"Guitarra morisca" (right) and guitarra latina (left)
12th Century image from Cefalù Cathedral of a lute-type instrument that has been called a "Guitarra morisca" by a modern builder of ancient instruments. He also called it a Chitarrino Arabo
The Guitarra morisca or Mandora medieval is a plucked string instrument. It is a lute that has a bulging belly and a sickle-shaped headstock. Part of that characterization comes from a c. 1330 poem, Libro de buen amor by Juan Ruiz, arcipestre de Hita, which described the "Moorish gittern" as "corpulent".[1] The use of the adjective morisca tacked to guitarra may have been to differentiate it from the commonly seen Latin European variety, when the morisca was seen on a limited basis during the 14th century.[2]
Appeared in the early 9th century, it is an instrument mentioned in the Cantigas de Santa Maria, and by Johannes de Grocheio (towards 1300) who called it quitarra sarracénica. In the 14th century it is known by the term "guitarra morisca", coined by Arcipreste de Hita in Libro de buen amor. It has similarities to both the guitarra latina and medieval lute, usually played by fingers or plectrum.
It has roots in the four-string Arabic oud, brought to Iberia by the Moors in the 8th century.[3] The guitarra morisca is a direct ancestor of the modern guitar. By the 14th century, the guitarra morisca was simply referred to as a guitar.[4]
The guitarra morisca is an obscure instrument, known mainly from pictures. Early instrument expert Francis William Galpin mentioned the instrument in his book, Old English Instruments of Music (pages 21-22), calling it the "Guitare Moresca" or "Chittara Saraacenica", with its "long neck, oval shaped body and round back." He also felt it related to the Colascione.[5]
^Wright, Lawrence (May 1977). "The Medieval Gittern and Citole: A Case of Mistaken Identity". The Galpin Society Journal. 30: 10–11. doi:10.2307/841364. JSTOR 841364. stanza 1228
^Wright, Lawrence (May 1977). "The Medieval Gittern and Citole: A Case of Mistaken Identity". The Galpin Society Journal. 30: 13. doi:10.2307/841364. JSTOR 841364. stanza 1228
^Summerfield, Maurice J. (2003). The Classical Guitar: Its Evolution, Players and Personalities Since 1800 (5th ed.). Blaydon on Tyne: Ashley Mark. ISBN 1872639461.
^Tom and Mary Anne Evans. Guitars: From the Renaissance to Rock. Paddington Press Ltd 1977 p.16
^Galpin, Francis William (1911). Old English Instruments of Music. Chicago: A. C. McClurg and Company. pp. 21–22. Old English Instruments of Music.
The Guitarramorisca or Mandora medieval is a plucked string instrument. It is a lute that has a bulging belly and a sickle-shaped headstock. Part of that...
musical text the Cantigas de Santa Maria, alongside another gittern, the guitarramorisca. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Macmillan Publishers...
guitar. The guitarra portuguesa is typically used to play the popular traditional music known as fado. In the early 1970s, using the guitarra and a 1930s...
Tambourine Timbrel Citole Cretan lyra Dulcimer Fiddle Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Medieval harp (Medieval form of the modern harp) Hurdy-gurdy...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
in Spain by 1200: the guitarra latina (Latin guitar) and the so-called guitarramorisca (Moorish guitar). The guitarramorisca had a rounded back, a wide...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
gallichon. From the early 16th century, a vihuela-shaped (flat-backed) guitarra began to appear in Spain, and later in France, existing alongside the gittern...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
including the guitarra latina and the guitarramorisca. Scholars have not conclusively straightened out these instruments. The guitarra latina is one...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
in the 8th century. A direct ancestor of the modern guitar is the guitarramorisca (Moorish guitar), which was in use in Spain by the 12th century. By...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
region Related instruments Citole Cittern English guitar Gittern Guitarra latina Guitarramorisca Laúd Other topics Composers Manufacturers Players Commons...
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