Harp

By ‘harp’ I now allude to the probability that triangular knee harps existed, which is highly likely but there is no archaeology to refer to. The Utrecht and Anglo-Saxon Psalters contain illustrations of harps which, though helpful, do not suggest how many strings may have been used. We may allow for educated estimates of between eight and twenty-two strings. Various Pictish carvings exists which portray harps very clearly in terms of their shape, thus in the absence of archaeological discovery, are highly helpful in determining not just their existence, but their general shape.

More information on the Pictish carvings and references to harps in stories can be found here: Pictish Harps