#Celtic stringed instrument series

The attraction of Irish music (part of Celtic music) was so strong that throughout the Middle Ages, English settlers kept on employing Irish minstrels. The act also specified that both the offending minstrel and the English patron should be put in jail and the musical instrument of the minstrel should be forfeited to the crown. The famous statutes of Kilkenny in 1366 in Ireland especially prohibited the English settlers from employing musicians from Ireland because “Irish minstrels coming among the English spy out the secrets, customs, and policies of the English whereby great evils have often happened.” This prohibition from the act further covered “tympanours, poets, story-tellers, babblers, rymours, and harpers”. They had a fear that these musicians would pass many seditious songs among the people and also corrupt the English settlers there so that they would assimilate into the local culture. It is also known that there was a high level of distrust held by the English invaders of both Ireland and Wales for the native musicians. For example, in The Book of Invasions, the waves wickedly created by Tuatha de Danann around the island of Ireland for preventing sons of Mil to come there and claim the island are calmed down by the bard Amergin by using a song. Celtic Music and Magical PowersĬeltic music also finds a mention in the Irish stories from earlier times for its magical powers. Learn more about Celtic religion and the Druids. They were placed just before poets but had equal status with physicians, smiths, and other highly skilled craftsmen. So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the status of musicians was comparatively high and even among them the highest rank was given to the harpers. Thanks to the obsession of the people of Ireland with defining social status in a hierarchal manner, there is some information about the status of musicians in early Ireland. Pictures of a U-shaped stringed instrument called the lyre were put on their coins by the people from Gaul. But still, at least some artistic representations are available. We don’t have physical remains of musical instruments from the Celtic regions for the early Middle Ages.

But unfortunately, it looks like that the carnyx has died out. The earliest known musical instrument that is associated with the people of central Europe is the great Iron Age war trumpet that is known as the carnyx. In early Ireland, the status of musicians was comparatively high and even among them the highest rank was given to the harpers.(Image: Thomas Pennant/Public domain)

#Celtic stringed instrument series

This is a transcript from the video series The Celtic World. Probably there is a bit of both involved, but one thing is certain that Celtic music has evolved immensely over time as can be seen by looking at some of the musical traditions of the Celtic world. (Image: Wikimedia/Public domain)Ĭeltic music is an area where it can be very hard to be sure how much of the similarity we sometimes hear between the music of different regions of the Celtic world is due to some sort of ancient connection, and how much is due to fairly recent cross-pollination between the musical communities of these regions.

The instrument has died out, but still some artistic representations are available. The carnyx is the great Iron Age war trumpet associated with the people of central Europe. Moreover, Celtic music is immensely popular throughout the world. Celtic music acts as a bridge between the Celtic people who are divided by their languages and even acts as a substitute for some of the languages that have gone out of practice. By Jennifer Paxton, Ph.D., The Catholic University of America What is arguably the most prominent living Celtic tradition in today’s time? Without any doubt, it is Celtic music and to an extent Celtic dance.