Scan 84
Researches into the early history of the violin family, 1883
10 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 74. See the scan on archive.org.
1a shell or cover, crogen; the crab, cranc; the frog, llyffant; the toad, llyffan-du—i.e., black frog. I must leave it to etymologists to determine whether crogen can possibly have any connection with crwth.
3In the old description of the crwth already noticed, which Edward Jones supposes to date from the fifteenth century, the back of the instrument is likened to "the back of an old man." Can this possibly allude to the tortoise?
5Howbeit, the tradition that a certain favourite stringed instrument of theirs has been originally constructed from the shell of a tortoise prevails with several nations, and affords, without corroborative evidence, no proof of the instrument with which this notion is associated having been derived from the ancient lyre. Take, for instance the vina of the Hindus, which is also called kach' hapi, signifying "a tortoise," and is believed to have been originally made of the shell of that reptile. The construction and form of the vina are entirely different from those of the lyre chelys or testudo.
7Again, the lute, which during several centuries was as popular with many European nations as the pianoforte is with them at the present day, was designated by the Latin name of testudo, because its vaulted back was supposed to represent a tortoise-shell. Ernst Gottlieb Baron, in his treatise on the lute ("Historische Theoretische und Practische Untersuchung des Instruments der Lauten," Nürnberg, 1727), takes much trouble to prove that it is an offspring of the chelys. We know now, however, as a well-ascertained fact, that we obtained the lute from the Arabs, who still possess such an instrument, calling it el'oud; hence its name lute. We also know that the ancient Eastern nations had, besides various kinds of the lyre, certain stringed instruments which closely resembled the lute.
9I mention these facts, which seem to confute some of my previous arguments, since, in order to ascertain the truth, it is especially advisable to take into consideration whatever tends to rebut a new proposition. A prudent man who desires to purchase a house does not look only at its frontage,
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.