Scan 24
The violin & its story : or, the history & construction of the violin, 1905
14 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 10. See the scan on archive.org.
1diameter of three centimetres. There is one feature about the bridge of the Crouth which is of great interest to the intelligent observer, viz., its peculiar position and the unequal height of its feet. The right end of the bridge is nearer the tailpiece than the left end; the left foot is about seven centimetres long, goes through the left sound-hole, and rests on the back of the instrument; the right foot, on the other hand, resting on the table or belly, near the right sound hole, is only two centimetres high. It will therefore be seen that the left foot of the bridge serves a similar purpose to that of the sound-post of the violin.
3Fig. 5 shows the drawing given by the above-mentioned Edward Jones, which clearly shows the position of the left foot of the bridge.
5The tuning of the Crouth was as follows:—
76th. String. 5th. 4th. 3rd. 2nd. 1st.
9That this method of tuning was not universal, however, is shown by a statement made by Mr. Bingley in 1801, who heard a Crouth player at Carnarvon who tuned his instrument thus:—
116th. String 5th. 4th. 3rd. 2nd. 1st.
13The reader will gather, from the details of the Crouth here given, that to manufacture this instrument required the highest skill of the lute-maker, and further, that the Crouth received all the improvements of which its construction was capable. We have already stated that its use in certain parts of England gradually diminished; and it is certain that the Crouth exercised no influence on the development of the violin itself, for the opinion is generally accepted, and may be maintained on clear
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