Art, architecture, archaeology and music come together in this book to bring to life those ancestors of the violin and other bowed instruments which were played in England from Anglo-Saxon times to the reign of Henry VIII.

Art, architecture, archaeology, literature and music come together in this book to bring to life those ancestors of the violin, and other bowed instruments, which were played in England from Anglo-Saxon times to the reign of Henry VIII. It contributes not only to our knowledge of the instruments themselves, but also to the historical accuracy of performance today. It discusses the chief types of source and their reliability or otherwise, surveys the elements common to all bowed instruments, describes the rebec, crowd, medieval viol, medieval fiddle, Renaissance viol, and trumpet marine as they appear in English art of the period. It also deals with the minstrels themselves, the occasions on which they played, and the music in which they took part. Finally, the book includes an appendix giving a list of specimen groupings of different numbers of instruments, and over 150 chronologically arranged illustrations.