(King David with musicians, “The Vespasian Psalter” circa 750 AD)
The Anglo Saxon Hearpe: Instrument of the Original Bards
"They sang then and played to please the hero, Words and music for their warrior prince, Harp tunes and tales of adventure..." ("Beowulf")
The Hearpe, in traditional Anglo Saxon lore, is the original instrument of the bardic class. It is an ancient harp design typically called a lyre -- akin to the Greek and Roman instrument of the same name -- strung with anywhere from five to eight strings. It is a flat, oblong or rectangular instrument; a thin, almost veneer- like soundboard tacked and glued to a hollowed out body. The strings run from pegs on the top, crossing a hollowed out section where the player would place their hand, then over a narrow bridge on the soundboard where they are attached to some type of tailpiece or peg on the butt of the instrument.
The two most commonly known examples of hearpes from this period are the Sutton Hoo lyre (England) and the Trossingen lyre (Germany), though remains of others have been found in burial sites at Taplow, Bergh Apton, Morningthorpe, and Abingdon. While scholars are not entirely certain how they were played, they do know they were used to accompany recitation of epic poetry (such as "Beowulf"), in addition to the likely performance of early songs and other musical entertainment in the mead-halls. Scholars have theorized the most likely methods of playing are "block and strum" and "fingerpicking," which work equally well with other theories suggesting the hearpe was tuned pentatonically (to a five-note scale; this theory is supported by the prevalence of pentatonic structure in surviving early music of Britain and elsewhere).
Goals
Being a musician, it was my goal to recreate the hearpe as closely to historical accuracy as possible while keeping it a playable instrument. Meaning, I made certain adaptations to the design in the interests of my personal musical experience. I shortened the length for my own comfort while playing. I elected to use modern tuning machines for ease of tuning. I decided to use modern Nylgut strings. I also made other considerations in building materials for my own ease of assembly as a novice woodworker.
In the end, I feel my "modern" hearpe maintains the flavor and atmosphere of the original Anglo Saxon instrument, while satisfying the modern musician's demands.
Materials
1 five foot section of 10.5" x 1" Hemlock board
1 quart of Tung Oil
1 router bit
1 package of panel board nails (1 5/8" long) Miscellaneous types of sand paper (80, 100, 150 grit) 1 set of brass entry cover plates
1 bottle of waterproof Titebond wood glue
2 sets of Grover Champion banjo friction tuning machines
1 set of 8-string Aquila Nylgut tenor ukulele strings 1 patient husband possessing woodworking skills :-)
Part 2 coming soon!
Works Cited
"Beowulf," translated by Seamus Heaney. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000. "The Anglo Saxon Lyre," by Paul Butler.
http://crab.rutgers.edu/~pbutler/aslyre.html.
"The Saxon Lyre: History, Construction, and Playing Techniques," by Dofinn- Hallr Morrisson and Thóra Sharptooth. http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~priestdo/lyre.html.
"Ancient Music: Kate and Corwen's Page," by Kate and Corwen. http://www.ancientmusic.co.uk/string.html.
"The Lyre Project," by Blue & Forest. http://www.saphir.u-net.com/lyre/.
"Making an Anglo Saxon Lyre," by George A Cavender (aka George on Gerolstein). http://cavender.myweb.uga.edu/harp_project/.
“Anglo Saxon Lyres – Background," by Michael J. King.
http://www.michaeljking.com/background.htm.
“Anglo Saxon Lyre – Trossingen Lyre," by Michael J. King.
http://www.michaeljking.com/trossingen_lyre.htm.
“Regia Anglorum – Music and Verse in Anglo Saxon and Viking Times," by
Roland Williamson. http://www.regia.org/music.htm.
“The Sound of the Sutton Hoo Harp," by Peter C. Horn. Tha Engliscan Gesithas,
http://www.tha-engliscan-gesithas.org.uk/archives/the-sound-of-the-sutton- hoo-harp/.