MUSICis little to suggest that the harp, as it is known today,
corresponds to the earlier instruments. This problem
of identification stems mainly from the often general
and unspecific nature of the sources. The national and
symbolic significance of the harp further compounds
the difficulty.
Evidence for stringed instruments preceding the
modern Irish harp is both abundant and diverse. Images
of the instruments often appear on carved panels of
high crosses and in illustrations within medieval manu-
scripts. In general the instruments seem to have been
crafted entirely from wood, often willow. While mod-
ern harps use gut strings and are played with the pads
of the fingers, medieval harps often used metal strings
and were played with plectra. Early physical depic-
tions of stringed instruments, particularly those found
on high crosses, reveal smaller quadrangular instru-
ments with relatively few strings. These smaller instru-
ments are contemporaneous to the early Irish term
crott, describing a popular instrument found through-
out the sources.
From the earliest references, the crott, generally
translated “harp,” held a clear prominence above all
musical instruments. An early text describes a tune on
it as one of the three accomplishments of Ireland.
Equally laudatory, a similar passage states that all
music is holy until compared to that of the harp. The
harp’s unique sound is also often admired, once
described as the sweetest and lowest of the musical
instruments. This praise is echoed in several religious
texts, where the harp is seen to enjoy particularly high
standing. As in modern times, the instrument and its
music were especially valued and endorsed by the
church, at the exclusion of most other musical enter-
tainment.
The cláirseach(“harp”), the triangular-framed
instrument familiar today, known as the “modern harp”
seems to have enjoyed prominence from the fourteenth
century. The famous ‘Brian Boru” harp, displayed in
the Long Room of Trinity College Dublin, is a classic
example of this harp. Dating from the fifteenth century,
its likeness is used on Irish coinage and on the Guin-
ness label. The triangular harp enjoyed the same prom-
inence in Irish music as had its predecessors.
Music from the harp accompanied all manner of
entertainment and ceremony. Harps and music played
on harps can be found in descriptions of nearly all
medieval gatherings, from festivals and royal banquets
to wakes and ale houses. Early sources consistently
mention three strains of music a skilled harper must
be able to perform. The three are consistently
described as ones that bring about sleep, laughter, and
tears. The harp was clearly the most likely instrument
at any gathering or assemblage. As a result of this the
harpist was often permanently employed, by anyone
who might afford one. There is likewise evidence for
professional itinerant players. Professional musicians
seemed to have enjoyed a fairly lucrative and in some
cases celebrated career. A particularly skilled player
might have attained the propitious status of king’s
musician, travelling and boarding with the king as part
of his retinue.
While the harp is Ireland’s best-known instrument,
other stringed instruments were also played. The
timpán was a small, handheld stringed instrument.
Most often described as having three strings, the
instrument was played by plucking and striking both
the strings and frame. In several accounts the use of a
bow is also mentioned. Other stringed instruments,
including those resembling the psaltery and lyre, were
also played. The deaths of three particularly well-
known players of the timpánare recorded in the annals,
attesting to their popularity and status.
Several types of horn and wind instruments were
played in medieval Ireland. Numerous metal horns of
Bronze Age provenance have been found in archaeo-
logical excavations. These horns, while having been
tested and shown to emit sounds, were most likely used
for military and decorative functions. Later archaeo-
logical evidence for horns provides several instruments
fashioned from wood. Too little of the instruments
remain for precise dating though they clearly date from
the Christian era. Wooden horns are described in the
early literature.
Despite the lack of descriptive evidence for musical
horns, the horn blower is a common figure of the early
sources. The horn blower is listed in a Law Tract as
an entertainer expected in the banquet hall of a king,
and in several similar descriptions he is depicted as a
musician expected at festivals and feasts.
Wind instruments such as pipes and whistles also
enjoy a rich history in Ireland. The cuisle(“bagpipe”)
is a commonly attested instrument in Ireland’s early
literature. While the cuislewas clearly a wind instru-
ment, there is unfortunately no evidence to determine
whether it was a straight tubular pipe, a bagpipe, or
possibly a combination of the two. Multi-tuned pipes
are often described in the literature. Today’s uilleann
pipes derive from the medieval instrument, so named
as they are held and pressed between the ribs and
elbow (uillinn).
The pipe is most often mentioned as accompanying
another instrument or instruments. An early Law Tract
states that proper musical arrangement consists of a
harp accompanied by pipes. Countless references in
the medieval literature mention the pipe player as a
standard compliment to festivities and gatherings.
Interestingly, his status seems to have been among the
lowest of musicians and entertainers. Fedán, “a whis-
tling or hissing sound,” is also used occasionally to