Lutes and Viols Lutes and Viols Author Jessica Boyd Supervising Editor Kate McPherson Editor Kate McPherson Copy Editor Leah Hamby Senior Encoder Leah Hamby Encoding and Metadata LEMDO Team Copyright Holder (Content) Kate McPherson Copyright Holder (XML and interface) University of Victoria Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Mitacs Globalink Research Internship Utah Valley University

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Early Modern England Encyclopedia

By Jessica Boyd, inspired by Michael Best’s Shakespeare’s Life and Times, Internet Shakespeare Editions

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Historical Overview of Lutes and Viols

Though they are both stringed instruments, lutes and viols differ in the way they are played. While a lute is plucked or strummed with fingers or something resembling a pick, a viol uses a bow to create sound. Long-necked lutes are an ancient instrument, found depicted on Mesopotamian seals dating as far back as 2340–2198 BCE. The earliest depiction of viols being used in Europe can be found in a Mozarabic manuscript in the Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid from c. 930 CE. The Arabic version of the lute (the ūd) is the most successful and long lasting of its type. The viol, on the other hand, was popular in Europe throughout the early modern period and was the basis for modern violins.

The Lute

Many different styles of fingered string instruments are popular in different areas of the world, such as the Indian sitar and the Japanese samisen. In early modern England and most of Europe, the lute was the primary musical instrument, played by amateurs and professionals alike. It was second only to the human voice in its popularity.

Through the 16th and early 17th century, composition of lute music went through a golden age. Composers such as John Dowland (1563–1626) wrote extensively for the lute. Lute music conformed to an easier style of music reading called tabs. The three most popular forms of tablature (or tabs) were French, Italian, and German. Because of the much easier form of reading musical notation and therefore an easier way of teaching, the lute became extremely popular. King Henry VIII may have composed lute songs, as he is known to have been an accomplished musician.

The Viol

The viol developed long after the lute and its forebearers. The first style of the viol was known as the Viola da Gamba (a leg viol). This name refers to the style of how the viol was held. The Viola da Gamba is held vertically between the legs similarly to the cello, which did lead to some sexual innuendos. However, during the 15th century, the more popular style of playing was known as the Viola da Bassico, (or arm viol) which is a horizontally-held style on the arm, a precursor to the modern violin. Because the bassico was preferred, the 15th century was also the time that viols were made smaller and easier to hold on the arm.

Lutes and Viols in Shakespeare

Shakespeare famously features the lute in The Taming of the Shrew. During a music lesson, Katherina becomes enraged and smashes the lute over her teacher’s head, who tells the tale: Why, no, for she hath broke the lute to me. I did but tell her she mistook her frets, And bowed her hand to teach her fingering, When, with a most impatient devilish spirit, ‘Frets’ call you these? quoth she. I’ll fume with them! And with that word she struck me on the head, And through the instrument my pate made way(The Taming of The Shrew 2.1)

Shakespeare also refers to the lute in plays such as Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, Henry IV, Henry V, Hamlet, and others. These plays feature music not only because of the pervasive presence in music of the era, but because actors in the early modern period were also likely to be skilled musicians. Including numerous songs and types of instruments in the plays offered members of his playing company the chance to entertain audiences with more than words.

Key Print Sources Spring, Matthew. The Lute in Britain: A History of the Instrument and Its Music. Oxford University Press, 2004. Otterstedt, Annette. The Viol: History of an Instrument. Trans. Hans Reiners. Barenreiter-Verlag, 2001.
Key Online Sources Best, Michael. Lutes and Viols. Shakespeare’s Life and Times. Internet Shakespeare Editions. University of Victoria, 1 Jan. 2011. https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/literature/music/lutes.html. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026. Pannicia, Melissa. Lutes in Shakespeare. Our Warwickshire. The Warwickshire Museum, https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/article/lutes-in-shakespeare. Accessed 14 Sep. 2024. Riley, Maurice. History of the Viola. Internet Archive. Primrose International. 1980. https://archive.org/details/historyofviola01rile.