Origin

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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