Medieval instruments are musical instruments that were used between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The majority of medieval musical instruments have modern counterparts. Wind, plucked string, bowed string, keyboard, and percussion are some of the most common subcategories.
Instruments were chosen in the medieval era based on where a song was to be performed rather than the song itself. Instruments in the Middle Ages were usually classified as either secular or religious, and they were rarely used for both. It was particularly unusual to see secular instruments used in a religious context. Instruments used to play secular music were, on average, less expensive than those used to play religious music. Given their income and location, secular musicians tended to use whatever instrument was available.
Because most medieval instruments, including the winds, were made of wood, only a few have survived to the present day. The ones that are still around are usually fragile, structurally unsound, and rarely playable. The majority of our knowledge of medieval instruments comes from surviving medieval images and texts.
Ancient Greek, Minoan, and Egyptian civilizations all made extensive use of musical instruments. During the Medieval Period, many of the instruments made during these eras were reworked. For example, the ancient Greeks built a hydraulis, a water-powered organ, for entertainment. During the medieval period, organs based on this design were used, but their use in religious settings steadily declined due to their pagan associations.
Recorders, crumhorns, pan flutes, and shawms were among the medieval wind instruments. The shawm, the ancestor of the oboe, was arguably the most influential reed instrument of the Medieval Period. Crumhorns were curved and produced a nasally hiss, while the shawm, the ancestor of the oboe, was arguably the most influential reed instrument of the Medieval Period. A harpsichord or a portable organ were used as keyboards. A portative organ’s bellows were controlled the player or another person. Around 1500 CE, the harpsichord rose to prominence.
In the Middle Ages, stringed instruments were plentiful, and they were either plucked or played with a bow. The lute and harp, as well as the psaltery, were plucked medieval instruments brought to Europe after the Crusades. The lute’s origins can be traced back to 711 CE, and its popularity was largely due to its ease of use, portability, and low cost of production. The vielle, viol, rebec, and hurdy-gurdy were all bowed string instruments. The vielle and viol are, respectively, the ancestors of the modern violin and viola.