The lijerica is closely related to the bowed musical instrument
lyra (
lūrā) of the
Byzantine Empire, an ancestor of most European bowed instruments and equivalent to the
rabāb used in the Islamic Empires of that time. The
Persian geographer
Ibn Khurradadhbih (d. 911) of the 9th century, in his lexicographical discussion of instruments, cited the
lyra as a typical instrument of the Byzantines along with the
urghun (organ),
shilyani (probably a type of harp or lyre) and the
salandj. The
Byzantine lyra spread through Europe westward; in the 11th and 12th centuries European writers use the terms
fiddle and
lira interchangeably when referring to bowed instruments. Over the centuries that followed, Europe continued to have two distinct types of bowed instruments: one, relatively square-shaped, held in the arms, became known as the
lira da braccio (
arm viol) family; the other, with sloping shoulders and held between the knees, was the
lira da gamba (
leg viol) group. During the
Renaissance the gambas, were important and elegant instruments; they eventually lost ground to the louder (and originally less aristocratic)
lira da braccio family. == References ==