Books › Old Violins And Their Makers, 1883 › scan 150
Scan 150
Old Violins And Their Makers, 1883
2 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 136. See the scan on archive.org.
1In a description of the fêtes held by the town of Rouen on the 1st and 2nd October, 1550, to celebrate the triumphal and joyous entry into that place of Henry II. and Catherine of Medici, allusion is made to the Nine Muses, clothed in white satin, who discoursed excellent music on "their violins"; and in the accounts of Charles IX., there is a charge of "cinquante livres tournois" paid on the 27th October, 1572, for a "Cremonese violin," purchased for Nicolas Dolinet, "flute and violin player to the king." After the reign of Francis II. the accounts contain frequent entries of similar items, but it is not until well on towards the end of the seventeenth century that any reliable or distinct traces of violin makers can be found. During the reign of Henry IV., and after the treaty of Vervins was signed with Spain in 1598, France was in a somewhat deplorable financial condition. Her workshops were without work, her commerce was interrupted, her agriculture approached a state of general collapse, and brigandage prevailed everywhere. At this time Henry's great minister and friend, Sully, was chancellor of the exchequer, and, although he was a liberal-minded financial reformer, and the unsparing scourge of all who lived on the industry of others, it was during his administration, and in the following year (1599), that the first close corporation of musical instrument makers was formed, having strict statutes accorded to, and taxes on their industry imposed upon them by the king. These statutes were confirmed by letters patent in Louis XIV.'s reign (1681). But, in consequence of great abuses having in the course of time crept into the working of Paris guilds, all the corporations were
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.