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Gittern
Five course Gittern or "Quintern" dated 1450, built by luthier Hans Oth
Classification String instrument (plucked)
Hornbostel–Sachs classification321.322 (necked box lute)
(Chordophone)
Developed13th century
Related instruments
List

The gittern was a relatively small gut-strung, round-backed instrument that first appeared in literature and pictorial representation during the 13th century in Western Europe (Iberian Peninsula, Italy, France, England). It is usually depicted played with a quill plectrum,[1] as can be seen clearly beginning in manuscript illuminations from the thirteenth century. It was also called the guiterna in Spain, guiterne or guiterre in France, the chitarra in Italy and Quintern in Germany.[2] A popular instrument with court musicians, minstrels, and amateurs, the gittern is considered an ancestor of the modern guitar and other instruments like the mandore, bandurria and gallichon.[3][4]

From the early 16th century, a vihuela-shaped (flat-backed) guitarra began to appear in Spain, and later in France, existing alongside the gittern. Although the round-backed instrument appears to have lost ground to the new form which gradually developed into the guitar familiar today, the influence of the earlier style continued. Examples of lutes converted into guitars exist in several museums, while purpose-built instruments like the gallichon utilised the tuning and single string configuration of the modern guitar. A tradition of building round-backed guitars in Germany continued to the 20th century with names like Gittar-Laute and Wandervogellaute.

Up until 2002, there were only two known surviving medieval gitterns,[5][6] one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (see external links), the other in the Wartburg Castle Museum. A third was discovered in a medieval outhouse in Elbląg, Poland.[6][7]

Structure

[edit]
Gittern (right) depicted in a c. 1322 fresco scene from the life of St. Martin of Tours. The instrument on the left is a set of aulos.
Juan Oliver's c.1330 painting at Pamplona Cathedral, showing a musician playing a gittern.

The back, neck and pegbox were probably usually carved from one piece of timber. Occurring less rarely later in the 15th century, the back was built up from a number of thin tapered ribs joined at the edges, as was characteristic of the lute. Unlike the sharp corner joining the body to the neck seen in the lute, the gittern's body and neck either joined in a smooth curve or straight line. The sickle, or occasional gentle arc pegbox, made an angle with the neck of between 30 and 90 degrees. Unlike the lute, most pegboxes on gitterns ended in a carving of a human or animal head.

Most gitterns were depicted as having three or (more commonly) four courses of double strings. There are also references to some five course gitterns in the 16th century. Although there is not much direct information concerning gittern tuning, the later versions were quite possibly tuned in fourths and fifths like the mandore a few decades later. Frets were represented in a few depictions (mainly Italian and German), although apparently absent in most French, Spanish and English depictions. The gittern's sound hole was covered with a rosette (a delicate wood carving or parchment cutting), similar to the lute.

The construction resembles other bowed and plucked instruments, including the rebec, Calabrian and Byzantine lyra, gǎdulka, lijerica, klasic kemençe, gudok. These have similar shapes, a short neck, and like the gittern are carved out of a single block of wood.

Relationship between gittern, the citole, lute and guitar family

[edit]
See also: Lute § History and evolution of the lute, and Citole § Origins
By 1575, the German quintern included guitar-shaped instruments.
Section from Sebastian Virdung's 1511 book, Musica getuscht und angezogen. (Top left) lute, (right) viol, (bottom) gittern

Some have pointed out that there have been errors in scholarship (starting in the 19th century) which led to the gittern being called mandore and vice versa,[8] and similar confusion with the citole.[8] As a result of this uncertainty, many modern sources refer to gitterns as mandoras, and to citoles as gitterns.

A number of modern sources have also claimed the instrument was introduced to Europe from the Arabic regions in a manner similar to the lute, but actual historical data supporting this theory is rare, ambiguous, and may suggest the opposite. The various regional names used (including the Arabic) appear derived over time from a Greco-Roman (Vulgar Latin) origin, although when and how this occurred is presently unknown.[citation needed] It is possible the instrument existed in Europe during a period earlier than the Arabic conquests in the Iberian peninsula, with the names diverging alongside the regional evolution of European languages from Latin following the collapse of the Roman Empire (compare Romance languages).

While the name of the lute (Portuguese alaúde, Spanish laud, from Arabic al-ʿūd), and the instrument itself has been interpreted as being of Arabic/Persian origin, the gittern does not appear in historical Arabic source material to support what can only be speculation.[citation needed]

Etymology and identity

[edit]
One of the three "gitterns" may not be
Instrument in the Metropolitan Museum of Arts labeled a gittern in James Tyler's book, The Early Mandolin. The museum catalog, Medieval Art from Private Collections: A Special Exhibition at the Cloisters said that it probably wasn't a gittern but a bowed instrument, possibly a rebec, but one with five strings instead of the rebec's normal three.[9]
See also: Iberian Romance languages

The gittern had faded so completely from memory in England that identifying the instrument proved problematic for 20th-century early music scholarship. It was assumed the ancestry of the modern guitar was only to be discovered through the study of flat-backed instruments. As a consequence, what is now believed to be the only known surviving medieval citole was until recently labelled a gittern.

In 1977, Lawrence Wright published his article The Medieval Gittern and Citole: A Case of Mistaken Identity. in issue 30 of the Galpin Society Journal; with detailed references to primary historical source material revealing the gittern as a round-backed instrument - and the so-called 'Warwick Castle gittern' (a flat-backed instrument) as originally a citole.

Wright's research also corresponded with observations about the origins of the flat-backed guitarra made by 16th-century Spanish musicologist Juan Bermudo. With this theoretical approach, it became possible for scholars to untangle previously confusing and contradictory nomenclature. Because of the complex nature of the subject, the list and links below should assist in further reading.

  • Names in English: gittern, gittron, giterninge, giterne. John Playford's A Booke of New Lessons for the Cithern & Gittern (published in London in 1652) may represent a response to the continued popularity of both instruments; although references to the gittern virtually disappear in England during the following century. The guitar that re-surfaces during the mid-1750s (referred to as English guitar or 'guittar'), enjoying a wave of popularity that faded away in the 19th century; is an entirely different instrument related to later developments of the cittern. During the 14th century in Geoffrey Chaucer's time, the 'e' that appears at the end of his English spelling 'gyterne' would have been pronounced. But following the great vowel shift - Playford's gittern has lost the 'e' altogether. Although Wright's work enabled identification of the medieval instrument, references to it in 16th century England are more ambivalent regarding structure - leading to the initial confusion identifying the citole. It seems reasonable French and Spanish fashions influenced the gittern during the time of Henry VIII as they did elsewhere.
Artwork from the Bayeux Cathedral in France, showing an angel playing a gittern.
  • Names in French: gviterre (the 'v' is a Latin substitute for 'u'), guisterne, guitarre, guiterne, guyterne, guiterre, quinterne, quitaire, quitarre (the 'e' at the end of the word may have been stressed in a different and heavier manner to modern pronouncement in a similar manner to the English). In France, the plucked form of the flat-backed 'vielle' (cognate with Spanish 'vihuela'), never assumed the importance it developed in the Iberian and Italian peninsulas. As a consequence the replacement of the round-backed guitarre by the new Spanish style appears disconnected with little to trace in historic sources. The 16th century saw the publications (with illustrations on the front cover depicting the instrument) of works by composers like Guillaume Morlaye and Adrian Le Roy intended for the four course flat-backed guitar, reflecting a new popularity in France possibly more so than Spain.
  • Names in Italian: chitarino (It. diminutive, i.e. small chitara), chitarrino, chitarra, cythara. James Tyler has considered the possibility of the chitarino being ancestral to the early mandolin during the 15th century. The chitarrone (literally large 'chitarra'), is an instrument that appeared in the late 1580s and became important for its role in basso continuo supporting various musical ensembles during the 17th century as well as for solo works. The alternative name 'tiorba' (English theorbo) displaced the original word, and is now the preferred term used by modern musicians.
  • Names in German: quintern, chiterna, quinterna - possibly derived from the later development of a five course instrument (overlay of Latin quinctus 'five' with chiterna or similar). Juan Bermudo mentioned having seen a 5 course guitarra but that 4 course instruments were normal. The quinterna that appears in the German Michael Praetorius treatise on musical instruments of 1618, Syntagma Musicum (Plate 16) - has pegs inserted sideways in the pegbox but the body is now a flat figure-of-8 shape. Like Bermudo, Praetorius also mentions 5 course instruments but considers 4 courses normal. The surviving instrument by Hans Oth is unusual in comparison to historical depictions, the strings pass over the bridge and are fastened to the lower edge of the body. The strings in historical illustrations are normally shown fastened to the bridge, which may suggest the instrument was converted from four courses at a later date to its construction and the original bridge detached.
  • Name in Spanish: guiterna
  • Names in Arabic: kouitra, quitra, kaitara. This four course round-backed instrument is usually mentioned in connection with theories supporting an Arabic origin for the gittern. It is constructed in a similar manner to the chitarra Italiana and the oud, although the pegbox has lost all trace of its 'sickle-shaped' predecessor. The modern instrument appears to have survived and developed in Algeria in isolation from surrounding regions, and is traditionally associated with the music of Al-Andalus. This cultural tradition in North Africa is considered closely linked to development in the Iberian peninsula and the later expulsion of the Moriscos between 1609 and 1614.
  • Name in Portuguese: The process whereby the round-backed guitarra became a flat-backed instrument in Spain (and the instrument itself) appears to have left little impact on Portuguese history. The usage of 'guitarra' in the 18th century (to present) Portugal refers to a different instrument - the guitarra portuguesa, related to later developments of the cittern.

The modern Portuguese equivalent to the 'Spanish guitar' is still generally known as viola (violão in Brazil - literally large viola), as are some smaller regional related instruments. Portuguese 'viola' (like Italian), is cognate with Spanish 'vihuela'. Unlike in Spain, all these instruments traditionally used metal strings until the advent of modern nylon strings. While the modern violão is now commonly strung with nylon (although steel string variations still exist), in Portugal musicians differentiate between the nylon strung version as guitarra clássica and the traditional instrument as viola de Fado, reflecting the historical relationship with fado music.

While the English and Germans are considered to have borrowed their names from the French,[10] Spanish "guitarra", Italian "chitarra", and the French "guitarre" are believed ultimately to be derived from the Greek "kithara"[10] - although the origins of the historical process which brought this about are not yet understood, with very little actual evidence other than linguistic to explore.

Role in literature

[edit]

Cantigas of Santa Maria

[edit]
Picture from the Cantigas of Santa Maria showing two musicians with gitterns
Gittern played by an angel, Cathedral Saint Julien du Mans, France, c. 1325

In Spanish literature, the 13th-century Cantigas de Santa Maria with its detailed colored miniature illustrations depicting musicians playing a wide variety of instruments is often used for modern interpretations - the pictures reproduced and captioned, accompanied by claims supporting various theories and commenting on the instruments.

None of the surviving four manuscripts contain captions (or text in the poems) to support observations other than the gittern appears to have had equal status with other instruments. Although social attitudes towards instruments like the lute, rebec, and gittern may have changed in Spain much later with the cultural impact of the Reconquista - what is recorded in the Cantigas indicates the opposite during this period of history.

Far from being considered an example of Islamic culture, the instrument was used for one occasion to illustrate principles of Christian religious doctrine. French theologian Jean Gerson compared the four cardinal virtues to "la guiterne de quatre cordes" (the gittern of four strings). Italian statesman and poet Dante Alighieri, referring to the qualities (and possibly the structure) of the gittern, said, "...just as it would be a blameworthy operation to make a spade of a fine sword or a goblet of a fine chitarra."

Guillaume de Machaut

[edit]

However, 14th-century French composer Guillaume de Machaut in his poem Prise d'Alexandrie: 1150 "Lutes, moraches and guiterne / were played in taverns", notes a secular role away from religious references or royal and ducal courts.

Geoffrey Chaucer

[edit]
A reconstruction of a medieval gittern

Chaucer also mentions the gittern in the Canterbury Tales (late 14th century) being played by people who frequent taverns. In The Miller's Tale, Absalom serenades a woman outside her window:[11]

    Now was ther of that chirche a parish clerk,
    the which that was ycleped (called) Absalon...
    and as wel coud he play on a giterne.
    In all the town n'as (there never was) brewhous ne (nor) taverne,
    that he ne visited with his solas [solos].[12]

And his The Cooks Tale.,[11] Al konne he pleye on gyterne or ribible (all can he play on gittern or rebab).[13]

Other written records

[edit]

Praetorius, commenting on a dual-purpose social role, "..in Italy, the Ziarlatini and Salt' in banco use them for simple strummed accompaniments to their villanelle and other vulgar, clownish songs. (These people are something like our comedians and buffoons.) However, to use the (chiterna) for the beautiful art-song of a good professional singer is a different thing altogether."

The gittern often appeared during the 14th to early 15th century in the inventories of several courts. Charles V of France's court recorded four, including one of ivory, while the Italian courts of Este and Ferrara recorded the hiring of gittern (chitarra) masters.

Resources

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Early Music Muse - Gittern

Early Music Instrument Database - Gittern

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Gittern

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
The gittern was a small, plucked string instrument popular in medieval Europe from the 13th to the 15th century, featuring a pear-shaped body with a rounded back, an integral neck carved from a single piece of wood, and typically four courses of gut strings played using a plectrum. Its name derives from the Old French guiterne, ultimately tracing back to the Latin cithara via the Greek kithara and Arabic qitara, reflecting influences from ancient and Islamic musical traditions. Introduced as a novelty in noble and royal courts around 1275, the gittern quickly gained prestige, appearing in literary works like Dante's (ca. 1304–1307) and records of such as King Edward II's 1306 feast, where it symbolized refinement and . By the mid-14th century, its use expanded beyond elites to urban settings, taverns, and even among lower social strata, as evidenced in inventories like that of King Charles V of (ca. 1380) and municipal accounts from cities like Orléans (1392). Musically, it served primarily for playing upper melodic lines in polyphonic ensembles due to its limited bass range, though it also accompanied solo performances and dances. Only one surviving example is known: a finely crafted 15th-century instrument from Nuremberg housed at the Wartburg Stiftung in Eisenach, Germany. The gittern's peaked in the late 14th to early before declining amid shifts in musical styles favoring lute-like instruments with greater versatility and the rise of new genres requiring fingerstyle techniques over plectrum strumming. By the , it evolved into or was supplanted by the guitar and , retaining associations with both courtly and more populist in and . Its legacy endures in modern reconstructions, informing practices and highlighting the instrument's in bridging medieval and traditions.

History

Origins and early development

The gittern emerged as a distinct in during the late , likely evolving from earlier lute-like chordophones with significant influences transmitted through the . Scholars identify the guitarra latina—a short-necked, flat-backed instrument—and the guitarra morisca—a pear-shaped, long-necked lute variant—as probable precursors, both documented in medieval Iberian sources and reflecting the cultural synthesis of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim musical traditions following the Reconquista. The earliest pictorial evidence appears in the Cantigas de Santa Maria, a 13th-century manuscript compilation (ca. 1257–1283) commissioned by , which depicts both guitarra latina and guitarra morisca instruments in courtly and devotional scenes across the . Literary references soon followed in , with the term guiterne (or variants like guisterne) first recorded in romances such as Blancheflour et Florence (ca. 1270) and additions to (1275–1280). Similar mentions appear in Italian texts like Dante's (1304–1307) and English records by 1306, indicating rapid dissemination from Iberia to Italy, , and England. Initially favored among musicians and between ca. and , the gittern served as a sophisticated instrument in settings, as evidenced by a gitterner performing at the knighting feast of Prince Edward (later King Edward II) in in 1306, organized by King Edward I. Key early depictions include frescoes at Cathedral (ca. 1330) by Master Juan Oliver, showing a musician playing a gittern with a carved neck and pegbox, and illuminations in French and Iberian manuscripts portraying it in polyphonic ensembles. This foundational role paved the way for the gittern's broader adoption in the 14th century.

Popularity and regional variations

The gittern reached its peak popularity between approximately and , becoming a versatile instrument adopted across social strata in , from royal courts and noble households to urban taverns and amateur domestic settings. minstrels employed it in courtly entertainments and , while amateurs, including noblewomen, played it for personal ; from and its presence in royal inventories, such as the four gitterns owned by in the 1370s, and its association with festive events like the 1306 knighting feast under King Edward I. By the mid-14th century, its use extended to taverns, where it accompanied dancing and secular , sometimes linked to rowdy gatherings as noted in contemporary French literature, though evidence of its role in religious contexts remains limited primarily to pious lay performances rather than liturgical ones. Regional variations in the gittern's design and nomenclature reflected local musical traditions and linguistic differences, contributing to its widespread appeal. In Spain, known as the guiterna or guitarra, it appeared in Catalan courts and manuscripts like the Libro de buen amor (1330s), featuring a pear-shaped body and three to four strings suited for accompanying . The French guiterne or guisterne was prevalent in royal and urban environments, with depictions in Parisian art showing it in ensemble playing; Italian variants called chitarra were used in courtly settings, as referenced in Dante's Convivio (1304–1307), while the German quintern emphasized its plucked style in Bavarian households, such as those of Albert I (1384–1404). These adaptations maintained the instrument's core pear-shaped body and fretted neck but varied in sound hole shapes—D-shaped in Iberian examples versus single roses in northern Europe—and stringing, allowing for regional tuning preferences like fourths in France. Historical provide concrete evidence of the gittern's integration into musical ensembles, particularly in duets with lutes, which highlighted its rhythmic and melodic capabilities in both secular and occasional . Court accounts from the Duke of Burgundy's household in 1454 describe gittern-lute pairings for dance accompaniment, while English payments from the 1360s, such as those to Jehan Hautemer, indicate its use alongside lutes in and festivities; Italian and German sources similarly note ensemble roles in urban celebrations. In secular contexts, it supported tavern and courtly dances, as evidenced by 47 across from 1275–1400, though its religious applications were more subdued, appearing in lay devotional rather than formal services. Late medieval examples show adaptations that extended the gittern's range, including an increase to five courses of strings, likely to accommodate more complex polyphony as musical styles evolved. Johannes Tinctoris's treatise De inventione et usu musicae (ca. 1481–1483) describes the ghiterra as tuned in intervals similar to the lute, reflecting this shift in northern European instruments like the German quintern, which derived its name from the "five-fold" configuration. Surviving artifacts, such as the Hans Oth gittern (ca. 1432–1463) with five courses, confirm this development, allowing for richer harmonic textures in ensemble and solo playing by the 15th century.

Decline and legacy

By the late , the gittern's popularity had begun to wane, largely due to shifts in musical styles and preferences that favored instruments with richer tonal qualities. In the around 1481–1483, music theorist Johannes Tinctoris observed that the gittern was "used most rarely" because of the "thinness of its sound," making it less suitable for the emerging polyphonic compositions and the development of systems. This decline accelerated into the as the gained dominance in European courts, with its fuller resonance and adaptable fingertip playing technique supplanting the gittern's quill-based method, which players did not readily transition away from. Concurrently, the rise of the flat-backed guitarra in and later in and marked a pivotal replacement; by the early , this four-course instrument, tuned similarly to the gittern but with a more versatile , began to eclipse the round-backed medieval form, leading to the gittern's near disappearance from elite musical contexts by 1600. Despite its obsolescence, the gittern left a profound legacy as a progenitor of several later stringed instruments, influencing the evolution of the modern guitar through shared construction elements like the waisted body and fretted neck. Its design and tuning principles contributed to the development of the Renaissance guitar, mandore, bandurria, and even the 18th-century gallichon, with the mandore representing a direct hybrid of gittern features and lute traditions. The gittern's standard four-course tuning in fourths (such as a-d'-g'-c'') and occasional five-course variant with a major third (d-g-b'-e'-a') persisted in these descendants, providing a foundational framework for Renaissance plucked instruments and facilitating comparable chordal and melodic playing. Additionally, the gittern's plectrum techniques, involving quill or gut picks for articulate strumming and plucking, influenced early Renaissance practices on related instruments like the cittern, where hybrid plectrum-finger methods allowed for polyphonic expression before the full adoption of fingertip styles. Scholarship on the gittern underwent a significant transition in the , particularly with Wright's article, which clarified longstanding terminological by the gittern—a round-backed, gut-strung instrument played with a —from the flat-backed , thereby reestablishing the gittern's unique identity and historical role. This reclassification has enabled modern researchers to trace its legacy more accurately, emphasizing its contributions to the broader lute-guitar family without conflating it with contemporaneous instruments.

Terminology and identity

Etymology

The term gittern derives from the kithara, transmitted through Latin cithara and medieval qitara, entering European vernaculars in the late 13th century before appearing as guiterne by the late 13th century. This linguistic path reflects the instrument's roots in classical stringed traditions, adapted via cultural exchanges in the Mediterranean. The English form gittern emerged as a borrowing from the French, often spelled giterne or gyterne in texts, emphasizing its wire-strung, guitar-like qualities in medieval contexts. Regional variations in nomenclature highlight the gittern's dissemination across Europe, with adaptations tied to local phonetic and cultural influences. In Spain, it was termed guiterna as early as the 13th century, documented in the Cantigas de Santa Maria under Alfonso X, distinguishing Moorish (guitarra morisca) and Latin (guitarra ladina) subtypes for dance accompaniment. French records favored guiterne or guisterne, while Italian sources used chitarra, and German texts employed quintern or quinterna—a Latinized form possibly evoking "five-fold" due to phonetic resemblance rather than string count. These terms, appearing from the 1270s onward, underscore the instrument's spread from Iberian origins to courts in , , and the . The evolution of gittern terminology mirrors its social trajectory and occasional conflation with akin instruments, particularly the , due to overlapping names derived from cithara. Early noble associations (1275–1350) yielded precise usages like guiterne latine, evolving to broader, more colloquial forms by 1350–1400 as the instrument entered taverns and festivities, before becoming a nostalgic emblem post-1400. Scholarly distinctions, such as those by , clarify that while citole and gittern were sometimes mistranslated interchangeably in manuscripts, primary records maintain separation based on construction and playing style. Historical inventories and literature from 1270–1500 provide concrete evidence of the term's usage, predominantly in settings before wider . For instance, a 1306 English record notes "Le Gitarer" at II's knighting feast in , and 1315/16 accounts reference "Dominic, gitterner" in Queen Isabella's service. Literary examples include the (1275–1280), where Pygmalion plays a quitarre at a wedding, and Juan Ruiz's Libro de Buen Amor (1330s), mentioning guitarra morisca for rhythmic dances; by the late 14th century, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales depicts the gittern in tavern scenes, signaling its democratization. These records, spanning royal wardrobes like Charles V's 1373 inventory of five guiternes, illustrate the term's consistent application amid the instrument's peak popularity. The gittern has frequently been misidentified with the citole in early scholarship, largely due to overlapping terminology and visual similarities in medieval depictions, leading some sources to label round-backed instruments as citoles while identifying flat-backed or waisted ones as gitterns. This confusion extended to the mandore, a smaller plucked instrument that was sometimes conflated with the gittern in 19th- and early 20th-century classifications, such as those by Galpin, who grouped waisted chordophones under gittern. Laurence Wright's 1977 analysis resolved much of this ambiguity by re-examining literary and artistic evidence, establishing the gittern as distinct from the citole, which features a flat or waisted back rather than the gittern's characteristic rounded, carved form. A primary structural distinction lies in the gittern's construction as a carved, one-piece body with a rounded back and hitch pins securing the strings to the instrument's rim, contrasting with the lute's multi-ribbed, bent-back assembly where strings are tied to a glued bridge. Unlike the citole's often flat-backed, non-pear-shaped body with a pronounced neck and fixed frets, the gittern's smooth neck-to-body transition and sickle-shaped pegbox emphasize its lute-family affiliation while avoiding the lute's more complex ribbing. These features, evident in surviving artifacts like the Wartburg gittern, underscore the gittern's simpler, solid-wood build suited to plectrum playing. Iconographic evidence from sources like the Cantigas de Santa Maria (c. 1257–1283) and 14th-century Parisian manuscripts has been pivotal in post-1977 clarifications, showing the gittern's pear-shaped outline and hitch-pin system in contexts where citoles appear separately with thumbhole necks or lute-like instruments with ribbed backs. Such depictions, including duets between gittern and lute in works by Agnolo Gaddi (c. 1390), highlight the gittern's unique profile amid earlier scholarly debates. The gittern occupied a broader social than the lute, appearing in both noble courts—such as III's inventories (1330s)—and popular settings like taverns and urban festivities, whereas the lute increasingly became associated with elite, fingertip-plucked performance by the late . This versatility distinguished the gittern from the more specialized , often linked to ceremonial or roles, and the , which emerged later in less formal contexts.

Physical characteristics

Construction and materials

The gittern featured a compact, round-backed body typically carved from a single block of timber, such as , fruitwood, or lime, allowing for a smooth, integral transition between the neck and body without joints. This monolithic construction contributed to its lightweight and resonant qualities, with the body often pear- or tortoise-shaped to facilitate a soft, intimate sound projection. The surviving 15th-century Wartburg gittern by Hans Oth of Nuremberg confirms this carved design. Luxury variants, as recorded in the 1373 inventory of Charles V of France, incorporated ivory and silver ornamentation for decorative enhancement. In terms of scale, the gittern was notably small, with vibrating string lengths ranging from 30 to 45 cm, as evidenced by the Wartburg gittern (445 mm). The sound hole was centrally positioned and typically adorned with a carved or inlaid rosette, providing both acoustic function and aesthetic . The pegbox was characteristically - or curved-shaped, extending rearward with tuning pegs inserted from the back, as seen in 14th-century and the instrument's design. String anchorage relied on hitch pins at the tail, without a traditional bridge in most cases, aligning with majority iconographic depictions; a minority featured glued bridges instead. Variations in construction emerged over time, particularly in course configuration, with 3–4 courses standard in earlier models and up to 5 courses in later 15th-century examples like the Wartburg gittern. Body outlines and pegbox curvatures also differed regionally, reflecting influences from Moorish designs in the guiterne moresque subtype, which emphasized the sickle pegbox as a symbolic element. These adaptations maintained the instrument's core carved, round-backed form while accommodating evolving musical demands.

Strings, neck, and tuning

The gittern typically featured gut strings arranged in 2 to 5 courses, with each course consisting of single, double, or triple strings, allowing for variations in volume and tonal balance. Iconographic evidence, such as Simone Martini's fresco The Journey of the Magi (c. 1312–1318), depicts four double courses with paired strings of lighter and darker red hues, suggesting octave stringing where one string in each pair is tuned an octave lower to enhance bass response. These gut strings were often dyed for visual distinction in artwork, though practical reconstructions confirm their use in undyed form for acoustic clarity. The neck of the gittern was fretted, typically with tied gut frets wrapped around the neck for adjustable intonation, though some iconographic examples show metal frets or double frets possibly intended for Pythagorean tuning or a buzzing effect. Strings were anchored at the base via hitch pins or directly to the tail of the instrument, passing over a low bridge to the nut before reaching tuning pegs in a rear- or side-mounted pegbox, as inferred from 14th- and 15th-century depictions. A surviving 15th-century gittern, crafted by Hans Oth in Nuremberg (c. 1432–1463), exemplifies this setup with a five-course configuration and a carved neck integral to the body, featuring remnants of a fretted fingerboard. Historical sources propose specific tuning systems for the gittern, adapting to its course count. For the four-course variant, the Berkeley Theory Manuscript (pre-1361) illustrates a tuning in fourths: from lowest to highest, a–d'–g'–c''. This re-entrant configuration facilitated chordal playing in medieval polyphony. The five-course gittern, more common by the late 15th century, incorporated a major third interval akin to contemporary lutes, as described by Johannes Tinctoris in De inventione et usu musicae (c. 1481–1483), with an example such as a–e'–b'–e''–a'' (fourths except the third-to-fourth course). Inferences from the Hans Oth instrument support this lute-like tuning, adjusted for its smaller scale length of approximately 30–35 cm.

Playing technique

Plectrum use and styles

The gittern was predominantly played using a , typically fashioned from a plucked from the of birds such as geese, swans, or eagles, which provided a flexible yet precise tool for striking the strings. Alternative materials included bent gut strings, formed into a loop for grip, or rigid options like bone, antler, or ivory, the latter noted in 15th-century Italian sources for its durability in gittern performance. These were held in the right hand, often between the index and middle fingers with the thumb securing it, allowing for controlled downward strokes across the strings. Primary techniques involved strumming to produce rhythmic accompaniment for monophonic melodies or dances, as well as plucking individual or adjacent string courses for polyphonic textures, with dampening techniques employed to isolate non-adjacent notes. Strumming emphasized forceful, rhythmic patterns suitable for projecting sound in lively settings, while plucking facilitated melodic lines and added through open courses. Fingerpicking remained rare on the gittern, unlike the contemporaneous which increasingly favored fingertip plucking by the 15th century, preserving the gittern's distinct plectrum-based style. Iconographic evidence consistently depicts gittern players wielding a plectrum in the right hand, supporting its role as the instrument's standard playing method from the 13th to 15th centuries. This approach aligned well with the gittern's tuning, enabling efficient execution of late 14th-century rhythms through strumming and the incorporation of sustained drones on lower courses for harmonic support. The plectrum's versatility thus contributed to the gittern's adaptability in both monophonic and emerging polyphonic repertoires of the period.

Performance contexts

The gittern was employed across a variety of medieval settings, including royal courts, urban taverns, personal devotional settings, and domestic play. In courtly environments, it featured prominently among musicians, such as during III's English court in the 1330s and 1340s, where gittern players were recorded as entertainers at feasts and banquets. Taverns and houses adopted the instrument for lively social gatherings, accompanying dances and revelry, as noted in 14th-century French texts like Renart le Contrefait and Juan Ruiz's Libro de Buen Amor. Religious contexts included its use in devotional , such as by de Blois in 1347 for pious expression, though evidence remains sparse. players, particularly women in urban households and nobles seeking virtuous leisure, incorporated the gittern into private -making around 1300 in places like Paris. The instrument often participated in duets or small ensembles, pairing with lutes, voices, or other strings like the vielle to enhance harmonic texture in both soloistic and accompanying roles. Its repertoire, while undocumented in notation specific to the gittern—no surviving scores exist tailored to its tuning or range—encompassed inferred secular songs such as love ballads, dance tunes like those in the Roman de la Rose (c. 1230–1275), and occasional religious pieces suited to liturgical or devotional accompaniment. Socially, the gittern originated in elite royal milieus from 1270 to 1325, as seen in Iberian courts with Alfonso X's (1257–1283), before achieving broader by 1350 across urban and middle strata in , including and . Acoustically, its compact body and higher-pitched strings produced a thin , as described by Tinctoris in De inventione et usu musicae (1481–1483), which contributed to its rare use by the late .

Iconography and surviving examples

Artistic depictions

Artistic depictions of the gittern appear prominently in medieval European iconography from the 13th to 15th centuries, providing key insights into its physical form and social role. These representations, found in illuminated manuscripts, frescoes, and panel paintings, illustrate the instrument's pear-shaped body, rounded back, and integral , often carved from a single piece of wood. Early examples, such as those in the (c. 1257–1283, ), show a gittern with three single strings and D-shaped soundholes, highlighting its compact design suitable for portable performance. Frescoes and paintings further reveal variations in construction and stringing. In Simone Martini's fresco cycle depicting the life of Saint Martin of Tours, particularly the scene Saint Martin is Knighted (1312–1318, di San Martino, , ), a musician plays a four-course gittern with octave stringing, featuring double courses of gut strings in light and dark red hues, plucked with a quill plectrum held between the forefinger and thumb. Other Italian works, like Agnolo Gaddi's Coronation of the Virgin (c. 1390) and Pere Serra's Virgin of the Angels (c. 1385, Catalonia), portray gitterns in duet with lutes, emphasizing their role in ensemble settings with intricate soundboard roses and marquetry details. French manuscripts, such as the Roman de la Rose (c. 1230–1275) and the Ethics of Aristotle (1376), depict larger gitterns with elongated necks accompanying singers and dancers, often in courtly or narrative scenes. Visuals consistently show players in dynamic poses across social contexts, underscoring the gittern's versatility. Musicians are illustrated strumming or plucking in religious processions, royal feasts, and urban gatherings, with the instrument balanced without straps and held against the body. use is emphasized, as in Martini's , where the is sliced lengthwise for strumming, and hand positions avoid stylized conventions, suggesting realistic technique. Body shapes vary from slender, sickle-pegged models in Spanish and to broader forms in French depictions, with double gut frets sometimes visible for tuning or buzzing effects. Regional styles reflect cultural adaptations and instrument evolution. Italian iconography, as in Martini's work, favors octave-strung four-course gitterns in aristocratic environments, indicating refined courtly use. French art portrays oversized variants for accompaniment in illuminated texts, aligning with urban and noble patronage. English illustrations from the Chaucer era, such as those in late 14th-century manuscripts like the Canterbury Tales, show gitterns in revelry and tavern scenes at sites like Gloucester Cathedral (c. 1337–1350) and Great Malvern Priory (15th century), often with three to five courses. These depictions collectively suggest four courses as common by the 14th century, informing reconstructions alongside rare surviving artifacts.

Archaeological artifacts

The surviving archaeological artifacts related to the gittern are exceptionally rare, with scholarly assessments identifying two known medieval examples following discoveries and analyses after 2002—one confirmed as a gittern and the other a closely related koboz—providing crucial physical evidence for the instrument's construction and evolution without contradicting extensive iconographic representations. Classifications of these artifacts are debated in scholarship, with some sources (e.g., theses and encyclopedias) treating the Elbląg find as a gittern while others reclassify it as a koboz. A key example resides in the collections of Wartburg Castle in Eisenach, Germany, crafted by the Nuremberg luthier Hans Ott (active 1432–1463) around 1450. This gittern, carved from a single piece of maple for the body, neck, and pegbox, with a spruce or fir soundboard, has a vibrating string length of 44 cm and five double courses originally strung with gut, though no string remnants remain. The pegbox is curved and intact, featuring original hitch pins at the tail for string attachment, and the body exhibits a smooth, rounded back without ribs. Recent examinations, including a 2021 re-analysis, reveal undocumented 19th-century restorations but confirm its authenticity as a high-quality urban instrument, with implications for dating Nuremberg workshops and reconstructing the gittern's bright, plectrum-played tone in late medieval ensembles. The second artifact, discovered in 1986 during excavations in a latrine in Elbląg, Poland (formerly Elbing under Teutonic Order control), dates to the mid-15th century (ca. 1350–1450) and measures about 54.8 cm in length, carved from solid lime wood. Initially identified as a gittern but reclassified in some studies as a koboz (an eastern European short-necked lute related to the gittern family), it features wide string spacing, a fretless neck, and eight strings (in a 3+2+3 course arrangement: two triple courses and one double course) arranged via four hitch pins at the tail and an eight-pegged pegbox (with a carved woman's head volute). Gut string remnants were preserved intact upon discovery, along with the bridge and nut grooves, though the body shows splits from impact and lacks fine finishing compared to western examples. This find, analyzed in post-2002 studies, illuminates adaptations of plucked instruments in Hanseatic trade contexts and supports reconstructions of their role among urban lower classes, bridging western and eastern traditions.

Relationships to other instruments

Within the guitar family

The gittern served as a direct ancestor to the 16th-century guitarra and, through subsequent evolutions, to the modern guitar, particularly via the development of flat-backed designs in Renaissance instruments. Historical records indicate that the gittern's form and playing style transitioned into the four- and five-course guitars of the Renaissance period, with the guitarra emerging as a prominent plucked instrument in Spain and Italy around 1500. This lineage reflects a gradual shift from the medieval gittern's compact, pear-shaped body to larger, more resonant flat-backed guitars that became standardized by the 17th century. The gittern also exhibits links to other instruments within the guitar family, including the mandore, sharing similarities in construction and tuning systems. The mandore, a smaller Renaissance instrument, inherited the gittern's gut-stringing and compact morphology, often tuned in fourths similar to the gittern's re-entrant configurations. Key shared traits among these instruments include a fretted neck for precise intonation, plectrum-based playing for rhythmic strumming, and course stringing that allowed for both melody and accompaniment. The gittern typically featured three to four courses of gut strings, a setup mirrored in the guitarra and mandore, enabling techniques like thumb-assisted plucking alongside plectrum strokes. These elements underscored the gittern's role as a versatile folk and court instrument, influencing the ergonomic and sonic qualities of its descendants. The gittern contributed to the broader of plucked instruments, traits such as fretted and course strings with the early , amid shifts in musical .

Comparison with lute and citole

The gittern differed from the lute primarily in its and , featuring a solid, carved body from a single piece of wood rather than the lute's ribbed, multi-piece assembly, which allowed for a shallower, more compact form suited to the gittern's higher pitch and portability. Both instruments shared similar tuning systems based on fourths and a major third—such as the gittern's proposed four-course setup of c″–g′–d′–a and the lute's comparable relative intervals—but the gittern's smaller scale (e.g., string lengths around 44 cm in surviving examples) emphasized its role in rhythmic strumming and accompaniment over the lute's capacity for intricate polyphony. Iconographic evidence, such as 14th-century depictions in the Cantigas de Santa Maria, often shows the gittern paired with lutes in ensemble settings, highlighting their complementary functions, while the lute's bent-back pegbox contrasted with the gittern's sickle-shaped one. In contrast to the citole, the gittern exhibited a pear- or teardrop-shaped body with a smoother neck transition, as opposed to the citole's distinctive holly-leaf or vase-shaped outline and flat back. The gittern typically used hitch pins for string attachment at the tail, similar to some citole variants, but lacked the citole's elevated fingerboard and fixed frets, instead employing tied frets; tuning also diverged, with the gittern favoring fourths (e.g., A–d–g–c′) while the citole's proposed setup was c″–g′–d′–c′ or lower equivalents. Historical confusions between the two were resolved by Laurence Wright in 1977, who reclassified the British Museum citole (c. 1280–1330) as distinct from the gittern based on its flat-backed, monoxyle construction and iconographic matches, such as those in the Queen Mary's Psalter, rather than earlier misidentifications as a gittern variant. Functionally, the gittern supported strumming in secular and courtly contexts, like those documented in Edward III's records (1363), whereas the citole emphasized solo or vocal accompaniment in noble settings. Surviving artifacts, including the Ott gittern (c. 1450) and the British Museum citole, underscore these morphological distinctions, with debates over Eastern links (e.g., to the koboz) remaining unresolved but not altering the core Western European separations.

Cultural and literary significance

References in medieval literature

The gittern appears in medieval literature from the late 13th century onward, initially associated with noble and royal contexts that underscored its status as a refined instrument for entertainment and ceremony. In texts such as Blancheflour et Florence (ca. 1270), the "gitere" is depicted in a harmonious garden setting among nobility, while the Roman de la Rose (1275–1280) features the "quitarre" at a celebratory wedding scene involving high society. Similarly, in Cléomadès (ca. 1275), a minstrel named Pinchonnet plays the "kitaire" for aristocratic audiences, and Dante's Convivio (1304–1307) praises the "chitarra" as a symbol of elegant musicality. These early literary references, spanning French, Occitan, and Italian works, portray the gittern as an emblem of courtly sophistication, often linked to royal inventories and feasts, such as the employment of a "Le Gitarer" at Edward II's 1306 banquet and gittern players in royal service like Dominic in 1315/16. By the 14th century, literary mentions broadened to reflect the instrument's adoption across social strata, including urban and tavern settings, while maintaining ties to minstrelsy and courtly love. Works like Juan Ruiz's Libro de Buen Amor (1330s) describe the "guitarra morisca" and "ladina" accompanying dances in both noble and popular gatherings, and Renart le Contrefait (1328–ca. 1342) associates the "guisterne" with tavern songs and nocturnal revelry. In Le Dit des Rues de Paris (ca. 1300), women are noted playing gitterns in city streets, indicating everyday urban use. The instrument's role in minstrelsy is evident in depictions of professional performers at courts and festivals, such as Andrea Destrer serving as gitternarius to Queen Philippa in 1363, and its connection to courtly love appears in romantic narratives like L’intelligenza, where it evokes amorous themes. Eustache Deschamps' poetry implies the gittern in contexts of noble dancing and social commentary on music's pleasures, such as in his ballade describing ensembles with "rotes, gitterns, pipes, and flutes," reinforcing its place in secular entertainment. Predominantly secular in portrayal, the gittern occasionally appears in religious-adjacent texts, such as Konrad of Megenberg's Buch der Natur (ca. 1350), which links string instruments like it to pious reflection, though such instances are rare compared to its dominant role in profane minstrelsy and revels. Post-1400, references to the gittern in literature diminish sharply, paralleling its instrumental decline and shifting it toward nostalgic or relic-like symbolism. By the early 15th century, mentions are sparse, with the last notable noble associations around 1418, as seen in reduced court inventories under figures like . Late 15th-century writers like describe the "ghiterre" as an antiquated, tortoise-shaped instrument, evoking its faded prominence. This literary fade mirrors broader evidence of the gittern's replacement by the , transforming it from a vibrant social icon to a historical curiosity in texts.

Specific works and authors

The Cantigas de Santa Maria, a 13th-century collection of over 400 Galician-Portuguese devotional songs attributed to King Alfonso X of Castile and his court, prominently features the gittern—referred to as the guitarra latina—through numerous illuminated depictions accompanying the musical texts. These illustrations portray gittern players in ensemble performances, often alongside fiddles and rebecs, emphasizing the instrument's role in sacred and courtly music-making during the period. Such visual integrations within the literary-musical work underscore the gittern's cultural significance in Iberian traditions, where it symbolized both artistic expression and religious devotion. In the poetry of 14th-century French composer , the gittern (guiterne) appears in descriptions evoking courtly splendor and social entertainment. His narrative poem La Prise d'Alexandrie (c. 1370) references "moraches et guiternes" in scenes of royal banquets at a , where musicians perform for , and later in tavern settings with riotous crowds. These passages illustrate the gittern's adaptability, bridging elite patronage—such as that of King John II, whose minstrels included guiterne specialists like Jehan Hautemer—and vernacular amusements. Machaut's allusions, drawn from contemporary royal records, reflect the instrument's prominence in French musical life amid the era. Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (late 14th century) embeds the gittern (gyterne) in English , often tying it to everyday and ribald contexts that reveal its social ubiquity. In "," the squire Absolon plays the gittern outside a window to court Alison, portraying it as an intimate tool for amorous pursuits in bourgeois or environments. "" similarly depicts the reveler Perkin dancing to his gittern or ribible, evoking youthful leisure, while "The Pardoner’s Tale" describes gitterns resounding with harps and lutes amid drunken debauchery. In "The Manciple’s Tale," the sun god Phoebus destroys his gittern in jealous rage, using the act to symbolize shattered in mythic . These examples, rooted in Chaucer's observations of life, position the gittern as a versatile of medieval English recreation and emotion. The theologian (1363–1429) employs the gittern metaphorically in his early 15th-century writings to convey moral and spiritual concepts. In a French sermon composed around 1400, Gerson likens the four —, , fortitude, and temperance—to "la guiterne de quatre cordes" (the gittern of four strings), suggesting that their balanced tuning produces harmonious Christian living. This analogy, amid Gerson's broader critiques of secular arts, draws on the instrument's presumed four-string configuration to advocate ethical discipline in a turbulent post-Schism era. Literary references to the gittern are complemented by documentary evidence from inventories spanning 1270–1500, which record its ownership among European elites and attest to its material culture. Charles V of France's 1373 inventory, for example, itemizes multiple luxurious guiternes, including one with a carved lion's head pegbox and another featuring an ivory angelot inlay, indicating royal investment in customized instruments. Similarly, the 1417–18 inventory of Arnold de Halle lists three gitterns among vielles and lutes, while René d'Anjou's 1471 catalog notes two plain wooden guiternes, reflecting the instrument's enduring presence from French courts to princely collections across the later Middle Ages. These records, preserved in archival accounts, provide tangible proof of the gittern's status as a valued possession beyond poetic imagination.
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