The Guitarra morisca or Mandora medieval is a plucked string instrument. It is a lute that has a bulging belly and a headstock as sickle. Part of that characterization came from a c. 1330 poem, ''Libro de buen amor'' by

Juan Ruiz Juan Ruiz (), known as the Archpriest of Hita (''Arcipreste de Hita''), was a medieval Castilian poet. He is best known for his ribald, earthy poem, ''Libro de buen amor'' ('' The Book of Good Love''). Biography Origins He was born in Alcal ...

, arcipestre de Hita, which described the "Moorish gittern" as "corpulent". The use of the adjective ''morisca'' tacked to guitarra may have been to differentiate it from the commonly seen ''Latin'' European variety, when the morisca was seen on a limited basis during the 14th century. Appeared in the early 9th century, it is an instrument mentioned in the ''

Cantigas de Santa Maria The ''Cantigas de Santa Maria'' (, ; "Canticles of Holy Mary") are 420 poems with musical notation, written in the medieval Galician-Portuguese language during the reign of Alfonso X of Castile ''El Sabio'' (1221–1284). Traditionally, they a ...

'', and by

Johannes de Grocheio Johannes de Grocheio (or Grocheo) (Ecclesiastical Latin: ɔˈan.nɛs dɛ ɡrɔˈkɛj.jɔ c. 1255 – c. 1320) was a Parisian musical theorist of the early 14th century. His French name was Jean de Grouchy, but he is best known by his Latinized na ...

(towards 1300) who called it ''quitarra sarracénica''. In the 14th century it is known by the term "guitarra morisca", coined by

Arcipreste de Hita Juan Ruiz (), known as the Archpriest of Hita (''Arcipreste de Hita''), was a medieval Castilian poet. He is best known for his ribald, earthy poem, ''Libro de buen amor'' (''The Book of Good Love''). Biography Origins He was born in Alcal� ...

in '' Libro de buen amor''. It is a hybrid instrument between the

guitarra latina The guitarra latina is a plucked string instrument of the Medieval period in Europe. It has single string courses, and it is normally played with a pick. This gittern or citole with curved sides is illustrated in the medieval musical text the Cant ...

and medieval lute, usually played by fingers or

plectrum A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a separate tool in the player's hand. In harps ...

. It has roots in the four-string Arabic

oud , image=File:oud2.jpg , image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921 , background= , classification= * String instruments *Necked bowl lutes , hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum , ...

, brought to Iberia by the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

in the 8th century. The guitarra morisca is a direct ancestor of the modern guitar. By the 14th century, the guitarra morisca was simply referred to as a guitar.Tom and Mary Anne Evans. ''Guitars: From the Renaissance to Rock.'' Paddington Press Ltd 1977 p.16 The guitarra morisca is an obscure instrument, known mainly from pictures. Early instrument expert

Francis William Galpin Francis William Galpin (December 25, 1858 December 30, 1945) was an English cleric and antiquarian musicologist. He was known as a collector of old musical instruments. Life Born in Dorchester, Dorset, Galpin was educated at Sherborne and Trini ...

mentioned the instrument in his book, ''Old English Instruments of Music'' (pages 21-22), calling it the "Guitare Moresca" or "Chittara Saraacenica", with its "long neck, oval shaped body and round back." He also felt it related to the

Colascione The colascione (or calascione, Italian: [], French: ''colachon'' [], also sometimes known as liuto della giraffa meaning giraffe-lute, a reference to its long neck) is a plucked string instrument from the late Renaissance and early Baroque perio ...

References

External links

Page in Spanish about the Mandora or Moorish GuitarPage in Spanish cataloging instruments including Guitarra Morisca.

Book, ''The British Museum Citole: New Perspectives'' has useful info about this instrument pages 93-103
{{Lute Guitars Arab inventions Spanish inventions Medieval musical instruments