Viking musical instruments

Good evening!

Today we are going to talk about some musical instruments which Vikings used. I think it could be interesting for people like me who loves music. 

Singing and playing music were important to the Vikings, both in everyday life and for festive occasions. They sang songs when they were happy and when they were sad. They danced, sang songs and played their instruments when they had celebrations of some kind. They had songs to accompany them when working, making the work easier. They sang love songs, and lullabies for their children.

They had a variety of instruments. The first were bone or wood wind instruments.  The easily-hollowed branches of the elder tree have been providing simple whistles for children and musicians alike in every land in which the tree grows since antiquity. Bone whistles and recorders have also been recovered, most commonly crafted from the leg bone of a cow, deer, or from large birds. 

Replica of a bone flute

Bone wind instruments produce a remarkably plangent sound. The ones which have been recovered are all end-blown, with the sound being produced by an inset bone or more often wood fipple. The normal number of finger holes is three, although examples with up to seven holes has been found. 
The photograph shown at the right is a replica of a 13th century example of a bone flute crafted from a sheep's leg bone, found in Denmark.

Reconstruction of the panpipes

Another type of woodwind instrument was found during the Coppergate excavations , a set of panpipes made from a small slab of boxwood which date from the 10th century. This Anglo-Scandinavian instrument was created by boring holes into the wood at different depths, then the top of the hole was beveled slightly to form a comfortable rest for the player's lip.

Replica of a cow horn

Another type of wind instrument would be a type of recorder made from a cow-horn. A four-hole cow-horn was found in Sweden, with the mouthpiece being at the small tip of the horn.This is the instrument many people think of when imagining Viking musical instruments.

The Bayeux tapestry

 On the Bayeux tapestry we can see a blast horn, apparently sounding the signal to 'come and eat'. The tapestry was made around 1070, shortly after William of Normandy, a descendant of the Vikings,  had landed and conquered England.

Replica of a lire

The last instrument that we are going to talk about is the lyre or harp. The sagas mention the harp as a gentleman's instrument, however we do not have a surviving example from Scandinavia. Early medieval manuscripts show a variety of illustrations of this type of lyre in use.  

Those with seven strings or less seem usually to have been played by holding the instrument upright resting on one leg, with the left hand held behind the instrument with the fingers spread, apparently against the strings. The right hand may hold some kind of plectrum, or in some cases the right hand appears to be strumming the strings backhanded, which would result in striking with the fingernails.