Lute

(Arabic, el oud ). A stringed instrument of great antiquity, first mentioned in Persia in 682 A. D. Before the 10th century the lute had only four strings, or four pairs producing four tones, each tone having two strings tuned in unison. About the 10th century a string for a fifth tone was added. The strings were made of silk neatly twisted. The neck of the instrument was provided with frets of string, regulated according to the system of seventeen intervals to an octave. The Chinese god of music is represented playing on a lute with four strings. The lute was very popular in England in Elizabeth’s time. Originally it had eight catgut strings, arranged in four pairs, each pair being in unison. The number of strings varied from time to time, and in the 17th century they were twenty-four. The size of the lute also varied; the treble lute was the smallest, and the ba lute the largest. There were also the Archlute, the Chitarrone, Theorbo, . (Consult Thomas Mace’s Musick’s Monument, 1676.)