Guest Post from L. A. Smith
About two months ago, L. A. Smith joined us for an interview about her book, Wilding. She has graciously returned today with a guest post about music in Anglo-Saxon England. At the end of her post, you’ll find links to both Wilding and Bound, the second book in her series, The Traveller's Path.
Without further ado, L.A. Smith:
Music is one of humanity's universal languages. There is no society, past or present, that is without some form of musical expression. Which is a fascinating topic all on its own, no?
The Early Medieval era in England is no different. But before I begin to delve into this topic, ponder for a moment what you think music in this time would sound like, who would play it, and what instruments would be used.
I'm guessing that whenever the word "medieval" comes up, an immediate picture comes to mind: the harp-playing minstrel such as would be seen at the courts of Henry VIII.
As it happens, you wouldn't be far wrong using that as an example of the earlier eras music as well, but of course, there are some differences between the later medieval period and the time period of the Early Middle Ages, which is from about AD 500 to AD 1000.
First of all, in other articles about Anglo-Saxon England, I have discussed the role of the scop in particular, as well as that of entertainment in general. But in this article, I would like to narrow down the topic into the types of musical instruments the people of Dark Ages England would use.
This beautiful image from the 8th-century Vespasian Psalter of King David composing his Psalms shows horns, a lyre, a drummer, and people clapping and dancing. Image from the British Library.
The human voice- singing, of course, is something everyone can do (whether they do it well or not is another question!). The gleeman would certainly have used his voice to good effect. Many of the poems we have from the Exeter Book, a collection of Anglo-Saxon literature, are ones that would have been recited or sang by a gleeman as part of the night's entertainment at the mead hall. However, there's another type of singing that you may not have thought of, and that is church singing. The monks in the 7th-century monasteries like Lindisfarne, whom I feature in my novel, would have incorporated singing into their church services. From comments in Bede'sEcclesiastical History of the English Nation (AD 731), we know that the singing of the Roman chant was taught and encouraged in England after the arrival of Augustine in AD 597. This would have been a form of antiphonal ("call and response") type chant. Unfortunately, we don't know much more than that, as few specific church musical notations from this period have survived (i.e. directions as to what notes to play or sing). Those that have survived are from the later parts of this era, closer to AD 1000. It's also unclear whether or not the monks would have harmonized in their singing, as came later in the Gregorian chants of the 9th and 10th centuries.
The flute or whistle- many of these types of instruments have been found in archeological excavations dating from the Early Middle Ages. In fact, these types of musical instruments are the most common type of instruments found, so we know they were very popular. They were made from wood or the hollow bones of birds or sheep. Most of these were hand-produced: whittled, or carved by knifepoint. There are a few which have been found that were more professionally made instruments displaying more sophisticated decorations and production techniques, suggesting the possibility of a workshop of some sort, or perhaps access to trade goods from the Continent. There is also evidence of reed-pipes, carved of wood or bone, perhaps even an early precursor to the bagpipe.
Bells- many metal bells* have been discovered, ranging from small ones to larger hand-bells. The larger ones were certainly put to use in monastic centers, both as a way to mark the liturgical hours and as part of the church services themselves, but likely not in a musical sense. They would have been used to mark dramatic parts of the liturgy. The use of the smaller ones is a little more unclear. There is speculation that they may have been a way of warning others to your presence while travelling, so as not to be seen as an outlaw (who would otherwisebe sneaking around and trying to remainunheard, presumably), but it's also possible they could have been used as part of a musical or dancing performance. Possibly both!
The River Erne Horn, found in 1956 in northern Ireland, dating from the 8th century. Dating was done from the decoration on the largest bronze band. Image from the British Library.
Horns/trumpets- I will admit to being surprised by this one when doing my research for this article. But in thinking about it, why not? These were made from wood, using bronze or another metal for the mouthpiece and bands. The reason we know this for certain is because of a beautiful specimen found in a river in 1956, dating from the 8th century (the mind boggles that it could have survived that long). In this specimen, the horn was made by a piece of wood (likely yew), split, hollowed out, then joined together again with resin. Bronze bands were added to help keep it together, as well as a bronze mouthpiece. A replica was made of this instrument, and it was discovered that two notes could be played on it, and a third with training. Fascinating! Aside from their use in musical settings, horns could also be used in battle, or in hunting.
Drums- drums were certainly part of the Anglo-Saxon musical experience, but as far as I know, there are no surviving examples. But we know that drums were used, because first of all, drums are used in every society that we know of from ancient man to modern, and secondly, illustrations from the Early Medieval period show people playing drums. The Anglo-Saxon word for drum, found in surviving literature, was hylsung. However, we don’t know exactly what type of drum this was. It was likely to be a form of hand drum such a “riddle drum” which was similar to the tambourine but without bells. These drums were adapted from the hand-sieve used for winnowing grain. Riddle drums were common throughout the later medieval period, so it’s likely they were used in the Early Middle Ages, too.
A reconstruction of the lyre found in a king's grave at Sutton Hoo, England, dating from the 7th century. Image from Wikipedia.
Harp - at last we come to the iconic Anglo-Saxon instrument, the one associated with the gleeman. Their word for this instrument was hearpe, which actually meant "stringed instrument". It was not the large stringed instrument we know as a harp today, although it is certainly related to it. The Anglo-Saxon hearpe, which we call alyretoday, was a smaller instrument that could be held in the lap, more like a guitar, but unlike the guitar, the strings were mainly plucked, not strummed. Also unlike the guitar, it did not have a soundbox. In the Anglo-Saxon poetry/songs of the day they employed words known as kennings, a compound word that evoked the thing described, such as "whale-road" to indicate the sea. The hearpeis described in poetry by kennings such as "joy-wood" and "glee-beam". These were high-status instruments, crafted with care and laid in the graves of kings, showing their importance. The ones that have been found are very similar in style to eachother, with six strings and small bridges, but have been made of different types of wood (maple, oak, willow, and fruit-wood). Each of these woods would have given a slightly different sound to the tone produced, and I'm sure the craftsmen were well aware of that.
Musical expression is an important part of any culture. It's too bad we don't know more about the exact melodies of the Anglo-Saxons songs from the Early Middle Ages, but at least we have some idea of the instruments they would have used and the words they would have sung.
For more than that, we will have to rely on our own imagination, for now!
*or to be specific, fragments of metal bells. They are made of iron or copper, using fusion-welding techniques.
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What a great article! As someone in the SCA, and particularly in a household that emphasizes the arts and sciences and has many musical members, I thought this was really interesting and informative, and will definitely share it with them. Thank you, L.A. Smith! I look forward to seeing how music plays out in Bound.
Bound is the second book in the series The Traveller’s Path and continues the story of Thomas McCadden, a young man from the present day who stumbled through a thin place and found himself trapped in seventh-century Northumbria, where he is learning more about himself, his past, and the world around him than he had ever bargained for.
You don’t want to miss these books! Wilding is on sale, and when you buy Bound you will get a link to Rare, Prized, and Feared, a collection of short stories and bonus chapters from the world of The Traveller's Path. These free bonuses are only available until August 21, so be sure to pick up your copies before then!
