The Development of Western European Stringed Instruments

This narrative of how stringed instruments evolved in Western Europe focuses on names, playing styles, sizes, tunings, stringings and construction basics, within a chronological framework.

The influences of previous instruments and technological developments are outlined. New insights are offered into the early development of most of the instruments, including viols, guitars and violins. Some of the conclusions are likely to differ from the expectations of many current early-music specialists.