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In
Europe, the violin can be traced back to the 9th century, with
its origin possibly in Asia. Not less than 450 years were required
to bring it to its present form, representative of the experience
acquired throughout the centuries by the makers of stringed
instruments.
The
primitive form of the stringed instruments is the musical
bow, an arched stick held by a taut string tied to its two
ends. The string is divided by a loop or bridge. In order
to enhance its resonance, the primitive bow was held before
the mouth. In the more evolved forms, resonance enhancers included
coconut, calabash (a hollowed out, dried gourd generally used
as a recipient), tortoise shells, wooden boxes or pig bladders
that were thrust tightly between the strings and the bow.
 In
the manufacture of stringed instruments, TWO ORIGINAL FORMS
were already present in classical antiquity: the polygonal
drum of the zither and the rounded sound-box of the
lyre, carved so as to imitate a tortoise shell, and used, apparently,
as the first resonance device. This distinction in form was
accompanied by a distinction in usage. The instrument with the
polygonal drum, the more noble of the two, was used exclusively
for serious music and for accompanying religious or lyric song;
as for the lyre, it was a popular instrument used in feasting.
The
origin of stringed instruments played by rubbing the strings
is linked to the appearance of the bow. The more ancient
stringed instruments were played by plucking the strings with
the fingers. Perhaps the bow was at first a simple stick before
the hair-bow was adopted. As there is no trace of a bow
instrument in classical antiquity, it is freely admitted that
the bow was imported from Asia by the Arabs or the Nordic tribes.
But whether the evolution occurred in northern Europe, the Near
East, India or Central Asia remains a mystery... The bow may have
appeared in various places at the same time, as did several
major discoveries in the history of mankind!...
As
from the 11th century we also find in Europe the TWO MAJOR TYPES
of bow instruments: first, the instruments with a pear-shaped
or pyriform resonance box, no distinct neck, no pegs,
and a flat belly; second the flat-bodied, oval or elliptic
instruments, whose only slightly arched body was connected
to the generally flat back by ribs. These instruments
had a distinct neck (vielle of the Middle Ages - Not
to be confused with hurdy-gurdy, "vielle à roue").
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