WELSH CWRTH
The Welsh crwth is a form of bowed lyre, known in England as the 'Crowde' or 'Crouthe', in medieval Latin as the 'Chorus' and on the Continent as the 'Bowed Rotte'. It has a central neck running from the yoke to the soundbox, the whole being carved out of one piece of wood. The yoke is also hollowed out to lighten it. The flat bridge is slanted and one foot is extended to pass through one of the two soundholes to act as a soundpost. It is played on the shoulder or in the gamba position. There are six strings which are doubled in octaves with the two bass strings, off the fingerboard, which can be used as drones, or plucked with the left thumb. The 14th century Crwth had only three strings. No early tunings have survived.
SPECIFICATIONS
Length: 570mm
Maximum width: 240mm
Depth: 40mm
String length: 325mm
Tuning: g g'/c' c" d' d"
(Barrington 1775, E. Jones 1784)