruments that developed during this time. It was among of the first, however to use a bow.
The vielle has many different names throughout the many books and documents that discuss it. According to Sibyl Marcuse, the word vielle is the French equivalent to the fiddle and is a shortened version vielle à roue. This term was used from around 1180 until the late fourteenth century when it was changed to viole. (Marcuse, 1975) The French vielle was an instrument that spanned across many places and was called something different in each place. The words vielle and fiddle can be used interchangeably. In Spain, it was called a Vihuela de Arco, in Germany it was a fiddle. In Old Nordic, it was a fiđlu, and in Anglo-Saxon it was fiđele; it was called a fele in Norwegian, vièle in Old French, and
Vielle: A Short History Bowed instruments have been around since the ninth century AD, according to Werner Bachmann, author of The Origins of Bowing. They originated in Central Asia, where they produced very fine hunting bows, which eventually developed into the first musical bows. In the tenth century, bowed instruments had traveled to the lands of the Islamic and Byzantine Empires. (Remnant, 1989)
In the eleventh century, the vielle was depicted in Byzantine manuscripts. The instrument then traveled up through Italy, Spain and then up through France into England. It showed up in English art in a developed shape after the year 1200. (Remnant, 1989) Many things have changed about the vielle, but the basic concept has remained the same. From the bow to the shape of the body and also the way the bow was used, stringed instruments have come quite a long way since first being introduced.
The vielle is a chordophone instrument, meaning that it is a musical instrument that has strings as the tone-producing elements. The strings are also the part which determines the pitch of the instrument. (Marcuse, 1975) It is one of many different stringed instruments that developed during this time. It was among of the first, however to use a bow.
The vielle has many different names throughout the many books and documents that discuss it. According to Sibyl Marcuse, the word vielle is the French equivalent to the fiddle and is a shortened version vielle à roue. This term was used from around 1180 until the late fourteenth century when it was changed to viole. (Marcuse, 1975) The French vielle was an instrument that spanned across many places and was called something different in each place. The words vielle and fiddle can be used interchangeably. In Spain, it was called a Vihuela de Arco, in Germany it was a fiddle. In Old Nordic, it was a fiđlu, and in Anglo-Saxon it was fiđele; it was called a fele in Norwegian, vièle in Old French, and
Cited: Diagram Group. (1976). Musical Instruments of the World. New York, New York: Paddington Press. Gammond, P. (1975). Musical INstruments in Color. New York, New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. Geiringer, C. (1978). Instruments in the History of Western Music. New York, New York: Oxford University Press. J. Peter Burkholder, D. G. (2010). A History of Western Music. New York, New York: W.W. Norton & Company. Marcuse, S. (1975). Musical Instruments: A Comprehensive Dictionary. New York, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. Montagu, J. (1976). The World of Medieval & Renaissance Musical Instruments. Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press. Remnant, M. (1989). Musical Instruments: An Illustrated History from Antiquity to the Present. Portland Oregon: Amadeus Press. Sachs, C. (1940). The History of Musical Instruments. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.: New York, New York.