History of the Anglo-Saxon Lyre
The Anglo-Saxon Lyre During the early mediaeval period, the Anglo-Saxon lyre, which is a huge plucked lyre, was played throughout England. The oldest lyre discovery in England dates back to about 450 AD, with the most recent discovery reaching back to the 10th century. There are several depictions of it, as well as references to it throughout Anglo-Saxon literature and poetry.
Although this was true, all knowledge of the lyre was lost until archaeological excavations at Sutton Hoo in the 1930s uncovered the remnants of an instrument that had been lost for centuries. The Anglo-Saxon lyre, according to the London Archeology Museum, was the most significant stringed instrument in the ancient world, second only to the violin.
As far as anybody could tell, there were no known liras in northern Europe at the time of Sutton Hoo’s discovery, and the designs of the southern European lyres were so unlike that it was not recognized as such. Archaeologists made the mistake of turning to the only other known stringed instrument in the region, the Irish harp, which was not discovered until 400 years after Sutton Hoo and was not known to exist until then.
An odd and implausible collection of shards of the Irish harp-shaped lyre was on display at the British Museum for just a few years until it was correctly reconstructed by professional observers of early musical instruments in the 1940s, according to the British Museum’s records. When he was finished, he recognized that the lyre was a “lost” musical instrument that had been forgotten throughout history.
In the 1970s, another lyre was discovered in Germany that had been preserved to an almost perfect condition. That the Sutton Hoo lyre reconstruction was accurate, as well as the fact that the instrument was not unique to England, was proven. More lire were discovered in Scandinavia not long after the German discovery of the first. Since the beginning of archaeological digs, 26 such lira has been unearthed, including one in Denmark, eight in England, eight in Germany, two in the Netherlands, three in Norwegian archaeology, and four in Swedish archaeology.
Definition of Lyre
According to current definitions, a lyre is an instrument in which the strings lie parallel to the resonance box, comparable to a violin or an instrument like a guitar. A harp is a musical instrument in which the strings are strung perpendicular to the soundboard of the instrument. This concern with categorizing is entirely new, given that previously, humans made no distinction between lyres and harps, among other instruments. The lyre was known as “Hearpe” in Old English and “harp” in Old Norse, respectively.
A current worldwide name has not been coined for the lyre, which is found in six nations and is played by people from all over the world. A century before it was recognized that the instrument existed in five other nations, the Anglo-Saxon lyre was given a generic English name.
When it comes to the other nations where the lyre was discovered, general names have not gained widespread acceptance; nonetheless, phrases such as “Germanic lyre” in Germany, “Saxon lyre” in the Netherlands, and “Viking” or “Norse lyre” in Scandinavia have occasionally been used. In addition, all of these names are influenced by regional prejudices, which is why they are not often acknowledged as global names. Some possibilities for a global name for the lyre include “warrior lyre” and “war lyre,” among others.
All of the lyre bodies examined were made of maple, oak, or a mix of the two woods. The materials used to construct lyre bridges are quite diverse, and include bronze, amber, antler, horn, willow, and pine. Ash, hazelnut, and willow are the most commonly used woods for pegs. The length of the lyres varies from 53 cm (Koln) to 81 cm (Oberflacht) in length. The majority of the lyres discovered had six strings, a quarter have seven strings, and the remainder have five or eight strings, with only two having the final string in place.
How to play the Anglo-Saxon Lyre?
Since antiquity, images of lyres have been shown in two ways: as instruments with seven or fewer strings, and as instruments with eight or more strings, or even more strings than that. 3,000-year-old images of humans playing lyres reveal two separate styles of lyre playing: the first is a lyre-like instrument, and the second is a stringed instrument.
A method of playing known as “block and strum” is used to depict lyres with seven or fewer strings. We’ll go into more depth about this style later in this article. The paintings depict the process of individually plucking each string on a harp-like instrument with eight or more strings, which is represented by the artist.
Several early mediaeval paintings depict lyres with less than seven strings, which is considered a rare occurrence. Taking away the images that predate the eleventh century and focusing instead on those images that are actually contemporary in age with the finds, one can see that the lyre is held and the hands are placed on the instrument consistently.
This is based on the assumption that the artist had never seen anyone actually play the lyre. It is common to see the lyre held upright, resting on one or both legs, with the left hand behind it, with the fingers splayed, appearing to be against the strings. In the right hand, there may be a plectrum or other musical instrument in use.
With no plectrum, the right hand seems to be strumming the strings backhandedly, resulting in fingernail hits on the right-hand strings. Image of King David from the Vespasian Psalter, which goes back to the early eighth century, is an excellent example of what we mean by this.
The Block and Strum method of Playing the Anglo-Saxon Lyre
When it comes to playing the instrument, it appears that “block and strum” is the most conceivable approach, even though the individual performer may have done any number of things. According to what we understand, this is a method that includes strumming across all of the strings while simultaneously blocking certain strings from behind with the rear (usually left) hand, resulting in particular strings not being heard.
To do this task is a piece of cake, and the results are spectacular. Consequently, the instrument may be held firmly and pleasantly, and the arm, hand and wrist postures can be accurately matched to the illuminations as a consequence.
It is also worth noting that, in those instances where apertures are visible, they are often more than half the length of the string. The left hand can create half-length harmonics for use in rare moments of a performance. The usage of a plucker would be required in order to create them, which is how we suppose it would be employed on occasion.
