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Only two quadrangular instruments occur within the Irish context on the west coast of Scotland and both carvings date two hundred years after the Pictish carvings. [14] The first true representations of the Irish triangular harp do not appear till the late eleventh century in a reliquary and the twelfth century on stone and the earliest harps used in Ireland were quadrangular lyres as ...
Most medieval instruments do not survive today and thus scholars rely on modern reconstructions. A Celtic harp from the fourteenth century is on display at Trinity College in Ireland. An ivory "Romanesque" harp from the fifteenth century survives in the Louvre with twenty-four or twenty-five strings.
Stone carvings indicate the instruments known in Scotland, including the harpists on the early Medieval Monifeith Pictish stone and the Dupplin Cross. [6] Two of the three surviving Medieval Celtic harps are from Scotland: the Lamont Harp, dated to about 1500 and the highly elaborate Queen Mary Harp, from around 1450. [7]
It is an early Irish harp or wire-strung cláirseach. It is dated to the 14th or 15th century and, along with the Queen Mary Harp and the Lamont Harp, is the oldest [1] of three surviving medieval harps from the region. [2] The harp was used as a model for the coat of arms of Ireland and for the trade-mark of Guinness stout.
The Lamont Harp stands 95 cm tall and 42.5 cm wide and is considerably larger than the 2 other medieval harps (Queen Mary and Trinity harps), but smaller than other surviving Gaelic Harps. [6] The Lamont harp has very little decorative carving when compared to the other surviving examples, and was constructed with fine metal fittings, notably ...
The modern Celtic harp began to appear in the early 19th century in Ireland, shortly after all the last generation of harpers had all died-out, breaking the continuity of musical training between the earlier native Gaelic harping tradition and the revival of Celtic harp playing as part of the later Celtic revival.
The harp (or clarsach) was an instrument associated with medieval Scottish culture. This one, now in the Museum of Scotland, is one of only three surviving medieval Gaelic harps. In the Middle Ages, Scotland was renowned for its musical skill. Gerald of Wales tells us that:
In the late 19th century Gaelic revival the instruments used differed greatly from the old wire-strung harps. The new instruments had gut strings, and their construction and playing style was based on the larger orchestral pedal harp. Nonetheless, the name "clàrsach" was and is still used in Scotland today to describe these new instruments.