Citole
Medieval, about AD 1280-1330
England
Music for a royal love?
A citole is the medieval equivalent of a guitar. This example is
both a unique survival of its type and an outstanding example of
medieval secular art. It was highly prized in its day and highly
regarded throughout its history.
Alterations have been made to the citole at several points in
the past, including attempts to convert it to a violin. Among the
changes is the insertion of a silver plate above the peg box,
engraved with the arms of Elizabeth I, Queen of England (1558-1603)
and her favourite and lover, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. One
of the most likely uses for the citole in medieval times would be
as accompaniment to love ballads. The amorous associations clearly
persisted into the Elizabethan age.
The back, sides and neck are all carved from a single piece of
wood and date from the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century.
At this time the soundboard would have been flat and without the
f-shaped sound holes.
The richly carved decoration reveals a close observance of
nature and a fascination with the forest. A variety of creatures
emerge from the dense foliage of oak, vine, hawthorn and mulberry
leaves. Some are hybrid monsters, such as the archer with the head
and torso of a youth but the hindquarters of an animal. Others are
huntsmen, animals of the chase and a swineherd who knocks down
acorns to feed his pigs - the traditional 'labour of the month' for
October or November. The whole culminates in the head and wings of
a green-eyed dragon.
P. Kevin et al, A musical instrument fit for a queen: the
metamorphosis of a Medieval citole, The British Museum
Technical Research Bulletin, Volume 2, 2008, pp13-28, (Archetype
Press in association with the British Museum)
M. Remnant and R. Marks, 'A medieval gittern', British Museum Yearbook-1, No. 4: Music and Civilisation (1980), pp. pp.83-134
J. Cherry, Medieval decorative art (London, The British Museum Press, 1991)
J. Robinson, Masterpieces: Medieval Art (London, British Museum Press, 2008)