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Encyclopedia ID 1323

Langspil

Also known as Icelandic bowed zither

Langspil: photograph by Neitram
Photo: Neitram, CC BY-SA 3.0, source on Wikimedia Commons

Drag a bow over a melody string while the drone strings sustain, matching the old folk songs on the fretted line.

Heritage note

Part of the living heritage of Iceland.

Origins

Usually placed in the era of Classical Worlds (about 1000 BCE to 500 CE), although its exact origins are uncertain, within the cultural world of Celtic and Atlantic Europe.

Sources

Related entries

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