Medieval era

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Classical era

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20th century/modern/postmodern
Medieval music consists of songs, instrumental pieces, and liturgical music from about 500 A.D. to
1400. Medieval music was an era of Western music, including liturgical music (also known as
sacred) used for the church, and secular music, non-religious music.

Medieval music includes solely vocal music, such as Gregorian chant and choral music (music for a
group of singers), solely instrumental music, and music that uses both voices and instruments
(typically with the instruments accompanying the voices).

Gregorian chant was sung by monks during Catholic Mass. The Mass is a reenactment of
Christ's Last Supper, intended to provide a spiritual connection between man and God.

This is a list of medieval musical instruments as used in European music.

List[edit]
 Adufe  Portative Organ
 Bagpipes  Psalterium
 Bellows Pipe  Rebabl
 Bladder pipe  Rebec[8]
 Bumbulum  Sackbut[9]
 Citole[1][2]  Shawm[10]
 Crumhorn[3]  Sinfonye - an early form of Hurdy Gurdy
 Cymbals  Tabor
 Dulcimer  Timbrel[11]
 Fiddle - Vielle  Viol[12]
 Flageolet  Zampogna
 Frame Drum
 Gittern[4]
 Glockenspiel
 Guitarra latina (Latin Guitar)
 Guitarra morisca (Moorish Guitar - also
known as Guitarra Sarracena)[5]
 Harp
 Lute[6]
 Lyre
 Organistrum a large form of
medieval Hurdy Gurdy
 Oud[7]
Medieval Musical Instruments
Medieval Musical instruments would be used by the musicians of the period
including the Waits, Minstrelsor Troubadours. There were three categories of
musical instruments in the Middle Ages - wind, string and percussion. Many of the
Medieval musical instruments were the forerunners to our modern musical
instruments.

Bas Instruments and Haut Instruments

Terms of description were Bas instruments and Haut instruments. Bas referred to soft instruments
(literally, "low," but referring to volume, not pitch) which were suitable for the chamber. This type of
instrument included the vielle, rebec and other bowed strings, the lute and other plucked strings and the
recorders. Haut referred to loud instruments (literally "high" but referring to volume, not to pitch) which
were suitable for outdoors. This type of instrument included the shawm, sackbut, pipe and tabor.

Categories of Medieval Musical Instruments

There were many Medieval Musical Instruments that can be described as part of the following categories:

 Woodwind Instruments - Musical instruments which were blown like trumpets or bagpipes
 String Instruments - Musical instruments which were played with a bow or plucked
 Percussion Instruments - various forms of drums and bells were used during the Medieval times

Types of String Musical Instruments

There were many types of string Musical Instruments played during the Medieval times including the
instruments detailed in the following list:

 The Harp - The harp was a favorite instrument of the troubadours and minstrels and was about 30
inches in length
 Lute - A plucked string instrument having a pear-shaped body, a usually bent neck, and a fretted
fingerboard
 The Fiddle - There were a variety of Medieval Fiddles which were played with a bow or plucked
and usually held under the chin or in the crook of the arm. Easily portable and one of the most
popular street musical instruments
 The Rebec - The rebec was an instrument with a round pear-shaped body much like an early
violin
 The Psaltery - The Psaltery was a Medieval musical instrument which was a cross between a harp
and a lyre
 Chittarone - a lute which could reach 6 feet tall
 Cittern - Similar to a modern guitar
 The Dulcimer - The Dulcimer was played by striking the strings with small hammers
 Gittern - Similar to a modern guitar
 The Viol - Viols were played with a bow and held on the lap or between the legs
 The Vielle - Popular string instrument with troubadours and jongleurs
 Mandolin and Mandore - A small and beautifully shaped string instrument resembling the lute
 The Clavichord - an early stringed instrument like a piano but with more delicate sound
 Harpsichord - a harp-shaped instrument of music set horizontally on legs, like the grand piano
 Spinet - The Spinet can be described as a keyed instrument of music resembling a harpsichord,
but smaller
Types of Woodwind Musical Instruments
There were many types of Woodwind Musical Instruments played during the Medieval times including
the instruments detailed in the following list:

 The Flute - Similar to our modern flutes. This type of Musical instruments played by flute-
minstrels of the Middle Ages
 The Trumpet - Long instrument made of metal, often in four parts - often associated with fanfares
and pageants
 The Pipe - The pipe was an extremely basic instrument usually having only three melody holes
 The Shawm - The shawm was a reed instrument with vent holes
 Recorder - The recorder was also an extremely basic instrument with melody holes
 Flageolet - A small fipple flute with four finger holes and two thumb holes.
 The Bagpipe - The Bagpipe was an ancient instrument, used by the poorest people and was made
using a goat or sheep skin and a reed pipe
 The Crumhorn - The crumhorn (Curved Horn) was introduced in the 1400's as a double reed
musical instrument
 The Gemshorn - The gemshorn was made of horn of an ox, chamois or similar
 Cornett - The cornett was an early woodwind instrument taking the form of a long tube with
woodwind-style fingerholes
 The Lizard - The lizard was a descriptive term for an s-shaped horn
 The Ocarina - An egg-shaped woodwind instrument with a mouthpiece and finger holes
 Sackbut - A medieval musical instrument resembling a trombone
 Hautboy - A slender double-reed woodwind instrument with a conical bore and a double-reed
mouthpiece
 English Horn - Despite its name it is not a horn - this instrument is more similar to an oboe
 Cor Anglais - Another name commonly used for the Cor Anglais is the English Horn
 Horns - Originally made of a horn (ox or a ram)
 Bombard - The Bombard can be described as a large shawm
 Oboe - evolved from the Shawm into the hautboy and then the oboe
 Trombone- a long tube whose length can be varied by a U-shaped slide
 Tuba - an ancient trumpet, the lowest brass woodwind instrumen

Types of Percussion Musical Instruments

There were many types of Percussion Musical Instruments played during the Medieval times including
the music instruments detailed in the following list:

 The Drum - Drums were made initially from a hollow tree trunk, clay or metal and covered by
skins of water animals - also called tambours
 Cymbals - Thin round concave metal plates
 The Triangle - The triangle was a musical instrument introduced during the 14th century
 The Tambourine - This musical instrument was traditionally used by a woman
 The Tabor - a small drum used as an accompaniment to a pipe or fife, both being played by the
same person.
 Timbrel - This musical instrument was also referred to as a tambourine and dates back
to antiquity
 Bells - the use of Bells also dates back to antiquity
Early medieval composers (born before 1150)[edit]

Name Born Died Nationality Picture

Jewish-Syrian-born
Romanos the Melodist c. 490 c. 560
Byzantine

Yared 505 571 Ethiopian

Khosrovidukht ("daughter of
8th century 8th century Armenian
Khosrov")

Sahakdukht ("daughter of Sahak") 8th century 8th century Armenian

Otfrid von Weissenburg[1] c. 800 after 870 Frankish

Kassia 805/810 865/867 Byzantine

Notker Balbulus
c. 840 912 Frankish?
(Notker the Stammerer)
 Name Born Died Nationality Picture

Hucbald 840/850 930 Frankish

Tuotilo
c. 850 915 Irish
(Tutilo of Saint Gall)

Etienne de Liege
c. 850 920 Belgian
(Stephen of Liege)

Leo VI the Wise 866 912 Byzantine

Odo of Cluny c. 878 942 French

Heriger of Lobbes (Herigerus) c. 925 1007 Frankish?

Odo of Arezzo 10th century 11th century Italian

Fulbert of Chartres 952-970 1028 French

Adémar de Chabannes c. 988 1034 French

 Name Born Died Nationality Picture

Guido da Arezzo
c. 991/992 after 1033 Italian
(Guido of Arezzo; Guido Aretinus)

Wipo Frankish? (Arles/

c. 995 c. 1048
(Wigbert; Wippo of Burgundy) Burgundy)

Hermann of Reichenau 1013 1054 German

Godric c. 1065 1170 English

Adam of Saint Victor c. 1068 1146 French

 Name Born Died Nationality Picture

William IX, Duke of Aquitaine

(Guilhem de Peitieus; 1071 1126 Occitan
Guillaume d'Aquitaine)

Petrus Abaelardus
1079 1142 French
(Peter Abelard)

Demetrius I of Georgia c. 1093 1156 Georgian

Goslenus
1096 1152 French
(Jocelin of Soissons)

Hildegard of Bingen 1098 1179 German

 Name Born Died Nationality Picture

Marcabru c. 1099 c. 1150 Occitan

Bernard of Cluny 1100 1170 French

Jaufre Rudel 1105 after 1147 Occitan

Albertus Parisiensis
1116 c. 1177 French
(Albert of Paris)
 Name Born Died Nationality Picture

after
Bernart de Ventadorn 1130/1140 Ocitan
1190/1200

Peire d'Alvernhe c. 1130 1215 Occitan

Chrétien de Troyes c. 1130 c. 1190 French

Tibors de Sarenom c. 1130 after 1198 Occitan

before 1150 c. 1201 French

Léonin
 Name Born Died Nationality Picture

(Magister Leonius)

Giraut de Bornelh c. 1138 1215 Occitan

Berenguier de Palazol 1140 1209 Catalan

Arnaut de Mareuil c. 1140 c. 1200 Occitan

Beatritz de Dia
c. 1140 c. 1200 Occitan
(Comtessa de Dia)
 Name Born Died Nationality Picture

Bertran de Born 1140/1150 1215 Occitan

Hendrik van Veldeke Limburgish/

1140/1150 c. 1190
(Heinrich von Veldeke) German

"Vidame de Chartres" c.
1204? French
(probably Guillaume de Ferrières) 1145/1155
 Name Born Died Nationality Picture

Raimbaut d'Aurenga
c. 1147 1173 Occitan
(Raimbaut of Orange)