minstrel: Re: bones

[mn13189 at WCUVAX1.WCU.EDU]

On Sun, 4 May 1997, Kathy Lee wrote:

> Can anyone shed any light on their history?

There is no entry for "bones" or any similar instrument among the
percussion instruments listed in Galpin's
_Old_English_Instruments_of_Music_, which is a good source for medieval
instruments in England and Scotland.  Since they escaped Galpin's notice,
I would think that they were not indigenous to the British Isles at this
time.  However, based on their simplicity of construction and use, my own
opinion is that they may be very old indeed, possibly pre-dating the
Middle Ages.  I have no proof of that, of course.
Aye,
Eogan


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this list, send email to majordomo at pbm.com containing
the words "unsubscribe minstrel". To contact a human about problems, send
mail to owner-minstrel at pbm.com